Well, I officially returned my 05 RL yesterday off of lease to my local dealer. I brought it back with 35400 miles, 600 under the limit, so I got my money's worth for sure. As some of you know I went to the Infiniti G37S, my first departure from Acura/Honda in over 12 years. I wanted to pass along some impressions of this experience. I guess the threads about the 09 RL probably have said it all so no need to regurgitate that fact. The absence of a coupe in the Acura line up was a factor too. (Plus the G is so damn fun to drive!!) But what surprised me the most was the drop off. After purchasing 4 cars from this dealership I didn't even get a "Thank you for your patronage, we hope we can do business again in the future", "It's been a pleasure working with you", "PFO", nothing!! I just thought it was quite impersonal considering the history. Now, I realize I was buying a new car from the Infiniti dealer, but in comparison, a definitive higher level of customer service. Time will tell when and if I return the G but a significant difference, a more refined luxury experience. Obviously, I realize this doesn't reflect on all Acura dealerships, this is just my account. The final absurdity is that when I went to test drive the 09 RL, they only had one and it was sold so I couldn't test drive. They were going to call me when they had one available to drive but never heard from them in over a month!! Still haven't heard from them, which is too little too late anyway. Despite that I really found the exterior styling undesirable anyway. I really don't think Acura should be falling down in the area of customer retention, but that's just my experience.

 

Congrats on the new G37S, that's an awesome car. My experience with my local Acura dealership has never been what I can call "outstanding" either. They've consistently attempted to charge me more for the alphabet soup services (A1, B2, etc...) and it's always been like pulling teeth when trying to get loaner cars. A lot of times, they don't seem to know what they're doing. The majority of the time, I had to find and print out the TSB's to make sure they were done. Otherwise, they'd just brush it off and say they hadn't heard of a particular TSB.

Anyhow, my RL was returned at the beginning of the month and I was glad to be rid of it.

 

This is my first "luxury brand" car (I've been through 4 Hondas in 10 years and my family has Nissans / Hondas too), and I was personally impressed with the upscale treatment I receive at my dealership. Though, I think I'm starting to annoy them because they effed up last time and I complained (got the free car wash and saw swirls all over my new car).

To boot I'm just a lowly TSX owner.

 

nice pick up on the G37S...enjoy the new ride

 

It shouldn't matter which Acura you drive, it's still an Acura. Unfortunately, the complimentary car wash is always tricky, you never know what you're gonna get. I wouldn't worry about them getting annoyed, they shouldn't have swirled up your car!! This is not just an Acura problem though, I frequent the Infiniti forum a lot now too and there are plenty of threads about boshed car washes. Use at your own risk I guess!!

 

congratulations

 

I went to a 2009 GT-R, and have found the navigation to be very solid (searching for POI's is much better than the RL...). I really like the Nissan UI compared with Honda/Acura.

 

I also like the Infiniti UI but it needs a hack to unlock some of the controls while driving. It also affects some of the HDD music search functions too while in motion, which is really annoying!! The Acura is up one for that, no lock out while driving. I also prefer the way you can search music files on a CD-R while driving without the song changing. That way you can search for a song while listening to the current song. I'm just so used to the Acura that I'm having to get used to the other!!

 

Lucky bastage.

 

I have heard really good things about the Infiniti experience. I don't see that with Acura..I have had 4 or 5 acuras too and they do not give me any kind of consideration when buying a new car. My dealer, Pleasanton, is pretty good but I've never been able to buy a car due to price...

 

Oh! Man. I envy you. One day I thought to trade my 06' RL for GT-R. but too much costly. How do you like it? I heard the maintenance cost (ex. brake job) is way high and a few report the transmission issue if abused by using LC.

 

I saw a report once for "inside eyes only" that showed the margins for repeat customers. Broken down by number of purchases from same dealer. Basically showed that statistically the margins go up (way up) after the first purchase. Makes sense. The buyer is less likely to grind it out and be a hard-nose if they know the salesman and people at the dealership. I guess you just let your guard down eventually and/or loose the fight in you

 

Good luck with the Infiniti! I hope that your experience is better than mine...

I just traded in my 2003 Infiniti G35 coupe for my new RL last month and couldn't be happier!

I purchased the Infiniti new in '03 after reading all of the positive reviews and the numerous car of the year awards that it had received. Although the Infiniti was certainly faster and handled better than the RL I think that it had decidedly downmarket interior plastics and the ergonomics were not as well thought out. The navigation was difficult to use at first and only became more and more frustrating as time went on. Even with multiple DVD updates many POI were nearly impossible to find just because of the horrible menu system. To the point that I occasionally needed to use my portable TomTom instead!!!

The car at only 43,000 miles was also mechanically plagued with several issues that the dealer had trouble repairing. First and foremost the A/C stopped working altogether just last summer and the drivers side door lock mechanism stopped locking OR unlocking with the key fob AND/OR the internal controls. The dealership proved to be less than helpful with repair visits only resulting in worsening of the issues not to mention "creating" additional issues. Case in point, at a routine visit they informed me that the drive belts needed to be changed due to age/mileage. When I picked the car up from having the belts changed there was now a loud squeal from the belts that was never there before. This squeal was not only on my G35 coupe but also my wifes G35 sedan we had serviced at the same time. Next I was told that the coupe's brake rotors were cracked and needed to be replaced. Not wanting to shell out the $1800 that they were asking I ordered a replacement set online and changed them out myself only to find absolutely NO CRACKS AT ALL ON ANY of the rotors.... at least I was only out a few hundred dollars for this fiasco.

And if the Infiniti "higher level of luxury" experience means having to pay $5 for a cup of coffee and $4 for a bagel in the service waiting room and being charged $5 per gallon for gas to use the loaner then something is seriously amiss...

Acura has always bent over backwards to do what is right and having owned Acura products since 1989 with a Legend sedan, two 1994 Legend sedans, an NSX, and now the RL I think I've seen that the grass is NOT greener on the other side and I will stick with Honda/Acura products in the future! Even when taking in my 1994 Legend (which I still own) for service I can get a TSX or TL loaner if I ask. And when I have referred friends and family to the dealer who purchased TLs and MDXs I get a card from the sales manager with restaurant gift certificates in appreciation.

So do I miss my G35 coupe? Sure I miss the magnificent sound of the VQ engine and the body lines of the coupe. But for daily use I'm sure that the RL will be a much less stressful experience. And when I feel the need to carve out the twisties I can always hop into my NSX...

 

Interesting post. As a philosopher once said "Truth is in the field", and so it is that the behavior of the local dealership can overwhelm any differences between brands. Problems occur with all cars, but when a dealer cannot solve them, creates new problems, or--worst of all--misleads you into a repair you didn't need, it becomes agonizing. I understand why you walked away.

I have always been intrigued by infiniti. They seem so forward thinking in design and technology. But with no dealership within 90 miles I would not own one. I don't understand their limited dealer network.

Glad to hear someone besides me is still driving and enjoying an old Legend. I still have a 91 which is doing just fine in most respects. If the new RL's are anything like those stalwarts you will have that for a very long time. I hope all the electronics and computers don't prove to be an achille's heel. It is hard to escape this stuff on any higher end car these days.

 

It's always great to hear from Legend owners! What a car!

As far as your Infiniti dealership experience....even some Acura dealerships suck. I happen to adore mine, so I clearly lucked out.

And last...you will love your RL. You bought new, so I assume 2008 or 2009? Please don't forget to post your purchase details in the "RL Owner sign in" thread at the top of the page so others may learn from your experience. Welcome to AZ!

 

I would have to agree with you, your Infiniti dealership is not the best. Honestly, I have never been to a dealership that charges you for refreshments, WTF?? Everything is complimentary at both my Acura and Infiniti dealerships. The Infiniti dealership also offers loaner vehicles for all levels of service, including routine maintenance. Acura only gave me a loaner for warranty work, and unfortunately, I had plenty of loaners during my 3 years with the RL, at least 4 times in the first year alone for warranty work. In my first 6 months with my G I have been for service once, initial oil change. The dealership also gave me my first year of service free, to include service detail at 3750, 7500, and 11500. They provide complimentary car wash every Saturday (whether getting service or not), as well as free pick up and delivery of your vehicle during service calls. So I guess I happened across a very good Infiniti dealership. It is leaps and bounds over my local Acura dealerships. But, like anything, I think you will find good and bad from any car brand. And don't talk to me about door locks, I had my door handles replaced 4 times on my RL, and turned it in broken off lease because I refused to bring it in a 5th time!! Ultimately though, the RL was one of the finest vehicles I have ever owned, despite the warranty plagues. Enjoy your new RL, I just hope it stays out of the shop!!