What is displayed on the console display of the base model besides a compass?

 

Link to online 2007 RL manual Look from page 240 on. All it shows is the compass/GPS information, and (like all RLs) some service screens for audio, setup, climate control, etc. Basically everything but maps.

 

if you buy the base model...spend the extra money and buy a GPS unit used off of ebay to put in the car. Two of us have done it and it works great. No acuralink (that is a waste anyway) and no Navtraffic, and no back up camera. You do get voice commands.

the compass didn't really do much for me....but i wasn't going to part with an extra 4k just to get Nav

 

My $0.02 on NavTraffic. I'm not sure if it's because I now regularly take the expressways to work and in SE Michigan there is pretty good coverage on the roadways, but I have come to really rely on Navtraffic.

It does a great job of warning me of congestion up ahead and I can quickly get off and take alternate routes. It has literally saved me from hours of sitting in traffic tie-ups.

I currently have a TSX loaner that does have Nav, but I'm going through witdrawals not knowing what the traffic flow is on my way into or home from work.

 

Yep, I read up on your conversion too. It's a lot of money to upgrade to the tech package, agreed. However, we have 2 little kids so the backup camera is definitely a nice thing to have..

One more consideration though. Is a built in NAV system going to be expected in cars of this price range/category by the clientele? It's almost like housing. In the 50s to 70s 1 car garages were expected. In the 70s-90s 2 car garages were expected. Now we're seeing 3, 4 car garages...

 

I can't make a blanket statement, but I do think that when you start getting into Lexus GS and BMW 5 series levels, a NAV is expected. At least I do, but then again I bought a car with NAV.

Put it this way, you're going to buy a car that hasn't sold well and is somewhat anonymous (not always deserved). You are looking at a buying into an even smaller subset of that car.

It's like the 2nd gen Legend. There was a base version with cloth seats and no sunroof. They were made, but not many out there.

 

Agreed. Hence my thinking I'd prefer to get the tech package....

 

So when are you just gonna go out and get one already??!!!!

 

when it comes to shopping for especially big ticket items, we all look for a level of purchase comfort. There are thoses that always wants a fully equiped vehicle, some want the stripped one, and others want to be able to pick their options.

I wanted Nav in my vehicle, but it wasn't worth the 4k difference to get the tech package. I said I'd live without it. I would have paid the 2k for just Nav like most mfgs are providing, but that wasn't an option.

through the technical assistance of members of this forum, methods were devised allowing us to easily and inexpensively upgrade to Nav simply by installing a used (off of ebay) DVD Nav player unit in the trunk. This is the full factory navigation, except for navtraffic and acuralink features. If you purchased a DVD Nav unit off of an 06, 07, or 08, (rather than 05) you can simply install a back up camera that plugs into the DVD unit in the trunk.

Beyond these two features what do you get with the tech package. Swiveling lights...what a concept...i think it has be dropped in the 09 model...GPS/sun compensated ventilation system...does it really work and I'm not sure I don't have that now that I've added the Nav...Let's now forget about the real wood trim...oh, its not all the trim is real wood, only the dash timber...Acura though so much of this they dropped it from the 09 cars except for the 10% of buyers who splurge for the CMBS.

For my dollar 38.5k (including GPS purchace but before Tax & title) I have a phenomenal vehicle with the features I really want. If the stripped down RL wasn't available, I would have bought the Lexus ES 350 UL which has standard GPS (without nav traffic) The Lexus was 39.5k. I would not have paid 42k for the RL. While the ES is a great car, such a purchase, and I would have missed out on one of the best designed cars in the world.

 

While I like Acura's two or three basic trim levels, I will acknowledge that most people prefer more choices.

Also, no one is begrudging you're work around. Actually it's pretty impressive, but looking at what sign-in thread, some people have purchased a tech model for approximately $41K, some may have even done a bit better.

When I purchased my '06, it was before the really big discounts and I paid $43K.

No offense meant, but it looks like the real world price difference may have been closer to $1,500 and for that, I would have opted for a model that has all the features right out of the box.

I agree that the simulated wood is probably close enough. The active headlamps are not something I would have purposefully opted for, and I didn't really appreciate them until I moved to SE Michigan. Some of the roads in the rural areas are pretty dark, and that's when you appreciate them a bit more. Still, if I had to limit my options list, I probably wouldn't opt for them.

The GPS-solar sensing thing does actually work.

Now NavTraffic is another thing. I have really grown to appreciate it and I miss it when I take our Land Cruiser out (It has Nav), or when I have a loaner (such as now).

 

point well taken...with a lot of arm twisting, I would have likely paid an extra 2.5k for the tech package...its worth that..., but not the 4k extra that all of my dealers wanted.

 

I'm working on it

The boss is really balking at the $43K+ out the door price for the base, let alone the $46K out the door for a tech. I'm going to gamble that the 2008's will still be around in May, after this round of incentives expires and they come out with the next round, hopefully a bit more or the dealers are willing to drop prices even more. The dealer close to me is selling 2-3 a month. They have 9 cars in stock still so I think they'll have cars on hand even in May.

I still see the occasional 2007 around, with dealers asking for ridiculous prices.. So, maybe even an 07, since there is no difference. I'll try in a week or 2 for an 07.

Worst case scenario, I'll go for an 07 M35X or a 2008 G35x with the Sports & Premimum package. A dealer in the area has 2007 M35Xs but the guy I spoke to wouldn't give me a price over the phone. I'll may e-mail them in a few weeks.

The kick in the pants is that the G35x I want will be out the door close to $40K, so what's $3K more? To an accountant, it's 7% more but to me, the car enthusiasts, it's an insignificant amount of money over the long haul..

 

Right now, I'm seeing a real world difference of roughly $3K If it's $1,500 difference, I'd push really hard for the tech..

 

Agreed, $3K or 4K is not worth it for the tech package..

 

No doubt if you can get a Tech for $41k then you should buy it. But most dealers aren't selling a Tech for $41k (maybe a used one but not new) The base RL at dealer cost comes in around $40k after applying the $2500 factory to dealer cash incentive. The cost differential to the Tech puts it to $43-$44k. If Acura rolls back out the $3,500 incentive to dealers, the numerics will of course change.

Like Larry I also paid $38.5k for my base RL. Now granted I paid more for the NAV upgrade because I was the first one to do the mod so I bought an entire NAV pull (wiring and all) for $1100. Once the secret was out that all it takes is to change out the DVD Nav unit in the trunk, a simple enough swap that almost anyone can do in under a half hour, a NAV upgrade can be done for just the cost of a Nav unit on e-bay, making the base RL a pretty cost effective choice. As an aside I've got the XM Tuner module that works with Nav traffic, I just havent installed it yet. Where I live the traffic is always the same every communting day (horrible) so the Nav traffic isnt going to tell me what I dont already know!

 

Is there only a difference of 1 button on the console of the car that's different between the Tech and base model?

 

the buttons are all there. I think two of the buttons are labeled different. Upper left which is labeled "compass" on mine now functions as "Map". from a logical sense, you know you don't have the compass function anymore, so its got to give you the map...bottom right which i think is labeled "trip computer" performs a misc menu task which includes trip computer. The other buttons are labeled the same. Once you get used to it, (which is like the same day) you remember what the buttons tasks are. 2007AcuraRL acutally got for his $1100 a whole stereo with the new button labels. For me, I wouldn't even think about going to the trouble or expense of changing the button labels.

 

Could you please let me know step by step how to buy and install the DVD Nav unit (I looked on Ebay and did not see any available RL DVD nav unit) on my base model 2007 RL?

Please...

 

please email at larrynimmo@yahoo.com and i will let you know about some options available