I'm planning on leasing a 2003 TL-S A Spec tomorrow. Anyone have any advice? I see a bunch of posts about tranny problems, but also a post said the 2003's are fixed now? Do I need to worry about this? I'm in Canada, and it looks like we can't get the Navi option here .

I currently have a 2000 Grand Prix GTP which is OK, but I've been looking to move up. I've test drove almost everything - Lexus IS 300, BMW 330, Nissan Maxima and Altima, Mazda6, Saab 93, Infiniti G35 Coupe... The Acura seems to be the best combo of performance, price, power, roominess, looks etc. (I liked the 2004 Maxima the best to drive, but I'm not crazy about the looks of it).

I don't know much about modifying a car, and I don't know what the restrictions are with a lease and this particular dealer. However, I think new rims at least would be OK since it requires no permanent changes. Can anyone recommend a place for info on rims and tires? I know what I like the looks of, but nothing about what is/isn't good. Canada-based stuff would be cool since I'd prefer not to have to worry about duties when shipping from the US.

Thanks

 

What colour are you getting? How hard is it to get one? I have seen a few around and I would think that visually there are a lot of extras already on it the A-spec. I do not like the blue leather though, but I suppose its a personal thing. Other than the blue leather its a nice vehicle. Performance wise, the A- spec is like the TL-s, and I question why you would mod this car more, however there are many here who need to.

 

I'm going for blue. Since both the blue and black cars have the blue inserts, I think it looks better when the inserts match the exterior of the car. I actually don't like leather at all, but everything I've looked at (except the BMW and Benz) only comes with leather. I'm actually looking for seat covers or something - I get too sweaty to sit on leather.

I don't think they can be too hard to get. The dealership here in Hamilton has 3 blue ones and 2 black ones on the lot that I saw. I actually went to the dealership to check out an RSX because I hadn't found anything that I really liked so far. The RSX was going to be my last option or I was just going to get another 2003 GTP since they're cheap right now. When the dealer found out I had a GTP they suggested I check out the TL. I was suprised it's priced pretty competitively with the 2003 GTP. When I saw the A-Spec, I decided it was a pretty cool car. Now it's just a matter of making sure I can get the deal I want.

As far as doing mods, the main thing is rims and maybe lowering it. I saw the TL's in the pics here, and they look really cool. At first I wasn't sure why the ones at the dealership didn't look as nice. I went back to look at them and saw that it's just because they have the stock rims (that I don't like) and because they sit up pretty high. My friends always joke about neon being really cheezy (none of us are really 'car people'), so I thought just for that I should get neon for it. In the future if I get more $, it would be cool to upgrade the sound and get navigation. I also like the dual exhaust tips that I've seen in a few pics...

 

some more info... Apparently there will only be 800 A-Spec's in North America. They come with a numbered A-Spec leather jacket. I'm suprised that this dealer has 5 of them. If I end up buying this, maybe the jacket will become a collectors item that I can sell to pay for the car.

 

I just got a TLs last week, personnaly I like the TLS instead of A-spec, I think A-spec is a very good deal, only $2000 more than the TLS.

 

As far as I can tell, they're selling it for less than an extra $2K. From carcostcanada.com I got a MSRP of $42850 (incl freight and air), and a dealer cost of $39506 for a TL-S. Unfortunately, carcostcanada.com didn't have a price for an A-Spec. The dealer is offering an A Spec to me for a little over $40000. That's less than a grand over the (supposed) _dealer_ cost of a regular TL-S.

 

I paid $40k for my TL-S in Toronto in June '02, so your deal sounds pretty good...

Dirk Diggler.

 

Well, I just sealed the deal (assuming my financing goes through). I take delivery of a blue A-Spec on Saturday! I used www.apa.ca to get their quote and used that to get an even better deal from the dealer. I'd highly recommend www.apa.ca for anyone buying a car in Canada. I felt a lot more confident bargaining with an APA offer (though the dealer wasn't overjoyed ).

 

I got my Aspec for 40,250 (that included pdi and frieght + 7yr/160,000 k comprehensive warranty+ full paint protection package including under coating rust proofing from Acura plus an extra key). Only taxes on top. this was in april 2003. With new TL coming soon the dealers are really anxious to move current inventory? I am sure we will see even better pricing as the time for new TL draws closer.

 

Good deal.

My advice is to see if the dealer will take the stock tires off your hands for $149 Cdn each (mine did) and upgrade to some summer rubber. (eg. 215/50/17 Dunlop SP9000, firestone SZ50 or Toyo TS1).

Also, I called all the GTA dealers for TLP 16 inch take off rims and ended up getting some for about $150 each.

For tires, if you can make your way to Toronto, Dave at Steelcase 905 479 8884 has always given me the best prices and great service.

 

Good luck with the A-spec. BTW, I like the stock rims but I hate my TL-P 2002 rims.