Hello all..........I have been reading this forum for about 6 or 7 months now and have really learned alot. I have had my TL S since June and have 12000 mi on it. No mods. For the money I really do think Acura has done a fairly good job with this car.................But I can not stand all the squeeks and rattles.............my last car a 2000 Accord V6 no strange sounds and before that a 1998 Acura Integra GSR again no squeeks or rattles. I also have some concerns with the quality of paint on the car................and then there are the transmission issues....... Quality Control? trying to save money ? So even though I do like to drive my car I want a car I can love to drive. Test drove a 330i
2 weeks ago and ordered a new one that same day!!!

Steel Grey
Sport Package
Premium Package
Self Leveling Bi-Xenon Lights (low and high beams)
Alarm
Home link

Now I know that many will argue the BMW cost to much more money for again what many will say is a very similiar car...... as I told myself the same thing for the last nine months but after spending some time with the 330i in my mind they really are very dis-similiar cars. To me the bottom line is Acura took the TL a nice upscale midsize family sedan put on some larger wheels and tires, stiffened the suspension a little and gave it enough horsepower to put a grin on your face when you punch it and that is it.

The BMW is a car designed for the enthusiast (rear wheel drive, 50/50 weight distributon and on and on and on )
If you do not believe me go drive one I mean really drive one not like a dragster but a sports sedan...... corners, traffic, that kind of stuff if.... I want to drag race I will get an American V8 powered car.

Car & Driver recently said " if this is not the best $40,000 sports sedan in the world show us a better one"

The last car I had that I really loved to drive was in 1991 a 91 300 zx twin turbo and then came children in 92 I hope that this car will satisfy my urges as I can not afford a M5.

And with that thank you for all the good information and good luck with your TL S I hope you all get many years of enjoyment out of them !!!

Signing off after on post,

J Cooper

 

Hey don't be a stranger...some of us were in the same boat but practically still live here.

BTW, great choice!

 

you made a great choice. Good luck

 

I wish you the best with the new car in your life. Nice choice.

 

I have to say this guy had the shortest life on the TL board without being banned.

Good luck with your new car. I'll wave to you at the BMW service center

 

Congrats! I know what you're saying about the 330ci. I test drove one and I fell in love. The only thing is, with all the things I wanted, it was too pricey. I feel if I get a BMW, I don't want to cheap out on options. Next car will definitely be something german.

 

You're trading in your car because of the squeaks....hmm. Don't suppose you had the dealer, um, try to fix the squeaks?

Oh, and yeah, your bimmer won't have any squeaks or problems of any kind.

 

Did you go with the stick or slush box? Good Choice I like the color.

 

Ahhh.....Nissan Skyline GTR . $38k.

Way better than Big Money Waste.

 

Notice how more TL/TLS owners are going to BMW rather than BMW owners going to TL/TLS. I'm just as guilty, but you guys really have to drive one to really apreciate it.

C'mon, you can't tell me that no TL's ever go get anything fixed. I know in my TL sqeaks were a problem but got them fixed...3 times, and still kept coming back, but no car is gonna be without them. Just didn't expect them in the first 6 months.

I agree with the C&D comment as I have yet seen a better sedan under $40K overall, but not my style cuz the car is too small.

 

Look up

 

Hey, Two post in Two days

On the squeeks and rattles my car has been to the dealer three times to find / fix the problems they did the sunroof and it was still making noise when I left the dealership. Also the closest dealer is about an hour away which I did not think would be a problem since I did not anticipate many dealer visits but I was some what incorrect.

Also I am not saying a BMW will be squeek and rattle free but come on, read the forums look at the percentage of people having these problems with TL's, in my opinion unacceptable.

To the slushbox question...................I got the 5 speed

Skyline ? Yes as far as pure seat of your pants performance it is a more capable car.........................but, what about everday ride quality, interior ammenities, comfort ? I think as a daily driver and sometimes family hauler the 330i will better suit my needs.

And to the post about waving when I am in the BMW service Dept well TL S transmission three weeks without your car again BMWs are not perfect nor are they trouble free so I can only hope for the best for you and yours and me and mine.

 

Best of luck coop.

I agree that the 330 is a different animal altogether.

I have an A4 and a TLS and I love them both for what they are, but they ARE different.

Don't worry about the negative comments, they're bound to happen. If nothing else, I hope Acura is paying attention. There's nothing better for us consumers than to have other consumers exercise their right to buy a different car so that manufacturers stay on their toes.

 

Please Please tell me you did not pay the dealer to install Homelink and the factory alarm.

You can save yourself at least $700 by purchasing them separately and installing them yourself. I did it on mine and it took me less than an hour to install both of them.

 

Man, I wish I was in his shoes. Rattles and squeaks are driving me insane. If I'd only lose $2000 on a trade-in, I would trade my car in. This will sound crazy but I'd rather have something break down on the car. Had a grand am that was the biggest POS, in the shop once a month. But no squeaks and rattles. The thing was, our grand am would break down and the dealer would fix it.
With rattles and squeaks, they don't really fix them b/c they dont always know what's causing them. So I'm always stuck driving a car w/ rattles. They didn't even put a decent stereo to help us drown out the noise.

 

If I was going to upgrade to BMW (which I fully plan to do for my next car) I'd go into the 5 series. I like the 330, but for some reason I can't see spending that much money (low $40k) for a 3 series. I'd rather spend the extra $2k - $15k (depending on options) for the 5 series... more specificly, the 540i 6-speed!!

Either way... good luck with your car. The BMW will have it's own problems I'm sure. Only time will tell if it's more of less then the TL. The difference is that if you're enjoying the BMW more, it won't matter to you....

 

It deosn't have to be that way. Buy a base 325 for $27,000. Keep their fake leather seats b/c they look better than real letaher in most other cars. Add a supercharger for $2000, Xenons for $600, fogs for $200, 17/18" wheels and tires for $1000, cd changer for $200 and you got yourself a nice machine for $31K-$32K.

 

GT-R is a sport coupe, not a seadan..
anyway i will pick a GT-R over a BMW 330i/CI anyday.
Good luck with ur new car. don't get me wrong, i love Bimmer, and my next car is gonna to be a BMw too.

 

Well I know that, but is like the TL/CL sedan 4 doors / coupe 2 doors. Same freaking car. I'll put a line on the door so it looks like 4 doors making it a sedan. J/K

 

If you didn't know, the skyline is top of the line nissan quality, it has all the interior ammenities the bmw has, like auto A/C, auto windows, auto fading rearview mirror, HID's, 4 airbags, keyless entry/w kill switch....etc you could even add navigation system and TV tuner from nissan since it comes with a LCD screen stock that shows you G-force/engine real time specs. Comfort well the seats are not leather. but the bmw is as sitff as a stock skyline.

 

Of course, there's always the issue that you can't get the GTR in the US right now, so it's somewhat of a moot point. At least I can get a 330i here...

 

Excuse me!!!!!!

This what they said:

Car & Driver recently said " if this is not the best $40,000 sports sedan in the world show us a better one"

They didn't say US. they said......world.....I'm showing them a better one, of course the sedan/coupe point is the only thing keeping this comment alive.

 

Wow! Calm down there, buddy...I wasn't disagreeing with you, just saying that while it may be true that the GT-R is a better sport sedan for $40K (which it's not, of course, because of the whole "sedan/coupe point"), it doesn't really help much for someone in the US to know that there's something better but basically inaccessible out there.

 

If ANYBODY thinks that watered down G35 is a @#$%^& Skyline your on dope.

The SKYLINE we all KNOW AND LOVE "Blackbird" has 400 ponies eagerly waiting to be pushed, AWD and every electronic gizmo known to man. It is also a COUPE. This G35 IS NOT A SKYLINE.

It does seem to be getting some good reviews so it will hold it's own on it's own merits.

But that awkward looking 4 door is NOT a Skyline.

 

Scroll down the link and that blue thing, that is a SKYLINE!

http://www.supraforums.com/showthrea...5&pagenumber=2

 

I've never driven a Skyline, read great things and could possibly agree that it is the best car under $40K...but has anyone driven one?

Still curious as to why so many people hate BMW...

 

i drove once back in Hong Kong last summer. it was my friend car. it is blue 98 GT-R. well i really can't tell u how was it. his GT-R is mod and da damm clucth is so heavy. i got it stall out four time to get it rolling in first gear. i didn't really floor. but i can fell those push-u-back-in-the-seat feel. too bad i don't have my digcam btw time i was driving.

 

Car & Driver recently said " if this is not the best $40,000 sports sedan in the world show us a better one"

I am going to write to Car and Driver and tell them about the Audi S4.

IMO, it is much more car than a 330i. and yeah...it cost 40k...

 

"Still curious as to why so many people hate BMW..."

Nobody hates BMW, there's nothing to hate.

Many feel that there are better cars out there for the money, particularly when you factor in the long term cost of ownership and the fact that they make you pay for every option.

Also, unless you live in Texas or LA, where it never rains, RWD is not the most versitile format. You have a great sports sedan when it's dry, but when it rains, you may as well be driving a Chevette.

 

actually the V-Spec GT-R is a coupe... but they do have the GT and GT-R sedans which are very luxury for a car that can kick that fast... but u won't find it in the states newayz so its impossible unless u gonna ship it over... as for the 330, why not pop for the xi?? make it AWD.. hehehe but for that price... sorry but the 540i looks more attractive and the quickest V-8 6spd out there... hehehe i thought all cars squeak tho??? hehehe rattles can come when u have a box in the back and the bass is too loud.. thats why i insulated my trunk and put the bass up high so i can't hear the squeaks...

 

Hey lex theres no need to hate.

The G35 is NOT a skyline GTR.
But it is indeed a skyline. The G35 is the 4door nissan skyline.

 

----------------
Yes BMW makes a great drivers car, but they still can't ergonomically design the inside of a car if their lives depended on it. For Gods sake, who the hell wants to look at red lights for the instrumentation unless there was an error light on? The knobs and buttons look like there were designed 10 years ago. Almost as bad as the American cars… well not that bad.

I know most of you are looking at straight performance, but some of us do like the way the inside looks as well. That’s where you spend most of your time with the car anyways. Our TL-S makes any Beamer look pathetic when it comes to interior design.

At least in my opinion.

Myers

 

the skyline 350GT-8 http://www.nissan.co.jp/SKYLINE/V35/...EUP/index.html

comes with that new tranny called Continuously Variable Transmission that I think it has not gears or something, pretty need stuff.

 

Their marketing is really paying off !!
I can't understand what Myers was talking about red instrumentation, it's orange, not even red-orange. People need to realize that Japanese styling is usually conservative, although they're trying. German and Swedish styling is much different, always has been, so you can't say "they're ugly, we're stylish". BMW and Mercedes' cars are built like tanks, very solid, and you really can't say that too much about Japanese/American vehicles. The seats especially are very cockpit-like, surrounding you almost. And believe me Myers, sit in a 540, there are things in there that my GS never thought of, ashtrays that slide up and out (surrounded by a cool orange ring around it), same with the cigarette lighter, visors with lights above them that only come when you slide open the mirror, and only when the visor is at a certain angle, on-board computer with a stopwatch, etc. Ironically BMW builds their cars driver-oriented, when you sit in one you feel like part of the car. Toyota and Honda have been chastised for building mostly "soulless" cars, read a review for either the TLS or the GS, they say they're quick, but they'll always take a BMW over them ultimately regardless. Biased, maybe, but until you actually sit in one and drive it, believe me I was converted when my wife got her 330 conv. those things are a blast to drive

 

Ted, you are missing the point. Yea, we all know how great a car BMW and Mercedes makes. Man I get tired of hearing that. So I wonder why the Acura’s and Lexus’s are so popular? The bottom line is this … you get more car for the money with the Japs.
Ted, I have sat in a 540…and a 3 series, and a 7 series, and the C series and E series and the SLK and the CLK and the S class and all the Audi’s and Volkswagens. Believe it or not I did look at other cars before I bought the TL-S.
The Germans nickel and dime you to death. As you probably know a similarly equipped BMW 330 to the TL-S is going to run 40K. Give me a break! 40k for that shoebox! I don’t care how much of a “drivers car” it is. It isn’t THAT much better than the TL.

As for the interiors… your GS is at the end of its life cycle and is due for a redesign this October. You’re looking at a car that has been around for 6 years. It still looks better than the current BMW’s interiors. Have you seen the inside of the new ES? The Germans haven’t got a clue.
As for the instrumentation… Red or Orange are not pleasing colors to the eye. Traffic signals tell us Red means stop, Yellow means caution… get the idea?

In your defense, The Germans do have body design and mechanical engineering down. There is nothing like a German inline six.

Of course this stuff is all based on my expression of judgment and I’m sure you will disagree. I guess that’s what makes America great. We can all disagree and that’s OK.

Myers

 

Well put.

 

I got mine in June too, under 7000 miles. Noise every where inside that I can't even tell which seats is comming from. So... 2002 TLS Silver w/Navi 6700 miles, how much can i get from trade in? or I should sell it myself? Or i should drive one more year to sell it?

 

All the little things were bothering me too, but wasn't considering a new car until I drove the s4. That decision took about 5 seconds. Granted, I took a little hit money wise, but I got a great deal on the S4 and they gave me a reasonable price for my 01 TL.

Enjoy......I certainly am!!!!!

 

The Japanese have excelled in everything from automobiles (LS430 - Cd = .25 most aerodynamic car in the world!!) to the arts (Multiple oscar winning director Akira Kurosawa)... they make some of the best musical instruments around (Yamaha grand pianos are arguably the best in the world, Yanigasawa saxophones are among the best in the world, Takamine guitars are among the best in the world... the list goes on and on...)

Finally I must say in my experience I have noticed that the Japanese are some of the most hardworking, committed and dedicated people on the planet. I really admire their culture.

 

[cartman]God I hate youu guyss...[/cartman]
:p