I bought my 99 TL cause i thought it was amazing car because of luxury and performance. So far all the money i have put into since i bought it has been thousands for up keep and not any thing performance. Recently my car's cd player shits up then the check engine light comes on and the maintaince light flashes and the tach goes crazy. Also the tranny shifts rough alot and its already on its third tranny. I might be trading it in soon for a 98 M3 i saw a great deal on at a local dealership. Any opinions from u guys about wut could be wrong with my car or about the M3. its a red sedan with 70k in mint condition. Also if i trade it in for a new car i heard something about a lemon law for the tranny cause they were all done by acura and i might need a forth tranny now. i heard the dealership will buy the car back for full value because of the lemon law

 

m3 FTMFW!

 

Good luck with that. You thought the TL cost you money to keep running

Oh and you might want to google "Lemon Law" for your state. You by no means will qualify for it.

 

Seriously the M3 can be worse than the TL but may not, just like the TL you never know what you gonna get.

 

haha thats funny, m3 can be worse? are you serious? they dont have the kind of problems like these buckets do. Yo man if you can get that sedan m3 go fo it, thats one of my all time favorite cars.too bad they dont have any in canada and I dont have money to import one from US but I wish I could get one so bad. coupe or sedan it dont matter its a sick car and better then a TL for sure.

 

try searching electrical systems in the E36 M3, search SMG tranny in the E46 M3, yes they are beautiful cars but with more expensive fixes.

 

yea but when you are fixing it you know why you are fixing it, cuz its fricking crazy and one of the best cars ever, unlike some jap car that there are millions of out there. e36 is a legend, acura 3.2TL, not so much.and a 4 door is a prety rare m3 car so...

 

^^ i came from a modded e36 coupe, which i still have (now stock) i will never go from my TL to a e36 again. my buddy has 4dr M , the e36 is a gorgeous car dont get me wrong, the styling is beautiful the handling is good but the TL is more luxurious, more features, and i just flat out love my TL

 

m3 e36 is my dream car, too bad that they are almost 10 years old now and you cant realy get one in good condition in canada.if you find one they are real expencive, over 20gs. so now I am driving a tl and hoping that in a year or 2 I save up enough for an e46. too bad I had to buy an apartman for my parents in europe, otherwise I would have one in my garage right now.

 

are you serious?? Your think you have it bad now, just wait. my mom's 7-series is in the shop once a month at about 400 bucks a pop, and that car is only four years old.....

 

M3 willmake you fall in love on the roads, will kill you in the shop. whether the compromise is worth it is your choice. hence why i, and we, drive TLs

 

I concur with everyone else. If you think the TL is expensive, wait til you get the Bimmer. You haven't taken it (the TL) to the dealer to see why it is acting up?

Of course most people here are going to tell you to keep the TL, this is an Acura enthusiasts website. Try posting in the Off Topic Car Talk section for a little bit more of an unbiased opinion. They will still lean you in the Acura direction, but people over there have more info on other brands as well.

 

I dont think its a biased opinion its just the facts and the E46 M3 is one of my favorite cars but its a risk dropping the loot on it unless you have a warranty.

 

yea goes without saying...

and not even like the BMW's are sooo much more unreliable.. but cost$$.. forget about it... everybody knows it.. the parts are very expensive..

they are awesome cars though.. nothing drives like a beamer.. however.. a 10 year old beamer may be past its prime

 

Bimmer Bimmer, That is a toughy. I love them BMW's especially since it is an M3. How much more would you have to put in after the trade in?

 

Buddy - have you owned a BMW before? I have - I left it for the TL.

in 1.5 years of owning I had

1. Tranny die
2. sunroof die
3. electrical issues GALORE
4. power door locks wouldn't work when it was hot outside
5. ball joints - BALL JOINTS!!! AT 120K KM's!
and more...

Over $10,000.

Had my TL for 2 years now - not 1 issue.

Deep

 

yea see my parents bought me a tl and if I had the choice between the m3 98 and a 99 tl, obviously the beemer. but thats just me. I was actually looking at a 5 series before I got the tl and I wanted to get it so bad, it was the same price but alot more KM and it was an accident car. and since my parents were gettign it for me they were bitching about RWD in the winter in canada and I just didnt wanna deal with it.

 

RWD + winter in Canada = FUN!

 

If you don't keep up with basic/scheduled maintence then any car will give you problems. Everyone here is well aware of our tranny problems. Acura 98% of the time replaces it at no cost and the other 2% have to pay for labor since they are out of warranty.

The maintence light flashing is not an issue, it's a reminder for service due. The previous owner may have not taken good care of the car either. In general these cars are very reliable, easy to fix, and cheap to own.

BMW on the other hand isnt. If you want a BMW lease one, this way you can give it back in 3 years. Any problems you encounter will be covered under warranty. You couldn't pay me to drive a BMW or Mercedes. I'd rather get an old school muscle car.

 

BMWs are nice, but fuck paying for basic maintenance, its ridiculous. (not to mention thier great reliability compared to Honda) It isn't worth it unless you make good money, and if you don't like keeping up with the TL in costs, you should stop even considering a bimmer..

 

^^^^

It's not about the money - I could have easily afforded the BMW's expenses. I just would not accept that a supposed quality luxury car could have to so many common issues and that the owners would chaulk it up to performance and say it was acceptable! To me it was NOT...

Deep

 

WOW, what is this guy smokin?

 

This might be more affordable for yah

 

Says a tow truck driver:

In order of # of tows, here are the winners (losers to their owners):

1. Mercedes
2. BMW
3. Audi

Seems for all their mechanical & dynamic qualities, the electrical reliability is the consistent, severe, nagging headache of owning a German car.

Second to that is their cost of ownership (repairs, insurance, etc.)

Ergo, its only Honda / Acura and Toyota / Lexus in my future. I prefer my cars to start when I turn the key.

 

Hahaha and it's even an e46 !

I agree with these guys. I recently helped my girlfriend change her mind about an e36 M3. Not to get into a German / Japanese reliability brawl, the "thousand dollar upkeep" you complain of with the TL will certainly not be cured by buying a 10yr old M. It's going to be worse. A lot worse. OEM Honda parts aren't nearly as expensive as the premium you'll pay for M parts.

 

That one was probably made in Japan. That would make it the most reliable BMW ever.

 

lmao very ture, great gas mileage too.

 

Dude..., If you think Tl is expensive, just wait till you get the BMW.
My X have one, and I know acouple people have one too.
They're POS.
But the newer one are nice(some improvement).
All German car is really expensive when it breaks.
IF I be you get another TL, or atleast stay with japanese cars.