I made a deal with a guy to buy his '02 TLS w/ Nav blk/blk. I am awaiting income verification for my loan and then the deal is on. However, I am having MAJOR second thoughts and am considering backing out because of all the problems you owners are having with your cars.

I don't think I can stand tranny problems, squeeks and rattles, and Edmunds' Town Hall owners' problems with peeling paint. I just think this is way too much hassle for a $30K+ car, much less for any late model car!

I have loved the Lexus GS series since it first came out, but recently swayed towards the TL because I can get a new TL for the same price as a 3 year old GS. I have rarely heard about any problems from ClubLexus GS owners, even on their '98 GS's with over 70K miles.

So my question to you owners is this...would you recommend I buy the TL, or should I go with something else. Do you consider the TL to be a lemon, or liken it to gambling where you might pick a winner or you might not?

***Would you recommend this car to your best friend or someone in your family???

I greatly appreciate each one of your comments. Thank You.

 

I loved my 2001 TL and had no problems or complaints with it in 9 months and 12000 miles until someone hit it. I will be buying another soon.

 

First of all, you ARE on the TL-S forum.

Second, I would recommend this car to my friends or family..Without a doubt....Every manufacturer has buyers that are in one of two categories...those that get good cars that have no problems but the owners are overly picky(which isnt necessarily a bad thing) and those that get cars that DO have problems. There is nothing out of the ordinary with these cars that a dealer trip cant fix or that most people live with day to day...I love it.

D

 

I don't think you should take the posts on this forum as representative, these people are not normal. I haven't see anything unusual except for the tranny problems, and from what I have read that was with a specific lot.
I think that general reliability studies do have Lexus slightly better than Acura, but both are much above average. And if it's between an '02 and a 3-year old car I'm sure the Acura would do better. And hopefully has more miles left on the warranty.

 

Although some TLs will have problems (as with ANY car, even Bentleys), Acura does not produce model lines that are lemons. A more careful perusal of the GS board will reveal just as many complaints over there.

That being said, you're probably going to get an awful lot of recommendations for the TL here. As daryl said, this is the TL forum, and most of these people bought the car (over the GS, among other competitors) because they believe in it. If you post this same question over at ClubLexus, you will get a lot of people telling you to get a used GS over a new TL, because they looked at the choices and decided the Lexus was best for them.

If your only concern about the TL is reliability, then hopefully replies to this thread will put your mind at ease.

 

i would definitely recommend this car to anyone i meet. for its price it's definitely the best bang for the buck. right there are little problems here and there (my seat belt and sunroof) but they are not major.

for the tranny problem, you can't just rely on couple of stories. it's true that there are some failures, but you should keep in mind about the even more successful stories out there too. if you look at the percentage i really don't think it's any hgher than usual at all.

i have couple of friends with lexus and they do have their complains as well. some of them DO have squeaks and some of them have warpped rotors and stuff. but to be fair if you talk about the quality i wouldn't be surprised that lexus is much better.

but overall, our car is of great values, and i love it.

 

I am a regular member on a lexus board and they have their share of problems. Remember every car maker have their share of problems.

IMO, I would definitely recommend the TL/TL-S to any of my friends, family members, etc...

 

The Acura is the smoothest most luxuriest ride for under 30K. I bought my car in July and I can't get enough of it. I often go out with my wife at night just to take it out on the highway and enjoy the ride. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat.

 

I like my ride, but given another chance, I would not get the TL-S. If I were forced to make a decision right now, I would get a IS300 5-spd. I know everyone likes to bash this car, but it is fun as crap to drive. It might be small in the back seat, it might not have as good of a 0-60 time as TL-S's / Maxima's, but it is rear wheel drive, does not look like every other car out there, and is a blast to drive on any road. My friend got a silver one with the titanium wheels recently. I'll admit I'm jealous, but mine will come when they give it a "real" update.

 

I bought my TL-S when they first came out last March. I've had no squeaks, rattles, transmission problems (even though the early cars seem most susceptible), or any problems whatsoever (knock on wood). The reason I bought the car was that you get an incredible amount of "stuff" for what you pay and a pretty decent "fun factor" too. Would I do it again? Hard to say. I came from a C36 AMG and while a BMW and M-B are more expensive than the TL, you do give up a lot of engineering and design for the money you save with Acura. I'm willing to bet that the '04 TL will be much more competitive in the $30K segment than the current car which was introduced in '99.

 

Yes, if that's the only thing holding you back then get it.

Those of us who are problem free do not tend to post about it that much so what you see on a BB is not a random sample.

I would recommend this car for what it is to anyone without a doubt - namely, a reliable, well equipped, extremely fast, good looking, sporty sedan at a great price.

 

I am kind of in the same shoes as you, looking for a new car. I have considered an used E320, CLK, 540I, and GS400. The only problem is, I got a sweet deal on the TL and I can't refuse. I had an 02 TLS but I crashed it 3 months ago. I had very little problems with it and they were fixed easily. Good luck with your decision!

 

My car is just like the one you are considering (except for the mods below). I am now over 10K miles and have had no issues. Only squeek or rattle I have is the drivers seat squeeking. I do think the paint is poor.....but that is a formulation issue now with pretty much all paints. I still love the car and wouldnt trade it for anything within 5K$ of it! Now if I could get a loaded Audi A6 2.7t for 5K$ more....then........oh well.......thats another tale....

 

My TL is my second Acura (previous '93 Vigor), and I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. In addition, my brother is on his third Acura, it's an MDX. He previously had a '92 Vigor and a '95 Legend and he's been happy with all of his cars.

Look at the Consumer Reports reliability records for the TL, they are based on real owner experience. The TL is one of the highest scoring models.

What you see on this site is a statistical anomaly. Look at how many members on this site and compare them with how many have had tranny problems. Then compare that statistic with how many are sold.

As for the squeaks and rattles, I guarantee that you can find more expensive cars with owners complaining of the same.

 

Why buy a used car that is only several months old? That is not the thing to do (unless you are getting his car for no more than $28K). Why not just buy brand new? You'll most likely get a better interest rate which will make up for the difference in cost or at least come close and the car is BRAND NEW! You'll be the one to know its entire history. You can break it in, change the oil how often you'd like, etc... I am against buying used cars that are almost brand new. Why is this guy selling his car? Just go out and buy a brand new TL-S IMO.

 

Just something to think about when you see more complaints
about Acuras than Lexus.

Lexus sold approx 18,000 GS's last year.
Acura sold approx 90,000 TL's and CL's.

 

thats a good point, if you can get a brand new one for a couple of grand more, get a new one. Maybe he knows something about that car you don't

as for reliability, make sure you get the warranty transfered to your name, sh*t happens, it doesn't mean every tl will have a tranny failure, I'd be more concerned about getting the freakin headlights stolen. Where do you live, park, leave the car often?

good luck

 

1. TAX
2. Depreciation

 

"Lexus sold approx 18,000 GS's last year.
Acura sold approx 90,000 TL's and CL's."

Well.. yeah, but Lexus also outsold Acura by about 50,000 cars too, and hasn't ranked lower than Acura overall for defects (and please don't mention the stat about initial quality which Lexus and Acura have both won, it only takes the 1st 3 months of ownership into consideration, which really means nothing considering all vehicles are warranty covered by this period). Also, if you can save a few grand, why not buy it used ? It's still under warranty, you'll have extra cash in your pocket, and a 2002 TLS to boot.

 

"Lexus sold approx 18,000 GS's last year.
Acura sold approx 90,000 TL's and CL's."

That quote would makle me want to buy a Lexus. They are awesome cars and there is not 90,000 of them out there.

 

To be honest, Lexus is actually cutting back production of all of it's vehicles so to keep them less prevalent, i.e not like Camry and Accord, they're everywhere.

 

I am on my second Acura product, the first being a 1987 Legend which we still have. It has 215,000 on the odo and still runs well.

As far as the TL-S goes, I have not had a single problem save a problem with the paint's tendency to get stained. It was easily buffed out under warranty and I now run a bra on road trips. I have had no mechanical problems with the trans or anything else and have yet to hear my first rattle or squeak. I have had the car for 10 months and 11,000 miles and my wife and I both love it. I still like to just hop in and go for a cruise to relax.

I would highly recommend the car to friend or family.

I have a friend who has had two TL's. The first went with his wife. The second, he bought to replace the first. It's a white 2001 and the only thing he wishes is that he knew the S was coming out 3 months later.

 

Ummm... it wasn't an argument. It was a point, based on his
exact comparison. There's around half a million TLs on the road.
You're bound to hear more about them then the GS. GS400 is
a fine car... I almost got one.
no please.

 

FWIW, I read about all these problems too back in the Summer and was having second thoughts about getting a TLS. I was assured by a few that these problems are more the exceptions rather than the norm. I got my TLS in September and haven't had and problems yet (knocking on wood.) Anyway, I'm sure if you look hard enough, you will find all cars have their share of problems, hope you are not one of them and if so , hope the dealer can fix it to your satisfaction. My 2 cents. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

Sorry Closer, you're right, I apologize if that came across as elitist. Another thought though, if your logic is true, does that mean that most of the 3 billion Fords out there aren't POS's ?

 

And there are maybe 4-5000 GS 400/430s a year out of the 20,000.

FACT BUBS, Lexus (again) ranks FIRST in quality after 5 YEARS OF OWNERSHIP, nuff said.

Forget how old. A 45k Lexus properly maintained for 3 years will BE WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT will be on par or more reliable than most EVERY car out there.

And you'd be surprised how many rich people buy used cars 3 months to a couple of years old, YOU take that depreciation, feel me.


And what GS 3 or 4?

 

Though I'd hardly call myself rich, that's what we did when buying a used Land Cruiser.

New ones are around $55k. We bought a three year old one (at the time) with 45K miles for $32K and paid $900 for an extended warranty that will take it up to 100K miles.

Sure I don't have a brand new car, but I've saved myself $20K, I'm driving a vehicle that I normally would have no business owning and best of all, I'm still protected with a warranty.