ABDomega

For those of you who voluntarily purchased/lease your TL, why did you pick it over the competition? I ask this mainly because if I didn’t live in a cold/wintry climate 3 months out of the year I probably would have gotten something with RWD. I know this would bump up the price but that is just me. If I lived in SoCa or Florida or any other sunny areas, I probably would have chosen a different car.

Just wondering.

adam2000TL

One word: Value

edgalang

Unlike some people on this board, I'm not going to pretend and say I could of gotten anything I like. Unfortunately I'm not made of money, so I first planned out my expenses, then after calculating on what I can afford to BUY (not LEASE), I then broke it down to my list of "must haves" and started my process of elimination from there.

#1 Must have 4 doors.

#2 I promised myself a NAV, and it must be of the nation-wide DVD kind. This is something I've always wanted to try out in life. I figure it's much better knowing how it feels like now, rather than constantly living in curiosity and regret later.

#3 Must have leather seats. The TLS by far is the best car I've ever owned, and until now, have never experienced sitting in a leather seat that I can call my own (office chairs don't count).

#4 At least a 5-speed automatic. A 6-speeder would of been nice, but I was going to use this car as a daily commuter (100+ miles a day), so no manual tranny for me. A 4-speed wasn't an option here because again, all my cars have been a 4-speed, and I wanted to try out something where I can shift through more than 1 gear during a high speed run.

#5 Automatic climate control. I'm sick and tired of always having to play with the knobs. If I plan on paying this much money, I want to set it and forget it.

#6 HIDs. Back then I've always considered having HID headlights as part of the elite. (naturally I was curious to see what owning one would be like)


So what finally made the list?

2002 Acura TLS (introduced 1-2 months before purchase)
2001 Audi 1.8t Quattro (Nav only offered in 2.8)
2001 Lexus IS300 (No NAV offered yet)
2001 Volvo S40 (Too pricey once fully loaded)
2001 BMW 325 (Same as S40 + No NAV)
2001 Maxima SE (No 5-speed Auto)
2001 Infiniti I35 (G35 was NOT out yet)
2001 Mercedes C240 (too small...too slow)

To be honest...if only the maxima was offered in a 5-speed auto then I would of probably gotten that instead. It would of been ranked the best in value, and you also get better aftermarket support in the end. But unfortunately the list is the list, so after all the have cars passed through the filtering process, the only ones left remaining was the TLS and the I35.

Well, after test driving both and comparing them side by side, the "young at heart" finally took over and I chose the TLS with a bodykit. I just couldn't stand the "brown wood" for some reason.

jean

To put it simply..
..it was the best bang for the buck..
it was the winner over:
-BMW 325i
-Volvo S60
-Chev Monte Carlo SS
J

Greg D

Basically, in the price range, it's the best value. Heated seats, leather, moonroof, xenon headlights, all standard. I hate purchasing a car, and have to pick from different option packages. With the TL, it's already done. Once I drove it, I was sold..... I have no problems with my car, and still enjoy driving it every day.

ABDomega

OK, after hearing those responses...
How about those who bought your ride and modded it out. It seems some people on this board have at least $1000 worth of mods, some much more. If I were you I would have taken my original money + my mod money and put that into a RWD sports sedan.

???

mentl

Yup.

doopstr

We compared the TL to the ES300 and BMW330.

BMW was too small and too much $. The ES300 ('01) was really nice but not quite sporty enough. Neither had NAV.

The ES was a close second but the TL just offered more bang for the buck and it presents a sportier nature.

SlyTLS

I bought mine b/c I like the styling of the car and the look of the 2002-03 front end. Also for the price I got everything I was looking for.
One of my biggest turnoffs when buying a car is the packages that a lot of dealers force you into to get what you want (i.e. Nissan)...in order to get the sunroof you must get the BOSE stereo or in order to get leather you must get the sunroof, etc... With this car I got it all without the added expenses of things I didn't want.

fsttyms1

VALUE, honda reliaibility,

lovemyTL

cheapest lease price....even cheaper than a 626...I figured that 28K was out of my price range, but when I started to compare the lease prices, a base TL beat out cars that were 5-6K less than it. so why not?!? (and it was only $60 more per month over a loaded accord coupe EX V6)

AndySara

VALUE !!!
even with mods, the closest "near Luxury" car wthe the same options cost $4000 more.

Chemmech

Yeah what he said, Value!!! I also considered the G35, but once I saw it from behind on the freeway, well it didn't suit my tasts.

lndshrk

Since moving out to Chicago, my blown 98 Cobra wasn't doing so well out here in the cold, not to mention the terrible road conditions and overall city driving experience. So, when I decided another car was in order, I wanted something a bit more luxurious, but I still wanted to keep it in my price range. The TL has it all standard, and I have no need for a Navi system.

As for picking the TLP over the S, it's two-fold. One, when I went to the dealer, I really liked the White Diamond Pearl in person, and they had one in stock, and it wasn't a type S. Secondly, 225 vs 260hp doesn't mean much when I'm switching from a 400+hp daily driver! Basically, value and styling are win!

FTM-1

I got mine because I had been a long time HONDA owner.
I had purchased 3 other HONDA cars new & wanted to stay with the brand name. My last car before the TL was a 94 ACCORD EX 5speed sedan. This was one of the 1st to be sold when that model was redisign. I needed a bigger car after 6yrs of having the ACCORD. The TL had many of the safety features like side airbags,traction control, HID LIGHTS that the current ACCORD did not have at that time. I also wanted to give up the 5 speed manual after driving the other HONDA cars for 20yrs with them.
The TL had the 5 speed sprort-shift tranny that I liked.
This car had alot of stuff that others did not & it was bang for the buck & a great looking car.

this is me

i like the looks and the value i'm getting. the TL is no doubt a head turner.
but sometime i also feeling regret of buying it b/c of the annoying little things like rattles and squeaks. If i have 35k on my hand rite now and didnt have the TL-S already, i would consider the Z-350 although its RWD and i live in the extreme wintry weather.

kevin034

I agree w/ the posts above. Value. The navigation system (optional) that came w/ my CL-S (same as the TL) puts BMWs, MBs, Audis, etc. to shame. It's only of the best cars for the money out there!

taestee

wow. i was choosing between almost the same cars...

325i and the s60. no american muscle for me tho

BigNard

The biggest reason I purchased my TL, and the reason I would buy another one, is the list of standard features. I absolutely hate having to choose options like some of you stated above. It makes purchasing so much easier, and I really do not understand why most car makers do not do this because it seems so much more cost-effective to build vehicles to the same specs instead of making the vehicle in ten different varieties.

y2ks2k

I test drove the IS300 and 330 Sedan. The IS300 literally felt like my 98 Civic with a litle more pep and the BMW didn't impress me at all and I refuse to pay the 10K BWM emblem tax, figure I'm not susceptible to their marketing, I simply don’t understand the whole BWM thing. I knew the TL would have excellent performance once I lowered it a bit and took off the anemic stock wheels and tires. Thats all it really needed. Heck.. Even stock it pulls higher lat G's and faster slol times the the BMW and must utterly destroy it with the proper setup that pretty much matches the BMW's stock setup.

BlackShadow

Actually, I really didn't do any research on the TL when I bought it. One of my friends had just bought a brand new 98 CL and I was in love with it. But I had to have 4 doors so I went to check out the nearest Acura dealer. I test drove it and fell head over heels for it. I have been happy ever since. And now that I look back at it, nothing comes even remotely close to a 99 TL when it first came out.

2001TL4KCdude

yep all of the above and honda reliability. I drove a 92 accord and had really good luck with it so for me the 3.2 is a natural choice

2007AcuraRL

The TL is a piece of sh|t and Acura ought to go out of business In My NOT so humble opinion! I cannot forgive a company that has a well documented tranny that is defective in its design and/or manufacturing and whose idea of "stepping up to the plate" to all of the buyers who plunked down $30-35k for the car is to extend the warranty rather than recall them all and fix 'em. I just joined the ever growing defective Acura tranny club today and let me tell you, its no fun driving on the highway at 60 MPH and suddenly having the car lurch to a partial stop because the f~cking tranny decides to drop into 2nd gear. I damn nearly got thrown to the window when it did that (and yes i was wearing my seatbelt). Not only is the warranty extension a chicken sh|t way of handling something so dangerous, but in doing so Acura must not seem to care that a few people might get hurt or killed if rear ended when the tranny decides to crap out. If i had totalled my car tonight and suffered personal injury i would be filing a lawsuit against Acura first thing tomorrow morning and I would seek punitive damages given the serious risk Acura's business decisions have placed all 2nd generation TL owners in. Being as I am an attorney, I will be calling Acura tomorrow to speak to their law department just the same. They need to get serious about this most serious and dangerous defect.
Oh, and getting back to your question "why TL" -- the answer is save yourself the trouble and buy a different car. The TL does not deserve any praises for reliability, and as for the argument that i often see on these message boards about the TL being the best value for the price... A defective car is NO value at ANY price.

planetside

I'd have to agree that it also came down to value for money for me. I was looking at a bunch of cars, from a Camry (yes, a Camry!) to the VW Passat, Altima 3.5 and a Volvo S40. Each time, there was something I wanted in the car and it was either an option or not available. I think the closest I found to what I wanted was the Altima, but after test driving it, I wasn't that impressed with the interior. It really came down to what the TL-S offered; luxury and comfort with a sportiness that I've always craved. I've never owned a "nice" car in my life; the last car was a Ford Escort, so I wasn't very used to having certain luxuries in an automobile. One very small point that I considered as well was the somewhat "conventional" look of the TL-S. It looks good, don't me wrong, but its styling is conservative, and I'm not big into having people stare at the car. Sorta funny to say that, but it played a part in the decision when compared to other cars in the TL-S class.

Danny

adam2000TL

I believe the question was why did we initially buy/lease our cars, not why we have kept them. Your answer succinctly answers the latter.

I whole heartedly agree with your assesment of Honda's posture regarding the documented tranny issues. As an attorney, I'm sure you'll agree with me that it's a far smarter decision to recall the product as opposed to facing countless potential BI suits.

Unfortunately, we all know how corporate America, or in this case corporate Japan deals with such issues. It is sad to say that their won't be a recall until someone gets seriously injured.

Does the word Firestone ring a bell?

2007AcuraRL

actually the unfortunate reality of Acura's corporate mentality is based upon a risk/benefit analysis thats common in tort law. If it costs less to do nothing, then as an economic decision, that is what a company will do. In practical terms. what it means to consumers is that Acura has already calculated the potential risk the tranny poses. This includes the number of persons they estimate might likely die as a result of a catastophic failure. If the number is low, they are economically better off paying a few law suit verdicts rendered against the company so long as that dollar figure is less than what it would cost for a total recall of all 2000-2003 TLs.
As a practical matter, they would not deviate from that formula until the cost of lost sales (from prospective customers who find out about the tranny failure problem and decide to buy another brand of car as a result) coupled with law suit verdicts, reaches near the cost of a tranny recall.

kcroberge

I too will agree with most of what others have said. I looked long and hard to find a replacement for my 1990 Integra GS (I love the way that car handles). We have had a great history with my wife's 1994 Volvo 850 (120k problem free miles) so I started by looking at the S60 Turbo.

I still like the S60 but to me there were three things that turned me off. The trunk opening is way too small. It would be hard to put a large piece of luggage in it. Second the emergency brake handle is to high and too close to the driver (center console mounted), I seemed to always be hitting it. Third, I didn't want the added expense and service of the turbo when I can get the same performance from a non-turbo car (TL). The navi was more of an after-thought to Volvo at the time, I didn't really care for their solution. Other than that I liked the car, it handled great.

I also looked at the MB C240/320. It handled good, but it was too small and way over-priced. Though it and the Volvo beat Acura hands down when it comes to safety features. Both have side air bag head curtains and the Volvo has the anti-whiplash feature.

I looked at the Audi A4. The size was OK, but even the 3.0l to me had anemic handling. The interior styling was good, but the exterior was on the plain side. It just didn't reach out to me and say "you need me".

I didn't even test drive the BMW. I don't care for the styling of the 3-series, and the price is a definite turn-off.

I looked at the Jaguar X-type. Nice styling, decent handling. All wheel drive was attractive. But Jaguar has never had a good reputation for quality and resale value, and I don't see that Ford has improved that much yet. Also it looks too similar to a Ford Taurus for me.

The IS300 was too small. The ES300 was again overpriced and too cheap looking in the interior. The exterior styling is nice, but not an attention getter.

So, like everyone else, it came down to styling and features for the price. I have had other Hondas without problems. I had 130k miles on my Integra without problems when I got rid of it. To me there was nothing out there that could beat the TL-S for what I was looking for. I am at 9 months and 10k miles without a single squeak, rattle or any other problem to note.

I did get the transmission warranty letter from Acura. It is a problem I will deal with if and when it occurs, but I don't lose sleep over it. From what I've seen the failure rate is around 2%. That to me does not justify the complete recall of the model line. It doesn't appear that NHTSA has found enough data to force a recall yet either. I hope that no one gets hurt. But the fact that no one has yet shows that the condition is not serious enough to force a recall.

My two cents worth.

2007AcuraRL

I have just reported my incident with the NHTSA. It only takes a few minutes to file the report with them and I would recommend everyone who was a victim of tranny failure to call them. Their number is 888-327-4236.

As a side note, i called Acura's customer hotline for the telephone number of their General Counsel and was told i could only communicate with thier law dept by letter or fax... HA! I can communicate with them with a summons and complaint too... we will just have to see what happens.

randomwalk101

For the guy (or any one) who experiencing (ed) tranny problem, please report to the NHTSA...because it seems like right now, only NHTSA can mandate Acura/Honda to do a recall of this POS tranny. But the NHTSA needs your help in making that decision!!

tls988

1. Consumer Report readers rated TL as above average in reliablity.
2. I bought the Type-S, it is one fast A/T vehicle at $30,000. Many magazines have posted 1/4 mile in the high 14s. I am happy with the MPG that I get with the 5 speed A/T.

Go drive several vehicles in the same price range and tell us what you think.