Professor

If you were going to drop a ton of mileage on a new car every year (like 52K a year), would you buy the TL 6MT for $33,800 or an Accord Coupe V6/6MT Navi for $25,431 out the door?

Either way, neither car will have much value after three years.

roadman

Accord, the TL has a much harsher/firmer ride

04tlnbppar

Accord, no doubt

rescueswimmer

Well there is 2 ways to look at this. I would tend to agree why waste about 8k. Now if you dont really care about the money and dont want to have an accord like everyone else. Drive around with some style. Thats if money doesnt bother you or somebody else is splitting the bill.

Aegir

Interesting question and one that I considered recently. On days I go into the office, I commute about 2 hrs each way and I drive about 30K per year. I decided that I would prefer to log those hours in a TL. It is an indulgence and, for me, a reward. I definitely consider it money well spent. After 4 1/2 months, I still look forward to driving my TL.

Aquineas

Go with the Accord Coupe.

6mtV6

Which dealer did you go to, to get the price of $25,431 for a Accord coupe 6mt/navi? Those cars are rare. The MSRP is $28,990. When I got mine coupe I was lucky enough that the dealer near my house just got one in and I had to rush down to put a deposit on it.

Having driven the 6mt coupe for a year and now a TL, I would choose the TL. The TL is just a better car.
You buy a car to drive, not to worry about how many miles you put on it. If you gonna spend money on a new car, might as well get the better one. Show it off. Drive the car.

Xpditor

Hi, Prof...

Let's see: build quality- about the same IMO
...............materials...........ditto
...............features.............TL
................quiet.................TL
...............luxury.................TL
...............power...........about the same (real world, not on paper)
..............image..................TL
..............reliability........about the same
..............waranty................TL
..........dealer service............TL IMO
............depreciation......about the same
.........initial cost...............Accord
........entertainment...............TL

But these are all the same considerations I had in selecting my TL over the Accord. Because I have a couple of cars, I only put about 5,000 on my TL a year.

XP

soljc

I also put a ton of miles on cars (11k miles in 4 months so far) and really only considered the Accord in addition to the TL and the TSX. I finally chose the TL because I figured if I'm going to spend so much time in the car, I may as well enjoy the advantages of the TL (better styling, better sound system, HFL). Sure, it's an extra $7k, but if the money is going to make that much of a difference, you probably shouldn't be looking at the TL anyway. Life is short, enjoy every moment.

Swank

I just bought a silver 2004 6MT Navi Accord and love it. My previous car was a 2001 CL-S. I paid $26,131 (before taxes) which is invoice price. Honda has a $1000 manufacturer to dealer rebate right now which is probably why you are getting a bit better deal than I got. Oh, and it took a total of 1 or 2 minutes to get them to agree to invoice -- good luck getting an Acura dealer to lower their price much on the TL. If they do, you probably spent at least a few hours beating them over the head.

As for the ride in the Accord -- it is very nice. My old CL-S had better seats, but the interior of the Accord is nicer and more modern. Of course the 04 TL interior has the Accord beat, but the TL is quite a bit more expensive.

With 50K miles a year you are going to kiss your warranty goodbye on either car in a year. Neither should have significant mechanical problems that early in life (assuming the manual tranny), so the warranty issue Xpditor brings up is a wash.

It all comes down to whether you want to spend $8k or more for a nicer looking car that has a bit more luxury. Since you say you'll be driving 50K a year, you probably won't care if the Accord's exterior isn't as sexy as the TL since you'll be inside the car most of the time.

Obligatory pics after 3 coats of Zaino on a cloudy day:

ensley696

It all really comes down to if you want to spend the extra $8k. By the way, $25k out the door is cheap for a 2 dr cp/navi/6mt. The honda dealer I went to would only go $1k over invoice on one of those.

wonder

I have both... well my wife has the Accord (EX V6). She and I agree that if we were going to drive 50k miles per year we'd want to do it in the TL. And we love the Accord, it just isn't quite up to TL standards. The TL sound system alone is worth the money as far as I'm concerned.

Road Rage

I just went through this. I drove the Accord 6MT, which Honda does not make many of. I did not at all like the clutch uptake*. So I started looking at the Accord sedan with the V6. I never could get over its bad looks (and the Accord coupe, while the best styled Honda coupe to date, still has way too much landscape between the A and B pillars).

I went to see the TL, fell in love with its looks, and while the TL is my day to day commuter, and I have a real sports car (the S2000 and the Cobra) for hot footing it around, the extra style, features, and luxury won out. I can afford the $8k, and while I look at cars that are not sports cars pretty much as toasters, my "self image" just could not be satisfied by the Accord, in any form.

BTW, my dealer would not let the Accord go for much below its asking price, and I got a better deal than most on my TL, so the gap was smaller than the $8k as it turned out.

Plus, the TL warranty is better.

*Compared to the S2000, which is race car sharp and the clutch light. or Even the truck-like SVT Cobra, with its stiff clutch pedal (my left leg cramps) and its truck-like T-56 tranny: both gave me smoother takeoffs than the Accord 6MT.

pettydw

The TL looks like a $33K car. The Accord looks like half the money (DX's sell for $15K and change), even though the V6 6MT sells for much more.

6mtV6

Get the TL.
When I had my Accord coupe 6mt/navi, I went to test drive the TL and just fell in love with it. I traded my coupe for the TL. The TL is so much better.

neuronbob

Totally agree except that I don't own a real sports car yet --seriously looking into Corvette now as a low-mileage, weekend fun car.

If I were going to spend 50k miles per year in a car, I'd want the best interior possible. I'd go with the TL. Weren't you having problems with your height in the TL before, Prof? Seem to recall from a few months ago....

04TLMan

I compared the 2 cars also (and many others). I actually like the looks of the New Accord. I think it was even bigger. But I went into this process wanting a 6 cyc, manual and 4 doors. For some unknown marketing reason, the Accord only puts a V6 and Manual in a coupe. Unless I wanted a 4 cyclinder...NOPE. The TL fit the bill nicely. Of course being a techy, I needed the bluetooth and DVD-Audio. A man needs his toys.

Aquineas

People are always eager to help you spend your money :-)

Road Rage

Maybe the old 2002 TL-S was bad on headroom, but no, the TL has plenty enough for me. Must have been another curmudgeonly professor.

SlayerGTR

truely depends on the purpose, say if u are going to be driving on rough roads in most of those miles, then i'd prolly get the TL, its jus more comfy, if u jus want a good car dats cheap and would last u for ur travel, then get the accord.