ac2001cls

Hello to all,

I haven't posted in a while. Been rather busy, etc... Finally got my car back which was in the shop after i hit the slick spot when it rained 2 days straight, many of you may recall me telling you about that. So you know it was a lease.

Been doing some thinking and i'm wanting to terminate my lease due to the fact i'm not feeling paying a car payment for atleast 7- 7 1/2 years. My lease is for 3 yrs, (it'll be 1 year coming up in July) The ONLY reason why i opted for a lease is so i could get the car SOLELY in my name, which i thought was a good move. So naturally this time around i'm going to finance it. Naturally my monthly payment is going to be higher than what i'm paying now since it's a lease. Which is making me think of other options...

I've been thinking that i may need to get rid of my baby (TL) and look at purchasing an 06 Accord to try and hopefully equal the cost. I would definitely go with the top of the line Accord which is the V6 EX w/ Navigation. Even still i'll be saving 4-5k dollars!!! I really regret having to do this b/c i really love the TL and it feels i would be downgrading but i do like the redesign of the new Accord and how they changed the back. It makes it look very sexy. If $$$ wasn't the issue then trust me, i would definitely be sticking with the TL. I love the overall appearance of the TL, however, i test drove the 06 Accord the other night and i was quite impressed with the fit and quality and how tight everything was while driving.

What do you all think? Or are their any other cars that i should look at? I'm in contact with my local Acura dealer and he's suppose to be working the numbers on an 06TL (which more than likely will be out of the question) but just to see. And he's also running what it would be for the 06 Accord. If i do end up going this route, it has been great owning a TL while it lasted. However, my only reason for doing it is to save money!

I definitely welcome everyone's thoughts, etc...

Wid-TL

Nice write-up - sorry to hear you probably can't stay with the TL.

My friend has the Honda you are describing but it's an '05 - and he loves it. He had his Accord before I got my TL, and I drove it a few times and was impressed. When he drove my TL, he could definitely see the difference, and told his wife "the TL was similar to the Acoord, but packaged nicer and more fun to drive". But he still couldn't justify the additional cost. Hey - That's his opinion!

That Accord is a really nice car, especially for the money. IMO it's much nicer than the new Galant, or even the Nissan Altima. Someone mentioned the new '07 Camry on another post - maybe that's another good option?

Whatever you get, good luck! You'll still be able to get a great car in your price range.

datmrman

When I was in the market for a car, I was also looking towards the '06 Accord Coupe EX with Nav. I had a blast test driving it. The car is lighter than the TL, so the response time is bettter. The Accord also has a pretty good turning radius. The '06 Accord also implemented rear LED lights.

But in the end, Bluetooth, HID lights, looks and small price difference won me over and I bought the TL.

Good luck with your search. Both the Accord and TL are great cars.


One of my friends owns an '05 Accord. After sitting in his car, I knew I wanted the Navigation system. When he sat in my TL, he was impressed by how bright the HID lights are and how convenient bluetooth is

gurneyeagle

I just can't warm up to the new Accords. At least they got rid of the 1980 Seville rear-end, but the new one isn't much better. The thing just looks disjointed.

Honda seems to just miss it with teir designs every few cycles.

All of that is just my opinion. You really can't go wrong with a Honda. Sometimes the pocket book out votes the heart.

Good luck with your decision.

newbie_prospect

Thanks for the compliment on my write-up. Please believe me i write this with a saddened heart. I wouldn't dare say that the Accord is a better car the the TL, however, i feel that it will serve as a great replacement for the TL since it's still Honda.

And i actually love the style of the 06. One thing that i'll definitely add is the fog lights just to make it a lil more sportier and stand out among the many other Accords that are out there. I'm thinking about the decklid spoiler also but i think that may take a way from the brake lamp that's built in the trunk. So we'll see what's up.

The test drive went well again. The steering was very tight and it had some pick up to it, etc... It's the not the TL but it's the closest i think i'll get to it.

ac2001cls

Thanks for the compliment on my write-up. Please believe me i write this with a saddened heart. I wouldn't dare say that the Accord is a better car the the TL, however, i feel that it will serve as a great replacement for the TL since it's still Honda.

And i actually love the style of the 06. One thing that i'll definitely add is the fog lights just to make it a lil more sportier and stand out among the many other Accords that are out there. I'm thinking about the decklid spoiler also but i think that may take a way from the brake lamp that's built in the trunk. So we'll see what's up.

The test drive went well again. The steering was very tight and it had some pick up to it, etc... It's not the TL but it's the closest i think i'll get to it. I'll keep you all informed about the process.

Ken1997TL

I like the '06 Accord styling myself. Its a dramatic improvement.

As for the ride/handling aspect.. I regret my TL isnt like the V6 Accord. The improved handling in the TL isnt by a wide margin and the ride penalty is a bit too much. I might have to go with 16 inch wheels sometime soon, my TL just doesnt like most Oregon roads.

KJW73

I traded in my 2004 Honda Accord Coupe V6 6MT w/ every option except the HFP and I loved that car; I really did. It was peppy and fun to drive and it just had a few downgrades from the TL - but, overall a fabulous vehicle. One of the differences that I noticed from my Accord to the TL was the navigation screen is 2" larger in the TL and it's not as recessed back in the dash. I liked that for whatever reason. If I could figure out how to post pics; I'd show you my old Accord...loved it SO much, that a service guy at the Acura dealership took one last pic of it on the lot for me <<sniffle-sniffle>>. It sold instantly since it was a 6MT and you don't see many of them.

With all this said, I knew the first day that I saw the new TL on the road that I would have one some day. And unfortunately, I had to get rid of my Accord because of manual transmission due to a left foot injury. Some people asked that if I liked my Accord so much, why didn't I just trade it in for the same car in an automatic? I thought that if I were going to make car payments for 6 years (UGH! ) I wanted to upgrade and keep it for a while instead of trading in my cars every two years or so and continuously having car payments.

Sorry to rattle on - it's Friday and I'm dreaming of that green apple martini at the Irish Pub across the street from my office building...

Good luck with your decision; either way, you win.

ttliang

06 accord trunk is huge. 4 full sets of golf bags + shoes and stuff. the only thing i wish my TL has. TL can do 2 sets only due to that stupid intrusion to cover the links. everything else i like TL better. (i have both cars).

Actuary

I noticed 06 accord has same roofline as our TL. I was behind one today in downtown traffic and shape and size of roof looks exactly like TL. I didn't see it before with other accords so maybe It's been like that since 03.

newbie_prospect

Yea i forgot to comment on the 2" that is shown b/t the 2 different Navis. How could i forget that??? That's the absolute first thing i did notice once i stepped into the vehicle and oddly enuff the first thing i pointed out to the salesman.

Any other observations or 2 cents?

GUMP

I was in my dealer the other day getting a lube job and took a walk thru the showroom . They had a brand new Accord in black with gold emblems..I'll tell you, the car looked great..it was fully loaded. Very nice indeed. Of course, I love my TL, but I really don't think you can go wrong with the Accord..it's probably the best family sedan out there by far. I had a 90 Accord Coupe before the TL and loved it..I put 160K on it with no problems.