We used to drive BMW's until the repair bills became a problem, always right after the factory warranty expired. We now have kids and "needed" better reliability so I decided to stick to a more reliable brand, and we have been driving Hondas now for about 3 years. Needless to say, they have been super reliable. My wife currently drives a 2010 Accord EX (lease) and I drive a 2011 Civic Si (own), both sedans.

My wife's Accord lease is ending in a few months, so I am starting to look around at V-6 options to buy (instead of lease) and replace the Accord with - either another Accord (2010-2011 EX-L V6), or an Acura TL (2007 or newer).

My wife and I have the Accord now and have test driven the V6, so we know that one well. We also have tested the 3rd gen Acura (last year for that gen was 2008 if my research is accurate), but have not tried yet the newer (current) style TL. We can of course just try to buy an EX-L V6 Accord, but we liked the higher comfort and quieter interior of the Acura TL - the TL is just a significantly nicer car, so I am considering an older TL as an option instead of just getting another Accord.

I do my own basic maintenance in cars we owe, so changing fluids, filters, tranny fluid, brake/rotors, even suspension bushings is part of what I would call "normal" for a car one wants to keep. BUT, I don't have to deal with major ($$$) repairs such as having to replace motor/tranny/other expensive parts/components that would be significantly hard to replace by me in my house. Worst scenario (which happened with our last BMW) would be for my wife to be stranded with the kids with a non functioning car - I don't that happening again!.

So, here is the advice I am seeking:
1) In terms of long term reliability, is the Acura TL (3rd gen) a better choice than the newer 4th gen? Or given both the 3rd gen would be a better long term car to own?
2) What are common problems with the 3rd/4rd gen Acura TL? At what mileage points should I expect to see problems?
3) Are these cars problematic enough that it warrants getting the CPO warranty, or if buying from an individual a 3rd party extended warranty?
4) Given a similar price for a newer Accord vs. an older TL, am I "nuts" for even considering the older TL?
5) We have found a reasonably good deal on a high mileage (almost 70K) 2010 TL (the newer/current style), which appears to be a CPO warrantied car. But for that price I can find several older (3rd gen) TL's with even lower mileage. I know it is not an apples to apples comparison, but given a similar price, is the lower mileage TL a better choice?

Any other advice/comments would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Will

 

"1) In terms of long term reliability, is the Acura TL (3rd gen) a better choice than the newer 4th gen? Or given both the 3rd gen would be a better long term car to own?"
From what I can tell both the 3rd gen and 4th gen TL's are very reliable vehicles. I would not hesitate to choose either vehicle, nor would I pick one generation over the other because of reliability.

"2) What are common problems with the 3rd/4rd gen Acura TL? At what mileage points should I expect to see problems?"
There really aren't any common problems that I can think of. This probably doesn't apply to you because I assume you will get automatic, but 3rd gear synchros were an issue on the 6spd manuals, but that's an easy dealer fix. I have owned a few 07 and 08's and there are simply no reliability issues.

"3) Are these cars problematic enough that it warrants getting the CPO warranty, or if buying from an individual a 3rd party extended warranty?"
A warranty is never a bad thing to have because let's face it, anything mechanical has the potential to break. However, NO these vehicles are not problematic enough to warrant an extended warranty. I would not hesitate owning one without a warranty. Factory Acura warranties are 5yr 50k miles.

"4) Given a similar price for a newer Accord vs. an older TL, am I "nuts" for even considering the older TL?"
I wouldn't say nuts no. The Accord might be the more sensible choice, but the TL is definitely more attractive to look at.

"5) We have found a reasonably good deal on a high mileage (almost 70K) 2010 TL (the newer/current style), which appears to be a CPO warrantied car. But for that price I can find several older (3rd gen) TL's with even lower mileage. I know it is not an apples to apples comparison, but given a similar price, is the lower mileage TL a better choice?"
This is just my opinion, but the 2009-2011 TL's are very ugly cars. The 2012 has a revised front end which is better, but still just not an attractive vehicle. They do drive excellent though and do offer a few more features than the 3G TL




If you decide on a 3G TL without a doubt only consider an 07-08 as they had numerous changes/improvement inside and out. Also, it's not hard to find a clean low mileage one still under factory warranty or CPO. It's going to be a little tighter in the back seat than the Accord, but besides that the 3G TL is great. They require premium fuel compared to regular grade of the Accord if that means anything to you and will be just a little less efficient as far as mpg's are concerned.
If it were me, I would get an 07-08 Type S, but I happen to be biased and have owned both base and type s and Accord. Plus I am a car enthusiast and I think the Type S is just a little more unique and cool to look at. Oh one last thing, be sure to get a nav equipped TL. The interior just doesn't look the same on the non-nav cars and its always better for resale.
Hope this helps.

James

 

Wow, thanks much for the detailed response - much appreciated.

Yes, this would be my wife's car, and she prefers an auto to a manual car (I am the opposite!). It is also good to hear/confirm that these cars are in fact very reliable.

If you don't mind a follow-up question, I see that you bought and sold "relatively" many 3G TL's, including two that were manual, yet your current one is auto. If you don't mind, why? Is the manual more problematic or simply not as fun as the auto?

Will

 

MT and AT are personal preference. neither is particularly problematic. the only problem will be finding a MT that is clean (as they are rare, and even more rare in the type-s version. MT were only available in the 04-06 base models, and 07-08 type-s models <--these were the only two yrs the type-s was available).

i will let JTS speak for himself on his reasoning for the AT (even though i have read his reasoning in one of his threads).

there are a number of members with well over 100k mi on their TL's and only did the regular maintenance to keep the car going.

as far as 4G vs 3G. either one will be reliable as JTS has mentioned. it's a matter of where you want to put your money. older car vs newer car, design, features...etc. i am an original owner. i never purchased an extended warranty (it's a honda, these things are bulletproof right? ). didn't have any real issues with the car. still don't, only a few little things.

if the potential purchase has been well cared for (maintained), more than likely the car will continue to provide many more problem free yrs. good luck.

 

Well first off as you can see I go through cars like crazy. I enjoy both the auto Type S and manual, however in my experience with both I actually do prefer the auto in the TL. The clutch and throttle sensitivity were just too much for me and I never got used to it. Its not the kind of manual tranny that I can just drive and never think about "oh is this shift gonna be smooth", or thinking in your mind if your not going to apply enough gas or too much gas. On other manual vehicles I have owned (ones with V8's), I can drive stick all day long without once thinking about shifting in my mind. Dont get me wrong it was fun sometimes, but for a daily driver it got old to me. So it had nothing to really do with a reliability issue, although both of the manual tranny Type S's I owned had the third gear issues, and one had to have a new clutch at 60K miles. Maybe that was because the original owner who knows, but to me I always felt that the clutch in the TL was "fragile" if you will, where as other vehicles of mine I never got that feeling.
Sure the 6mt TL's will be a little quicker, but now getting back into an auto the differences are relatively minimal. There is a measurable difference in fuel economy though by a few MPG on the manuals.
No known issues with the 07/08 auto trannies that im aware of. They have been flawless in all the TL's I have had.

Like TriGirl said the manuals are tougher to find and if you want the perfect one you will most likely have to be willing to travel to get it. Thats not a factor since you guys want auto. After thinking more and more about it since the vehicle will be your wifes its more of a tough call between a newer Accord and a TL. My wife has a 2004 Accord and to be honest, she just does not like driving my Type S. I dont know if thats becuase she knows im super anal about it or what, but she prefers her Accord. The new Accords are nice, and would offer all the same features if not more than a older 3G TL with exception of things like HID headlamps, LED tail lights, and ofcourse the better Acura service experience.. Also, I think the EX V6 accords with nav are pretty darn nice. I say go test drive both and see what she thinks. I have a good feeling she might actually prefer the Accord ;-)

 

Gotcha - makes sense.

Thanks much both of you. I hope to test drive the 4G soon. I will report back once a decision is made

Will

 

I test drove the 2012 with 65K miles (CPO) and it felt perfect. In fact, it totally drove like a new car. The dealer showed me all of the work done to the car to get it to be CPO, and it was pretty extensive - they changed all fluids/filters, and several other stuff. Retail pricing on part and labor were about $1500. Car comes with a 12m/12k miles bumper to bumper, and then 7y/100k miles for the powertrain.

Going back today with my wife's Accord so that her car can be appraised. Lets see if we can work a deal

Will

 

Good luck Will. I would get the 2012 that you most recently looked at. Is it the tech package? SHAWD?

 

Actually, my bad - that was a typo. It is a 2010 model, not 2012. Newbie here so can't find the edit button yet

But no, it is a "base" model with the standard features, not the tech package nor the AWD.

The other one we are looking at is a 2008 Type-S, without any warranty, and so far I can't get info on maintenance/repairs/etc..

Will

 

Higher mileage cars- around 100k you have the timing belt service which can be quite expensive (Dealer sometimes charge upto $1k for it) Autos, especially 04-06 autos I would be a little more cautious with as they had more issues if not serviced corrected. Nothing huge, but something to think about. Other than than, just typical wear items for any car that get higher miles. Shocks may be a little worn, though rarely actually completely fail. Things like the lights in the steering wheel may need replaced. Not terribly hard or expensive on your own, but dealer cost...Typical stuff really.

 

Thanks much. At least these maintenance/repairs seem to be a little bit more predictable (and less often) than with the BMW's we used to drive

My wife and I will visit the dealer this afternoon to see if we can work out a deal. I will report back either way

Will

 

Well, we were able to negotiate a very good deal, and we now are the proud owners of a 2010 TL. Too tired now. Will post pictures in the morning

Will

 

congrats! make sure and check in with the 4GTL folks.

 

Yes, thanks. I will start a new thread on the 4G group

Here is the dealer photo of the car we bought yesterday:

 

Nice car, congrats. I would have to say you made the right choice. Also, I want to mention all the great advice about maintenance and other issues regarding 3G TL's as I recently purchased a 2006 with just a little over 110,000 miles on it. The good thing is that is has been well taken care of, one owner and all scheduled maintenance was taken care of through the dealer. One thing though, since it is a 6spd, I have already noticed the clutch issues everyone was talking about. I am thinking of replacing it here in a couple months. Would it be better to go with a stage 1 aftermarket ( I looked at the Spec Stage 1 and the Clutch Masters) or replace with a new factory clutch. Any advice would be very helpful.