I recently purchased an '04 TL, with automatic, no navigation. Purchased the car at dealer invoice ($29,750 before destination and tax). The car had 50 miles on it. I just came across this great site and was reading about many of the problems being discussed (tires, rattles, transmission, etc.) I've been happy with the car thus far but was wondering if there is anything that I should look out for given my VIN number ending in 38XXX.

Thanks
Mike

 

My suggestion, if you want to be happy, is don't *look* for anything wrong. Drive the car and see what turns out. I've had mine for 2 weeks and have no problems that would make me unhappy. I almost went nuts cause I heard a rattle, something I got paranoid over after reading the site. Turns out it was the child seat, not the car. Just forget about what you read here and enjoy the car. If you find a problem, THEN come here to see what people have done about it. If you're looking for problems, you probably won't enjoy the car.

 

You know, there is so much truth to this post. Just enjoy it. While this site is a blessing - I guess it can be a curse if you go looking for trouble. Preventative is one thing, but when you are not enjoying your purchase because of things written here - don't let it come to that. BUT when you do find something, there is a wealth of knowledge - a lot of sarcasm, some good debates and fights, but just a bunch of people who have all come to the same conclusion that this car is gorgeous to look at and drives real sweet too. Enjoy your ride Mike. Its a great car.

 

Agreed with the rest of these people! You can't look for problems and expect to find em until they're already there. And when that time comes you'll know. Anyway, how the heck did you get invoice? And from which dealership? I'm from new york too and plannign to buy a TL next year!

 

Originally I got a price through Costco's auto purchase program. The price was $500 over invoice but the dealer was in Suffolk Cty. I live in Manhattan and would rather deal locally or in New Jersey. I started calling the local dealers (NJ, Westchester) and they didn't seem to blink when I asked if they could match the Costco price. I had test driven the car at Open Road Acura in Wayne and the guy had spent a significant amount of time with me so I figured I owed him the opportunity to win my business. I told him the Costco price and said he had to do better. The prior price he had given me several weeks earlier was about $31,700. After speaking with his manager he said he could do invoice plus lock nuts and a trunk try. Even at invoice, the dealer is making about 3% on the car due to the hold back, almost $1000. Before I pulled the trigger, I spoke to the Acura dealer in Manhattan and asked him if he could do better. Told him I was ready to buy. He said he would go to his manager to match but said they would not go below invoice. I spent some time on the phone with this guy and he did seem to want my business but couldn't do any better than the deal that I had. At that point I figured I had a good deal and decided to buy.

Regards,
Mike