fine sorrry for the 100% statistic, i totally juss made that up. I juss cross my fingers that I dont fall in love the 2012 RL.

 

I hate to be nosy, and you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but do you still live at home? Sadly I do and I'm trying to focus more of my income on saving and moving out. I guess I'm asking do you have enough disposable income to make this happen and not put yourself in the gutter doing it? If so, do what makes you happy! The interior of the RL is gorgeous.

 

Well, if u must know...Im in the military and i saved up some money from my past deployment to Iraq. Well i was kinda forced to save my money cuz its not like there is anything to buy when u are out in the desert LOL and the currency over there is not US dollars, so now I am home (Thank God) and I would like to reward myself with something nice since I busted my ass for a whole year sweating in the 110 Degree weather.

Getting ready for Afhan next year.

 

Wow that's awesome. Thank you for your service! I know you guys probably don't hear that enough.

If that's what you want to spend you money on, then do it. None of us who are giving you advice are going to be writing the check.

 

Wall e, Whats your name?

Thank you for risking your life, for us.
I appreciate you for risking your life for every one here.
I come across a smart ass, but sometimes I'm wrong too.

 

I appreciate you too Wall e and for your service to our country!!
Yep, that is kind of a forced savings plan when you are over there.....

 

LOL no no, thats a fair question. Um realli, I am able to make this happen because of CARMAX!!! They were selling an 09 RL for the price of a brand new TSX wagon, so if u are thinking i have 50k+ dollars, i dont! So now the RL is affordable. Yes, its a used car, yes its a year old now, Yes its got 40K miles on it but its a honda( it will last long) and cars are meant to be driven, so rack up all the mileage u can!

and yes i thought about it, I am that GUY. "That Guy" = the guy who has a realli expensive car parked outside in the street in front of an apartment. Yes i shouldve upgraded my apartment to a house b4 buying an luxury car, but u kno what, houses will always b there, an RL will not. The 2009+ RL's are very limited in quantity. And I found one on carmax with the color i wanted(both inside and out), so I had to jump on this or else I would live with regret for the rest of my life cuz i dont kno the future and i dont kno if i will ever see one again. And im not joking. Go to carmax.com and type 2009 RL any distance, and there is like ONE left, and its black. Type TL, TSX, MDX, RDX any distance and a lot of cars come up. Do the same around ur Acura dealerships and they prolly juss have the 2011's to sell.

and u have every right to be nosy cuz what I am doing is pretty fishy. The RL is like a car ppl buy with their retirement money, but I am here to break the stereotype that the RL is targeted for the older crown only. People work their whole lives and still cant afford their dream car.

CARMAX CARMAX CARMAX- the secret to getting ur dream car. It realli is "THe way car vuying shoud be!" LOL So to anyone who is in the market for a 4th gen TL, juss go to carmax.com and buy the LAST black RL listed!!! its the same price and u get a nicer ride. Sure its used, but who cares, u got an RL!!!

 

Don't tell people that or it won't be there for when you're ready!

PS...yes, thank you for your service.

 

ahhh now that makes sense. I'm in the military as well (Air Force), what branch are you in? I haven't been deployed yet but I'm pretty sure if I do then I'll see how you can do it...lol...

 

Wall E, I checked cars.com and in my area 20850 (Rockville, MD) there is a 09 white/tan RL 18,977 miles for $33,998. I know carmax can ship the car from another location. So if you want to save a few bucks and don't mind the colors.

EDIT: there is also a black one similar price @ Chevy Chase Acura. But, I'm not sure how shipping it would work.

 

My name is Walter :-) I am The Few. The Proud. The Marines!!! Thank you all for the nice comments! It's nice to know that there are ppl in this forum who support the troops.

babylou772 i hope we deploy together cuz I could use the air support :-D Oh and when did u enlist? U should be deploying soon. Get some!

~Semper Fi

 

Wait do you still have this TL? Post some pics.

 

thank you for serving: I live near Camp Lejuene and I love to drive by and see the welcome home signs drapped on the fences. I then know another group of marines is coming back home safe.

 

I've been in since May of last year, but I'm pretty sure I'll deploy soon. What's your job?

 

im a combat cook. i juss feed the troops.

 

I'm a Heavy Equipment Operator....I know there were Marines at my tech school but idk what you guys call my job...

 

Haha...you sound just like how I was until recent. Lived in a ghetto apartment complex, had my old vehicle broken into. Sold that and bought my TL-S. I moved out of there the same month to ensure my Acura was not going to be broken into.

 

Wall e it seems to me you are trying to convince yourself this is the right thing to do...I think your Acura TL is a good car, but you are having doubts only because you want something different (RL).

 

Yes I am convincing myself. I obviously have not grown up because not getting everything you want is part of growing up right??? I am spoiled, ungrateful, unappreciative because I kno a lot of ppl who be HAPPY to have a TL at my age. Maybe if i psych0-analyze myself this is what the rationale is- I am not the best person in the world, so I make up for it by having the best things, therefore I feel like I am the best??? ( i dunno). I am for sure not in any competition with anyone like my friends, i am doing this simply because I want this car, I am not tryin to 1 up anyone.

I think what it boils down to is regret- i dont want to regret this opportunity. and i have this whole "u only live once" mentality so u should do what makes u happy. Driving is something i do on a daily basis, so i would like to drive in something i love right? I mean u marry someone u love becayse thats the person ur gonna wake up to every single morning and thats ur partner for life. I have to look at my that car everyday and i wanna look at it with happiness not, "eww my car is ugly"

i dont wanna live a life where I buy things cuz its cheap, I wanna buy it because I love it. THere are something u can be cheap about and something u cant. like food- i can be cheap and go to mcdonalds and raid the dollar menu because i want to feel "full" and that can get the job done. Heart surgery- i dont want to find the cheapest doctor to operate on me because u can put a price on my heart health.

i cant buy a cheap car like a neon because thats a long time investment.

I can eat a big mac in 5 minutes- its not gonna kill me if I'm eatting a burger im not happy with because in 5 minutes, its over the burger is in my stomach no matter how bad tasting and painful it was to eat, its over.

the car is longer than 5 minutes, its gonna be there the next day, and the next month, next year.

a lot of ppl are on the road with cheap cars (like a 1990 camry) and they are happy and thats fine because maybe there are not car people, a car that can get them from A to B is all they care about. But maybe the person is a fashionista and they love clothes, and they dress up with the latest fads and trends because clothes is important to them. while there are ppl who are juss fine rocking out a pair of target jeans and tj maxx clothes. i kno ppl spend 500$ on a sexy dress when there are 30$ dresses at macy's. u see we all splooge our money on over priced things when there are clearly cheap alternatives because we are VERY particular with what we want. We know EXACTLY what we want.

I am a car person and I have to have all the bells and whistles and techs and new gadgets on cars. I eat at macdonalds because I dont value food that high. some ppl spend lots of money on fine dining because they have tongues senstive to cheap food and it drives them nuts. they gotta eat at 5 star restaurants.

sorry for the long post, but as u can see this isnt an easy decision for me either, i have put a lot of thought into this.

 

^I enjoyed reading that post.

It sounds like you've already made up your mind about getting a RL. Now it's time to pull the trigger on one

 

Bad ass post OP, totally makes sense. My gf would spend a million bucks on food but yet she still cant understand why I would take up $300 to purchase some aspec side skirts. To each their own as you said we only live once. GL in finding your RL.

 

So today I drove my TL to carmax to check out the RL and I left the dealership in my TL.
I was so blind and I totally forgot the USED factor. The car looked OK in the pics online, but I guess the damage was soo small a photo could not show it. The car had enough damage to make me not want it. I found chip mark on the grill which was mostly likely from the previous owner driving in the highway and a rock/pebble must've hit the grill taking some paint off. Then I check the rear bumber and it had damage from parallel parking (im guessing). I thought about touch up paint but pearl white is SOOO hard to color match that I will always be able to spot the part that was "touched up/buffed." Then i check pop the hood while the engine was on and it was making a noise that did not sound right, but according to the carmax salesman that noise was considered normal. I close the hood and its sounded fine, so I am willing to dismiss that. So really two errors and now I am dissapointed, but maybe it is a sign from God that I should just keep my TL. So I have decided to wait in hopes of finding a used 2010 RL via carmax. Currently there are none, but I will give it a year and cross my fingers that someone sells there 2010 RL (white). All in all, the car was BEAUTIFUL, pictures and videos of the car do it not justice, you really have to see the RL in person. The car salesman said that I was a "perfectionist." I truly am a nit picker... I know its used and the damaged on the car is considered normal since it has 40K plus miles. I want my car damage free because this is my 10 year plus car and I cant look at a scratch for 10 years. I can do 9 years and on my last year I get a scratch, but not 10 years from the start. And i want a scratch that was at least my fault so I can at least blame someone and not feel bad about it. So for now, I will be refreshing my carmax.com 2009 RL search on a daily basis in hopes of finding that car.

Oh and I got my car appraised and my 2008 TL is worth 21K FYI

 

Then don't get upset when you sell or trade in your car and somebody nit-picks it.
There are such bigger things in life than a rock chip. You could get that on the way home........

 

Why would i get upset if someone nit picks my car. I would tell the person buying my car, thats exactly why im trading it in or selling it to you. I know im in no position to complain because i am buying a used car after all ,but used doesnt necessarily mean damages\d either. some ppl sell cars that they have babied since day 1. u kno i realized that i should not be a perfectionist when it comes to cars, because it will drive u nuts if u try to keep it perfect. I guess the only thing i can control about a car is the condition of the interior. And who am I to want perfect when my body isnt perfect. Therefore, I am buying the car! WHen ppl look at a car, the first thing they look at is the driver behind the wheel, they dont look for imprefections in my car. All they see is that its an RL. Only I know the damages :-)

 

You've got it right, I think.
Only thing is that for the most part a used car will be a used car and will have things that will deter you from buying. I will tell you this, I'm super anal about parking far to avoid door dings and I still have some. I can list all the imperfections on my own car, some are my fault, some aren't (stepdad owned before me). All in all I had to tell myself that it "builds character" to have a couple of things wrong BUT as a whole when I step back and stop being so critical my car looks excellent.

PS...even if you love someone and get married, you aren't going to wake up feeling in love and wanting to hump them every day. Most times the girl from the bar that keeps smiling at you when your wife just pissed you off will look pretty damned good too. The art is to always look at the overall and you actually have to DECIDE to be happy with what you have. Be it home, job, friends, wife, car. Loving anything for a long time takes a lot of work and constant reminder to appreciate it.

PSS, I have the same inner battles about being happy/satisfied. On one hand, we live in a country where we want better/more/bigger...but then try and stay on a plight to be happy with what you got. It's one or the other...you got a PS2 but want a PS3. You know what I mean. Make the TL work for you...it's your baby. If you always live like "life is short" always you'll end up broke, alone (may take that opportunity aforementioned at the bar ) and you'll be that 85 year old guy saying "shit, life is short...but not that short, i should have planned better".

Another quick note is that in talking to older people at work etc...they all say the same thing. The first step to building wealth is to get rid of your car payment. My fiance and are trying to do that and man...once we do, that's $700 a month that we free up! I guess I'll take up modding my bank account when that happens!!!

Take care,
Jeremy.

 

OK, so i did not have the balls to pull the trigger on an RL. I visited the car one last time and I could not get over the damages. I found a hairline crack on the right side mirror and thats what did it cuz i dont mind the small scratches but a crack is a whole different story, now its a broken car to me. So if you go to carmax.com and see the white RL in edens (IL) that was me :-)

 

Idk how Carmax is with fixing things but when I went to purchase my TL I found out that my driver side or passenger side mirror can't remember wasn't working while I was test driving it...the salesman said he'll get that fixed before I even said anything but then again I was at an Acura dealership....but I'm pretty sure if you point that out Carmax will do something about it...

 

Wow, you just proved my point with that post.
Good luck, man! Hope you end up getting a fast car cause happiness is super elusive!

 

its okay, your post taught me somethings.

 

Thanks J...
Not that I'm so smart or anything, but felt like I nailed it pretty good and didn't even get acknowledged. Oh well...lucky I'm not as sensitive as when I was younger.
Have a good one!

 

OP, I think you should post some pics of your TL. Then post pics of other TLs that you like so we can get an idea of what you may need in order to enjoy your TL more.

 

I acknowledge your presence/post Jeremy!

I'm really happy that happened because I am too stubborn to realize that buying another car is a huge mistake. Had carmax sold me the car for 29k or 30k i would have bought it and made the repairs to the damages i saw myself. but for 34k with 42k miles is not a good deal, plus damages. its too bad that carmax has a "no haggle" price policy. Today, I went to the carwash again with my TL to help me "move on."

OK OK, I will post pics of my TL. I bet you guys just want me to show my car so you all can nit pick it and give me a taste of my own medicine lol. I'm gonna charge my battery for my camera right now...

 

We won't nitpick...just give some ideas! Ps...wanna know how full of crap I am? Last night...stumbled on a used 2010 shawd tl...6 speed in mayan bronze with umber interior...dreamt about it last night...then about the new 5.0 mustang too...this morning I had that while internal conversation with myself again...lol...almost paid off gotta love the car I have.

Constant battle, man

 

I bought a car from Carmax once, good experience.

If you want the RL and have the cash buy it, but try a counter lower offer first, after all, you have cash and they want to sell the car!

If you have to finance and have decent credit, you're a serviceman, go to Navy Federal Credit Union, or a comparable institution with a purchase order, get the better interest rate from them and buy it that way.

Good luck. BTW, I'm retired U.S. Army.

 

pretty sure carmax doesn't haggle...no matter how you're paying.

 

I'm done with carmax. Navy Federal Credit Union is good advice because I know for a fact that they can beat carmax's 4%+ interest rate by 1 or 2 %. USAA is good too. I am goinna set my standards high and shoot for a brand new 2010 RL, so I can stop b*tching about damages. I know brand new is like the worst thing u can do cuz as son as u drive off the lot, the car looses A LOT of its value, but I have to, its the only cure for my "picky"ness. It's like I need a "virgin" car, never been touched. I am not being hippcritcal because I did say that I would never pay for 50K + RL cuz it has the same exact features as a 2010 TL SH AWD, maybe no CMBS feature, but that cant justify the difference, oh and a smoother ride, doesnt justify the price difference either.

Once I've confirmed my target, I can never stop until I get it, and right now, my sites are set on a RL. And maybe its like a drug, I cant see the harm its doing to me, but everyone else around me can.

 

Confused individual. I am very much like that sometimes as I tend to get the itch for a newer car but when I go outside and look at my TL and think about all the money, time and effort that I have invested, I come back to my real senses. Good luck with your hunt.

 

Severely confused individual. I feel like that Katy Perry Song "Hot n Cold." Yes there was a lot of sweat and work put into my TL, I was in Iraq for a whole year and it was a tough deployment. I felt like a prisoner counting down the days till I got to go home because after a while you start to want things that u take for granted like a warm shower, your bed, a home cooked meal, sleeping in. I am in moo moo land and I want to make my "dream" car a reality. Just like Justine Bieber's movie-NEVER SAY NEVER. "I will never get that car" is something that I used to think. I prepared to get back in the cycle of making car payments every month.

I found a car, but I now I just need to put my money where my mouth is. (another katy perry song)

The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.

 

Dude...you moreso than most know that life is short.
In your line of work, what I said earlier doesn't apply. Buy whatever makes you happy!

 

OK i have pics to upload, but i am a n00b and i dont kno how to upload pics. do i have to upload em to a website first so i can enter the url of my image? thx