bulacura

hey guys. i just bought a new TL for 33K. its a great car,very smooth and fast, but driving it just made me realize that luxury is not my category. i should've gotten a sporty car. i test drove the TL, but never really tested the car. maybe its just me. i went from a nissan sentra to a TL. everything is totally new to me.

would it be crazy to trade the TL in the fall for an IS250? i think it starts at 31K. did anybody here actually do a trade-in like this in their lifetime? how much would i lose if i do trade it? i might even go to a wrx if i would lose alot. let me know guys. i need alot of advice??

i also have the premium package for warranty, would that affect the value?

rets

Trade in for IS350...

bulacura

thanks for the quick response, but i'm more worried about losing money for trading it in. i don't have a clue about trade ins. like how much more would i end up paying for the 31K IS 250 for a TL trade-in. i don't need 300 hp by the way.

caball88

if you want something more sporty then don't you want more hp? and if luxury is not your category then why would you want to trade for a lexus? that is probably considered to be more luxurious than acura. if you really want a sporty car then i suggest a 350z.

ndx2

you'd lose quite a bit of money. it depends on when you trade in your TL, but i'd say you'd lose minimum of 4 grand... why not make the TL sporty? with a few grand in mods, the TL will easily out handle your sentra. my brother's 2G TL-S has tein-ss w/ edfc, 18" w/ toyos, sway bars - in suspension mods, and i swear his car can out slalom an evo... (probably not, but you get my point).

i, too, feel the ride is too soft, which is why i will be adding the CT sway bar and either tein-ss or aspec springs/struts.

MR1

Try to sell the car outright if possible. You will probably lose at least a couple of thousand. Before you sell, do your homework both on the TL and whatever you decide to replace it with. You may decide to keep it or how about a Mustang GT?

bulacura

the new IS is sporty. my friend's 2002 IS rides like its on rails. i wasn't plannin on getting everything on it. so ASPEC suspension really makes a big difference? i'll look into it, but how much do they cost from dealers installed?

ndx2

yeah, IS300 does feel tight, but it's a smaller car.

If you're looking to make your TL feel/handle better than the IS, then I say go with tein ss, w/ edfc. shouldn't cost you more than 1200. my brother installed it himself, so I don't know what installation would cost ya. Every single person who took a ride in my brother's car was shocked at its handling ability. I was disgusted with it - no body roll!

You can buy the A-Spec suspension for about 700 shipped. And comptech rear sway bar is around 120 or so. These two mods and stickier tires will definitely have you smiling around the corners.

downtown

I believe it will be a IS350 w/ a 3.5 liter engine, not the 250 2.5. Which will put it near 300hp.

It's almost always a poor investment to trade a vehicle in. If this is so important to you, find a buyer, then do an in and out w/ the dealer to maximize the tax benefit. If you're smart, you may not lose much. I did this w/ my Maxima.

JackSprat01

Does your TL have the 6spd? If so, all you really need is ASPEC suspension and some nice light 18" wheels. The 6spd already gets a fatter rear sway bar.

eyescream

Why would you trade in for an almost identical car? I'd guess the most significant difference is that the TL is FWD, and the IS is RWD. IMO it's not a good decision.

If you really wanna do that, at least wait for the second production year, for all the bugs to be fixed.

ndx2

um... if one car's fwd and the other's rwd, they are no where near "almost identical."

i don't think you'd have to worry about any bugs with the new lexus IS...

do the suspension mods, and if you still don't like it, then go for the IS when it comes out... i think you'll like the modded TL better than an IS250, in terms of power and handling.

Wildcat Jon

If you wanted a true sports car, you shouldn't buy one with FWD. Go RWD or AWD. G35 is a great choice in either version, but the interior is not nearly as nice as the TL. What about a new 325i. The 3 series is redesigned and they go on sale May 6. The 325i now has a 3.0 ltr engine and is apparently very much like the old 330i in terms of 0-60. Handling of course will blow a FWD TL away, although off the line you'll not win alot of stoplight battles.

mark 3M bra man

A simple question for you to help you get an answer on how much money would you lose:
how much would you be willing to pay for a used TL vs. new TL if you were buying? $1k, probably more. $4k, or more??? Then add few grand for dealer profit and you will have an answer.

I would say you would lose an ass, an arm, and a leg plus more, no matter what naive people out there tell you about TL retaining value.

Get some mods or make a more educated decision next time around.

My

TheTriads

[QUOTE=bulacura]
would it be crazy to trade the TL in the fall for an IS250? QUOTE]

Yes it is crazy unless you trade in for IS350. If luxury isn't a big deal for you, then obviously speed is, IS250 will be slower than TL so why bother? I'd get the IS350

apwalsh

I'm sorry, is the Sentra a sports car now? The new IS will definetly be sportier than the TL, but I'm not sure that's what you want. The TL has to have more spirit than the Sentra you came from. Keep the TL for a few years and see what comes out. By that time, you won't take such a hit on the trade, relatively speaking.

mio

i prefer the new GS