jazzpicker

I have a mint 2005TL NBP 6MT Navi with 29,300 miles. It run's perfectly (knock on wood) I went by the dealership today to get a cabin filter and talked with my salesman. I asked him to give me a price to trade up to an 07 Navi but silver or white because it's really hard to maintain a black finish in the hot Florida sun. and I have a little extra jack this month.

The manager came out to appraise the car and when he discovered that the car had a 6 speed, the price dropped to a ridiculously low offer. He was afraid that he couldn't sell the 6 speed. There wasn't a 6mt on the lot except mine.

I understand the more "mature" drivers may want an automatic but the TL is a sporty car and I love the 6mt. Maybe a 6 speed escalade (ugh) is not a good combo but the TL is a little rocket with the 6mt.

I've bought Acuras from this dealership for 15 years but I'm headed to south Florida for a couple of months and I'll be driving back in a new O8 TL if they are out by the time I return home.

csmeance

which dealeship was this and who was the salesman/manager. If it was courtsey acura, you better be filing a complaint to get someone fired. Not matter the dealership, they should not being doing this.

zootjeff

How low ball was the offer?

calgary2800

Lets be fair, if it would take a dealer 1 year or more to sell a 6mt you cant blame them for not wanting it.

sifuacura

iTrader: (1)

They can always sell it to other dealers. Thats what each dealership do if they can't sell..they resell it to other dealer in different area to get other customers.

If you buy a preowned Acura, chances are that the car wasn't sold at the same location.

nmsujeff88

In New Mexico, there are no late model manual TLs for sale. I just purchased a 2007 Type-S Moroccan Red Pearl MT yesterday from Vandergriff Acura in Arlington, TX and I'm flying in to pick it up. The local Albuquerque dealer basically couldn't locate MT for me and they did manage to get one delivered but I'm saving $1200 by going across state line.

SouthernBoy

It all depends upon the area in which you live which defines the marketplace. In my area, your car would be prized. Luxury performance sedans with manual transmissions are sought after. Best example is the 3-series BMW. Lots of yuppies here who have the money and want the fun.

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

I wonder if Carmax would give you a better price to buy it from you. But then you loose the tax bennifit from tradding. I know around Chicago there are alot of MT cars running around, but when I was pricing used TL's, the MT's were going cheaper. It does depend on where you live, but overall I have hear MT's don't hold value like an auto.

Xx06SickspdTlxX

Thats kinda surprising, but i could see why because there is nothing but older people living in FL. They are probably just scared that they will have the car on the lot for a while and wont make any money on the sale. I bought my 6mt in Naples, FL. it was kinda wierd i was looking for a vehicle for my girlfriend and came across a black on black tl navi 6mt, which was exactly the car i have always wanted!

onyx1121

The dealer warned me about this on 6MT. He says the resale is not good on them. I went with a 6MT TL-S (because it came with the limited slip differential), so I was concerned but he said that he thought the TL-S might fair better because it appealed to a more sports car crowd.

In general, 6MT do not do well in resale unless it is a sports car. So I don't blame the dealer for responding the way he did. Might be something to consider for your future cars.

FRST4DR

My dealer does not even have them on the lot. They say the majority of the people that buy there cars want an automatic, so there for they dont stock them.

jazzpicker

Maybe I'm wrong but I look at a TL NBP 6MT as somewhat of a prize. I doubt that any dealership would have problems selling the car within a year but to a younger driver that likes performance.

When I asked the salesman yesterday, I was "fishing" for a price, being the end of the model year and many cars on the lot, I thought that I might luck up and find a good price.

Here was the deal presented to me, Trading in my 05TL 6MT navi, not a scratch, or a door ding, perfect 29K miles, for an 07 TL navi auto would cost me 13K+Tax. That's giving me about 21 K for my car according to the salesman. I suppose an auto would be worth about 2K more with AT although it lists for the the same price.

The thing that kinda pissed me off was they were not really interested in taking my car. Tallahassee is a conservative town where most people drive conservative cars. I guess that's the reason.

An interesting note, after installing air and cabin filters last night, I took the car for a test drive, coming around a corner a deer appeared in the road and the brembo brakes, saved both the deer and myself. The car will stop on a dime.

I'll try to find an 08 in August while I'm in South Florida and If I can't find one, oh well!!!!.

Type S Zero

really hard car to sell, stays on the lot for too long.
even harder with CL-S 6MT

dealers don't really want these cars because they are for a very tiny portion of the market.
most of the time they'll be stuck with them for long and letting them go for what they paid for a few months later.

AngeloUCF

That's where I bought mine, I doubt it was there. Salesman said 6MTs only last a day or two on the lot since they're rare.

01tl4tl

Dealers only want the cars they know they can turn in 30 days or less
Simple facts of life
Carmax with its nationwide shipping service and can sell anything because
not restricted to that market area

Also understand - in their mind- 2 year old car with 30k, most of the warranty used up already- thats lowers value, a 6sp may need a clutch or have trans probs- another thing the dealer doesnt want the hassle of. Its turn and burn in their industry

What does the kelly book say- the low number is usually what the dealer will offer

jazzpicker

Courtesy was a Volvo, Nissan. Olds dealership that's out of buisness now. Proctor is the Acura dealership and they have a very good reputation. I've had very few problems with them aand have been a loyal customer. I consider the employees as friends and have no grounds to fire anyone.

They took my 2nd generation TL with a "time bomb" transmission. They also have Cadillac and Hummer dealerships. Bummer huh? Maybe the gas prices and low sales with the big cars are making them more conservative in their trading.

jazzpicker

I'll be in the Ft Myers/Naples area for part of the summer. If you have any contacts or advice about the dealerships there, please post.
Thanks!!

Xx06SickspdTlxX

Pm me when you come down, i work for Germain Honda, i bought my Acura at Germain Acura and i know everyone pretty well, i could probably try to get you a deal. If not you could try scanlon acura in ft. myers.

INSPIRE 32V

iTrader: (1)

u would think 6mt would have a better resale value since there aren't a lot of them but i guess dealers don't think the same way

darksom1

Try to sell it to an individual. Put it on Ebay or Craig's list! Auto.com! I would never trade my car and get nothing (which dealerships do) in return. You get way more money selling it! When it's time to get out of my car, I will most definitely be selling it instead of taking it to a dealership restricted by "guidelines" as far as what they will pay out!

Why not wait another year anyway for the newly redesigned cars in the Acura line anyway? Good luck!

MurdochTL

I bought my 06 MT TL last August from Rick Starr Acura in Ft. Pierce. The only manual they had on the lot was the dealer car. I gave them three or four different color combinations that I was interested in and the salesman said there were three MT in those colors in the entire state! I also checked out the two dealerships in the Orlando Area and they didn't have any MT on the lot! Crazy old Floridians.

jazzpicker

That's funny and probably true. You can get more for a golf cart here than a mint TL 6MT.

I’ve read these forums for a long time and can tell you there are people out there wanting 6 speed cars but try to trade one and it's a big problem. I really think it's sales BS, they know they can sell the car and I do realize that I'll take a hit on a manual transmission but not a big hit.

01tl4tl

So list it on The Black Market here and get the most for yourself
The dealer just marks up the price of whatever you are buying to offset the trade in anyway.

lavo

Thats EXACTLY what im looking for, where are you? dealerships round here say the MT wont stay on the lot for more than a day, i cant find one anywhere around here, let me know the details, email me at Lavo98@aol.com.

Chris

MR1

As others have said, sell it yourself. Just look at the sales numbers overall. AT outsell MT TL's something like 15/1. Most of you guys had to hunt down or wait for your new MT.

Acura and everyone else make and stock more of what sells. They really don't care, if it sells they make it. As much as some of you love the MT, it's just not a hot item overall. I'm not trying to start a war or anything, just stating the facts.

When you resell your manual transmission TL, you should probably sell it yourself to get top dollar. Be prepared to have it on the market for a while because most of us poor souls drive automatics for various reasons.

jazzpicker

I don't know how other states work but in Florida if you do a trade in with the dealer you only pay sales tax on the difference between the cars.
EX: Trade in the TL and pay 5K difference, sales tax @7%=$350

Sell the car to a private individual for 25 K, then buy a car from the dealership
for 30K + 7% tax= $2100

The trade-in tax advantage makes it hard to sell to individuals. Dealing with $30-40,000 cars, sales tax comes to a lot of money. I suppose all the states are the same but it makes it hard to come out ahead on a private sale.

I know you guys know all this stuff and this is exactly the reason I first try the dealer trade in.

csmeance

the tax does add up, you pay taxes in two places and end up paying more in taxes rather than making the deal to trade with the dealership.
Jazzpicker, where are you located? Ccan you give me specific details on you TL? If you can, I might be able to get you a very good deal on a new acura @ courtsey acura as i know some people that work there as there are my "relatives"

gurneyeagle

When I bought my TL in Baton Rouge, LA three weeks after Katrina, there were no manuals on the lot. The salesman told me that they rarely get them in.

The point made earlier was dead on - it depends where you live. I'm sure out West, especially Southern CA, 6MT's are common place. Down in the Banana Republic, AT's rule. I always had trouble selling my manual tranny cars, and I'm sure that would be reflected in any trade-in quotes now.

Personally, I miss not having a manual, but life goes on. That being said, the auto isn't too bad when crawling 20 miles in afternoon commute traffic.

lavo

but whatd the dealership offer you?? like 22k?? then your still out some cash.

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

TOO bad you don't live around Chicago. Any color combo, any trans, any day.

reaXion

Take it to carmax we would love to buy it! We'll buy it even if you don't buy one of ours. Also there is a white type s in Kansas city for a great price!

Goodluck man

jazzpicker

I live in North Florida, Tallahassee, but am rapidly running out of time because the tarpon, bonefish and snook are waiting for me in South Florida. I'll leave Thursday and be living at the beach until sometime in August (depending on the hurricane season). I was hoping for a quick dealer trade but just don't have time to sell and buy before Thursday. I'll check the plentiful dealerships in Ft. Myers, Naples, Miami, Ft. Pierce and maybe can find a nice 08 at the end of the trip.

Johndoyle

As a long time manual transmission driver, I've found that these cars are best sold privately and by casting a wide net. I sold my last two BMWs, a '95 525i with a 5-speed and a '00 323i Wagon, also a 5-speed, to out-of-state enthusiasts who wanted manual transmission cars but couldn't find them. I delivered one to Ohio and got full price after undergoing inspection at the local BMW dealer and the other buyer drove in from Iowa to see the car and came back a week later to buy it, again full asking price.

You're appealing to a specialized market with this car, but it does exist. You just have to find the person who wants one. They're as frustrated trying to buy one as you are trying to sell one. If your car is nice, you'll be able to see it once you find Mr Right.

Good luck to you. By the way, I had to wait a couple of weeks to get my MT. Also, several of the dealers in my area didn't even have a car to drive, though they said they could order one for me. In the end, I bought the car from the dealer who at least showed me the respect of having the car available to drive. The dealer will always try to push you into what he has and tell you that whatever your car is, that's the one that won't sell.

John

Will Y.

Here in SoCal, a lot of dealerships do NOT order manual transmissions at all. When I was searching for a 6M TSX, I called/visited four or five dealers before finding one that had a manual tranny car I could drive. One dealer said that it never ordered manuals since its customers always bought autos.

The dealers will therefore try to charge buyers more by telling them that the manual tranny cars are more exclusive and more difficult to get, then indicate (correctly! ) at trade-in time that most buyers want autos and try to pay a lower trade in value.

FWIW, with the AT TL, I don't miss the 6M in stop-and-go or congested traffic either.

jazzpicker

Geez, I guess this finally solves the "great 6MT vs Auto" debate. As much as I like to drive stick shifts, I'm an automatic guy from now on!!!

HEK

I have close to 30K on my TL and just had the leather seats replaced and while there I was asked by the sales manager if I wa interetsed in rading my TL for a "S" and he said that 6MT are hard to find so top dollar would be given to me...I declined as I really don't see a reason for "upgrading" to an "automatic"...

nmsujeff88

Re: Carmax having a great price for used '07 Type-S, they are selling it for more than I purchased my brand new Type-S. Just had to throw in my worth and you can't negotiate the price at Carmax.

darksom1

Cut that out! Don't even JOKE like that! LOL! Damn an automatic! You got the tools, you just don't know how to use them!

Man, you have to try and THEN fail first. Don't give up! When you sell your car and put it out there, the real movers and shakers can make a play on it! No way I deny myself the dough I can get from a private sale by trading mine in! If you sell it, and then get what you want, or close, you gonna eat those words! It's about supply and demand man!! You already know there is a shortage of 6MT Acura TLs. So use that to your advantage when selling! Like Nike - JUST DO IT!!!!

Xx06SickspdTlxX

This is very true, how many 6mt's do you actually see in person on the street, besides this forum? In my area i havent seen any, plus in 07 6mt only comes in the type s and no longer on the regular tl. Im sure if you sold it privately it wouldnt take long to sell and you will get alot more for your car!

04Enthusiast

During 2006, I had been driving through the BMW and Acura dealers on Sundays looking for a car with a manual transmission. Our BMW dealer says they only order manuals if a customer special orders a car. The Acura dealer says they get a few in black.

I have always drove sport cars with MT and had no problem selling them. Then I bought a couple of Maximas with MT and had a difficult time unloading them. My wife's Maxima with AT sold in a few days. So when I bought my 2006 Acura TL I settled for an AT/Nav. I had buyer's remorse as soon as I drove off the dealer's lot.

It has been a difficult transition for me going from a MT to AT and my next car will probably be from a manufacturer that is still willing to sell and market manual transmission cars like VW, Audi, or BMW.

I was more concerned about resale value than buying a car I would really enjoy and now regret it.

I applaud everyone on this site that has purchase a TL with 6MT.