rhiannon1207

I'm trying to decide whether to buy a 2007 Acura TL w/ Navi. The deal
I have negotiated is $34,100 + TTL. Included in the car are mud guards and
wheel locks. The car that I was going to purchase arrived at the dealership
this evening, so I wanted to drive it first before purchasing. Much to my
disappointment, the car had 2 major rattles (one in the sunroof and one in
the dash), so I told the salesman no way would I take this car. I have a 2002
Acura TL that had a sunroof rattle and it took a multitude of trips to get the
dealer to get the rattle fixed. So here are my questions:

1) The salesman said that he could have another car for me next week. I
can't decide whether to get black or silver. I have had 2 black cars and don't
have a problem keeping them clean - I'm fanatical about a clean car. I think
the black looks sharper. Would silver be that much easier to keep clean?
I also like the carbon bronze, but it doesn't seem quite as exciting as a shiny
black car. I know this is personal but I'm curious to here what others think.

2) Are rattles a chronic problem in these cars?

3) Is $34,100 a good deal for the car? I saw someone say that they got the
car for invoice.

4) The silver/carbon colored trim on the center console looks cheap. Is faux
wood trim offered as a replacement?

5) The trunk seems quite a bit smaller than the my 2002's trunk. Do most people
find that to be an issue?

6) I have not seen anything on these forums to indicate that there have been
any problems with the tranny in the 3rd generation. Is that true? I'm really
paranoid about that since my 2002 had to have the tranny replaced.

I took a friend of mine along with me to test drive the car and he didn't think the
car was as "classy" on the interior as my 2002. I felt the interior was sportier
but also agree that it didn't feel as classy.

The only reason that I'm even thinking about buying this new TL is because I'm
afraid the tranny will die on me again in the 2002. Otherwise, it's in great shape
with very low mileage (31,200). Should I just stick with this car and wait for the
2009's to come out? The warranty on my tranny will end in 2009. I want to
sell the car before the warranty runs out, but I'm not too crazy about waiting to
buy a 2009 since it will be newly re-designed and I don't want to deal with helping Acura get the bugs out.

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

JoeyASPEC

I'll just jump right in...

1) BLACK! Black cars (when clean) just look better. I have a silver SUV as well as my Blue TL and IMO, its gets dirty TOO easily. The SUV has chrome rims and they usually attract the most dust.

2) Rattles ARE unfortunately common among TL's. Mine isnt so bad. If i have my radio on at normal volume (between 5 and 15) I don't hear anything... but turning into my driveway with no radio on makes me feel like I'm in a rattle-mobile.

3) That price IMO isn't bad...

4) Depending on the interior color, some cars have C/F, others wood. If your interior color is matched with C/F I would simply request that your dealer change the pieces out to wood (which can be done, as a dealer-installed option)

5) I haven't owned a TL prior to my current one, but the trunk is very accomodating if you ask me. It also has a pass-through (I'm not sure if the 2002 has that - nice feature though).

6) I've seen maybe three people complain about their tranny, which on this forum is VERY little. Usually if something is a uniform problem for many cars people will post over and over and over (search Subwoofer rattle and you'll know exactly what I mean)

I have to disagree with you on the interior styling. Like I said, I've never owned a 2nd gen TL but have been in them and find the 3rd gen to be more sporty and sophisticated. About your car... I personally wouldn't wait - but I'm impatient. If you're a patient person, wait until they reveal the '09 design during mid-2008 and decide if you like it or not. That way you will have an opportunity to buy either the '08 3rd gen or the '09 4th gen. Are you 100% set on getting another ACURA or is this just ONE option?

rhiannon1207

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the rattles really bother me. If that's going to be
an issue with all of them, then I will really need to think hard about buying this car.

Regarding your question as to whether I am 100% set on getting another Acura, the
answer is no. As a matter of fact, after having transmission problems with the 2002, I
would love to make a statement to Acura by _not_ buying another one of their cars.
With that said, the price is right (really don't want to go much higher) and the TL has
pretty much all of the options I want. I want to stick with a Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura,
or Infiniti. Suggestions?

trancemission

well being that you are asking on an Acura Enthusiast forum I would hope to think that it would be pro acura...

My only answer to you is the TL is best bang for your buck.

But it may rattle. If thats something that you think you cant deal with then please dont buy the car, cuz I dont want to see all your threads on it...

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Go w/ the 07 TL in Black. IMHO, I think you can do better on an 07. Many folks are picking them up for or at around invoice. I have no tranny issues w/ my 05. Trunk is adequate. Interior styling is the benchmark for this segment IMHO. Alot of the bugs have been fixed for 07. The 4G TL (in my imagination) will bad ass but you said you don't want to be a guinea pig and am scared of your current tranny going out- get the 07 now.

TL1999

wait for 09 TL

JoeyASPEC

I hear you about the rattles. I first started hearing mine at around 13,000 miles or so. The sad part is that my aunt has a '94 Toyota Avalon with 100,000+ miles on it - NO RATTLE! TL is a great car if you can overlook occasional gitters.

Well If you want to stay in the price range and be comporably equipped, Lexus, IMO is not a great way to go. The only price-comporable car in their lineup is the IS250. It is much smaller than the TL, has less power, and can easily become out of the price range with the addition of just just a few options. I wouldn't buy a Toyota coming from an Acura... Lexus? Maybe. Toyota? No. The Honda Accords are great cars (my cousin has an '06) and are pretty much the same thing as the TL without the luxury and some features. The TL we spoke about. And last but definately not least the good ol' G35. This is my personal top pick of the lot. If I were in your situation I would go for the Infiniti G35 Sport. Not that I don't love the TL, but the radiant blue gauges are a trademark of the 3rd gen, and for some reason in '07, they decided to turn it down a knotch - I'm extremely picky about my cars and a simple change like this can lead me in another direction. (i.e. I was going to look @ an '07 TL-S and when I saw the interior lighting and gauges were red i said HELL NO). The G35, however, has always followed the Acura philosophy of "lots of features - not lots of bucks." The car was nicely redone for '07, has always set the benchmark in the category for power and handling, and has intelligent key (I love that feature). Both the TL and the G35S are great bang for buck, it's only a matter of taste an preference.

mickey3c

Hmmm Rattles have been part of owning the 3 acuras that I have had. The G I had did not suffer from that. In fact the acuras I have had have had more rattle issues than any of my cars. As for trannies, acura has always had that as a weak point since 00 (this is from personal experience and from a mechanic friend of mine that has his own business). I would say they have addressed the tranny issue by now, but it is something to think about for sure.

I recently bought another car/brand and when they asked me if I wanted a 6 speed automatic I was concerned since I got the acura model year for the 5 speed and well I had tranny issues as a result so I went with a 6 speed std.

SouthernBoy

I own two. Mine is an '04 manual and the wife's is an '05 automatic, both with Nav. Neither of them have any undue rattles.. both are tight and trouble free.