darklink99

Hi- I figure when ever buying a car, I should get the best opinions, and who better than owners/enthusiats. I'm helping my mom make a new car purchase. She is tired of driving a cargo van, and her Aerostar for every daily. (two cars she's owned well over 8 years). She's looking for something fun, but reliable. She does lots of driving for work, and will need to make some trips Sac, CA to Reno. We went out to an Acura dealer today, and drove a 04 tsx, and an 03 TL. She really liked the TL's interior and power, but still wanted a newer model. The dealer didnt have any 04's, as I've come to now understand they are very hot, and go quickly. We will test drive one once the dealers has some, but I just wanted to know about some people's exp. with the handling, performance, or reliablity of their 04 TL. We drove the Subaru 3.0R sedan the other day, which seemed very similiar to the TL, aside from AWD and about 20 hp. I was also going to have her look at an AWD Inifiniti G35 sedan or maybe an Audi a4. I know all of these cars are similar, but maybe someone with extra knowledge can highlight some pros or cons of these choices- because dealers dont always level with you. Whew- i know this is a long post.... but one last question. I seem to see some people mention that - they believed dealers would be more willing to make deals on 04 tl's because the 05's are due mid-late Sept. Is this somewhat true? If one was paying for the whole car - cash- with no finacing?


Any info would be greatly appreciated

Aquineas

Greetings.. Just a question. Two of the cars you're considering have AWD. Is that a priority? Sorry, I don't know if it snows or not where she is. Having said that, that Subaru looks nice, though I don't think it's as stylish as the TL. Here are the cars I would testdrive if I were her:

• TL (already mentioned obviously) -Pros: Great styling, great value for the money if the dealer doesn't try to screw you, comfortable -Cons: More rattly than it should be, crappy oem tires, suspect automatic transmisssion, and is it really worth 7-8K more than a top-of-the-line Accord?
• Outback 3.0R -Pros: AWD, Built in Japan, no-nonsense -Cons: Styling, quirky.. uh, can't really think of many more.
• G35, though not necessarily the AWD version, and you can probably get a great deal on an 04 as the 2005 models will come with a revised interior and more power -Pros:Excellent all-around car, built in Japan -Cons: chintzy interior, unattractive rear-end on the Sedan
• Lexus ES330 -Pros:Smooth, reliable, comfortable, will never offend -Cons:Pricey with options, looks like a Camry
• Honda Accord V6 EX -Pros:quick, great value, great all-around family sedan, very safe -Cons:butt-ugly exterior, more common than a teen pop-star with no vocal talent, no HIDs, which I consider mandatory on any car
• Audi- Personally, I wouldn't buy anything from either Audi or Volkswagen. Too many horror stories. A woman at work just bought a brand-new Touraeg that is already having tranny problems.
• Don't laugh, but the Hyundai Sonata and the XG350.. Pros on both: well made (they are up there with Honda for reliability), lots of features for the money Cons on both:anemic engine, heavy, goofy styling, horrible resale value

darklink99

Thanks Aquineas-

I dont know if the AWD is very important. We live in Sacramento, and therefore never see snow around here. But she does plan to make trips to Reno, and hence might run into some snow into the winter. She might still move within a year out of state- and is looking east coast. Does the AWD really come into play then? Will it really make a substainal diff. in handling over a TL?



Thanks for mentioning some other suggestions. Some other cars that caught her eye were Toyota Celica's and MR2's. But I've kinda steered her away from those cars. She also likes RX-8's and Volvo's- but I understand, like Audi, Volvo's can be problematic.

sporlux

please forgive me but what does OEM tires mean? I just bought a TL...

Thanks

NightRider

O - Original
E - Equipment
M - Manufacture

If it was going to be somewhere on the East COast, AWD is definitely nice, bit in my view not mandatory. Driving in snow sucks either way, so as long as you handle it cautiously, FWD or even RWD with snow tires is fine. If she is looking for a reliable car long term, these days she almost MUST go with an Asian car. Think about it this way, how many 10+ year old Chevy/Dodge/Fords do you see on the road now? How many 10+ year old Euro cars do you see that have not required tons of money put into them?

DWP

You must have gone to Niello Acura in Sacrameno. We went there last Saturday to look at an '04 TL but they had exactly one in stock, a demo that was out on a test drive. We didn't wait for it to come back because nobody was available to talk to us. On Sunday we went to Acura of Elk Grove. A very nice salesperson spent a lot of no-pressure time with us and showed us some of the several '04 TLs they had on the lot. Their facility is also nicer than the other dealer. Of course, that was then, and they may also be sold out by now, since lots of people seemed to be interested in the TL. I have no connection with Acura of Elk Grove.

darklink99

Thanks for the tip. The dealer at Niello seemed nice enough, but if Elk Grove has some to demo- we should go take a look.

DWP

I would call before going to Elk Grove if it's a major drive for you. Last Sunday we were standing next to a new TL talking to the salesman when another salesman came up and drove it away because he needed a demo for some other customers - so, their TLs seemed to be going really fast.

caball88

i looked at an audi a4 as well but price for performance and features blows the audi away. the 1.8T model is underpowered in my opinion for a 4 door sedan. the 3.0L a4 is has 220hp which is more decent but starts at the same price of the TL which has a 270hp engine. i know its not all about hp figures but the extras like the bluetooth and sat radio is a real nice extra. also with acura there are not alot of added options to pay for. alot of german cars will have a ton of extra options to tack onto the base price. in fact when you price out a non-quattro 3.0 sedan with the same specs as the TL it comes out to more than a TL with nav.

jdone

[*]Outback 3.0R -Pros: AWD, Built in Japan,

Subaru Outbacks are built in Indiana.

Snive

Is it her business, or does she work for a company that reimburses her miles?

If it's her business then she might be best off getting a gigantic SUV. If it's gross vehicle weight rating is over 6000 lbs. she'll qualify for substantial tax savings. No gas guzzler tax and for as much as it costs to maintain and fuel, she'll get the tax write-offs for work.

If she drives for someone else that reimburses her, then she should look into a hybrid vehicle and make money driving. That civic or prius get incredible gas mileage and if she's making 32.5 cents per mile at work, the car's fuel efficiency can offset much of its cost.

just thought I'd throw that out there for ya.
If she enjoys driving, then the TL is a wonderful car to drive. So is the accord and the g35 and many of the other cars mentioned.

youngTL

Don't forget the Accord hybrid is coming out soon! I may get one when I graduate if I can't afford a new TL.

caball88

accord hybrid might cost as much as the TL because of the new hybrid technology when comparably equiped. they have to pay off some of the R&D that was done in making the car. the benefit is that some of the cost will be offset by the gas that you save and the tax deduction that you can get.

darklink99

I'm curious about the pricing on the 04 TL. If we're looking at an AT w/ navi- can we get it for 33-34k out the door? Does paying it full in cash help? What are you prices you guys paid?


Also- I do understand that here in Nor Cal- good deals are probably sparse compared with other parts of the country

AcuraVic

Paying cash got me $2000 off. Not much on $41,000