I'm starting to wonder if I should have bought an 04-06 range TL w/ nav instead. It probably would have offered about the same driving experience at half the price tag, and it looks nearly identical...

Thoughts? Should I sell and go cheap ? Ugh

 

is your TL-S a 6MT?
how long have you had your TL-S?

Can I ask how much you paid for it?
How many miles?

 

Automatic, paid $24.5 with 32k mi exactly

 

They look the same but go drive one. You'll sing a different tune.

As much as I hate to say it, I have to do a lot of random mods to get my base to feel like a type-s.

 

I'll trade you.

 

I paid $23k OTD for a 31k mile 06 6MT in March of 2010.


SURE, if you wanted a higher mileage vehicle, you would have paid less.

keep the TL-S and pay it off.

our cars are halfway there.
it has sporty shocks and produces the same horsepower as an auto type-s.

 

I tend to agree...but if you're already in, the difference in price will end up being lost on taxes etc. The type S is sweet...definitely has some nice upgrades to our older ones. But both can equally be made to look amazing.

I once almost pulled the trigger on a type S but at the time I owed 11K and didn't want to jump back up to 27 plus tax. Happy I kept her although as with any aging car, there are things that need to be addressed to keep her looking new.

 

TL-S is a stronger stock and have a slightly sporty look . I don't think you make mistake .

 

Well it's really the little things that make the difference to me. Sure I can have the same power, better suspension. But stuff like the stitching on the seats, the accents, newer nav, sound deading, the power steering differences... the list of little random shit really adds up. Lol

 

I thought IHC found out that there was no power steering differences.
the type-s steering rack provides the same ratio as the base steering rack.
if this is what you were talking about, if not...disregard

 

Honestly...people that paid a lot more for their car will end up feeling like there are HUGE differences between base and type s.

People that don't have all the extra little bells and whistles will say the car feels the same.

I'm part of the latter...and I don't sweat type s's at all. When you're driving you're driving, not looking at stitching or whether or not you have a reverse camera. Nice creature comforts, sure...do I care that I don't have em?...nope. Patience...next car will have em...for an 8 year old car I'm impressed by how many bells and whistles my car DOES have. Plus, at this point I get a kick out of the reaction I get when I tell people how old the car is.

 

i'll trade you my 07....

 

I was more or less regarding the pump. The point is there are lot's of little things.

I agree, I don't sweat type-s' at all either. Personally there are more things I don't like about it then do.

 

Red, you're "good to go" with the Type S. Drive it and enjoy!

 

REDsTL...

there is a difference and its worth the money IMO...

Plus no one keeps the car stock and when you plan on selling the stock stuff of the car you get more for it....

Suspension/Tails/Exhaust/high flow cats/Front Sway Bar....So where the base fellows pay for the stuff and sell their stock stuff for dirt cheap you can recuperate your costs there...

I say if your not breaking your back to make the payments and the car is affordable, KEEP IT

On the other hand if you cant afford the payment then I would say cut your losses loose and go Base....

 

god damn your car is nice....what wheels are those?

 

I hate that sound option in the new TLs. My friend blew 2 alpine subs until he finally figured out how to shut that thing off i believe. Everytime he would step on the pedal the sub would get enormously loud and blow

But dont trade your TLs in for a regular TL

 

07 with a dent in the rear wheel well....

 

Thanks buddy, they are work emotion xc8's in gloss black.

 

Keep it and just gut it out until paid. Not sure of your situation but I agree with taking the loss of trade or selling then buying and refinancing and taxes tag all the little things will end up costing more than just staying where you are at.

If its that bad try to refinance your S to get the payment monkey off your back??

Either way good luck with your decision.

 

lol

and OP, i vote that you should keep it as well. i personally love my TL-S and wouldnt want to trade it

 

lol what? What sound option are you talking about? If your referring to the active noise canceling I have never experienced anything like your describing. The sub got loud when he accelerated? hahaha interesting.

I say keep the Type S. If you went from a Type S to a base your going to be wishing you never did. Keep what you have its a nice unique car.

 

I would keep it, as mentioned earlier its the little things that make the big difference. Have you driven a base TL before?

 

People sometimes buy the Base to save some money but at the end they want to make the Type S conversion,(wheels headlights,tail lights,headrest,exhaust system,etc) and there is the difference in money. Now you have a clone, almost at the same price of the original S.Why just buy the S and you won't be worry to make the conversion.

Keep you S!!!

 

LoL... this thread is going to have such biased responses...

 

How much of a price difference is there? You're not really downgrading that much going to a base TL. Just stick with what you got.

 

yeah according to him that noise canceling feature was causing all sorts of problems. I never personally checked it out tho just what i was told

 

I've had both cars. Base TL is still a great car---TL-S is a better version of it.
I think the TL-S is worth the premium. Its pretty rare and all of the "little things" like another poster said add up. Unless u traded someone your TLS for a TL---you will take a loss trading it in and rebuying another tl

 

my type s steering is stiffer than a base tl, i guarantee that. i paid 17.5k OTD for my tl-s couple months ago, base TL's were about 1000 cheaper for me at the time but i felt going with the type s was worth it.

 

Poor TL-S not feeling the love

 

Well...at 17.5 out the door, I might have considered it but the dealership was still trying to tell me it was a unicorn and I should pay 28K. Definitely wasn't worth it.

 

This......

 

Steering is stiffer as in harder to turn but the ratio is exactly the same so there's no performance advantage. The base already has heavy steering so I see no point in heavier steering. For $1,000 difference I would definitely get the Type-S.

Of course this thread is going to be biased. I personally don't think it's worth the premium because many of the TL-S specific items I don't like such as the red stitching, rims, and tails. To someone else that likes that stuff it might be worth it. Personally I had a very hard time feeling a difference in straight line acceleration and handling between the base and type S. I test drove the 6mt and 5at at a time I was considering "upgrading" and the difference was too small. With that said, if I already had a Type-S, there's no way I would trade it in for a base unless I absolutely couldn't afford it.

And to those people who act as if they can afford a Type-S and other less unfortunate people can't making that the reason they didn't get one, keep in mind my brand new base model cost much more than your used Type-S did. You don't see the original owners talking down to second hand owners so maybe used Type S owners should watch how they come across to base owners.

 

I bought the base TL because after 5 years of leasing my stepdad sold his 40K TL (sport package, which became aspec) to me for 14K, which was the plan. So the Type S was never an option. I got the Type S tails...which had a chip that Fedex put on it...and reimbursed me the whole cost of the lights. 100 for the type S diffusers and 140 for the headlight diffusers. That's about all that's "type S" on my car. Like I said, I DO love the turn signal mirros and stitching and bit more horsepower (drove a 6MT like my base and NO, I was not even close to blown away by how much more power there was)...the reverse camera and nav. Worth a 16K jump to pay off in addition to what I already owed AND to have basically the same car. Not to me.

If I was in the market for ANY car at this age I've learned, you ALWAYS go for the top of the line or you will be pissed. SRT8, GT5.0, 335i or M3, SS...always the top of the line. Learned that on my LX accord every time I saw an EX. But given the situation under which I made my decision, the type S doesn't justify the pricetag. IN addition, to be honest with you there are some things on the Type S that I DON'T like...I've always liked my aspec wheels and now my work wheels more...I've always liked my Aspec kit on the base 04 more...I've always liked that I paid less than a new kia for mine too. Again...to ME.

 

Very well fkin said! Wish i was there to shake ur hand lol...

U buy wat u want and not because sum1 else said oh look that one looks better because it has red stitching.... base or type-s at the end of the day it is still a TL both sexy

 

i own a 05 base and loving it, it looks elegant and classy. depending on what you really want, if you want a sportier look , hp and able to afford it, the type S is a very good choice.

 

Thanks Steven Bell.
I love you.

 

If you've got it, keep it. It's a good car.

How much (or how little) the differences are worth? Who knows? But I've reached the point where I don't care who thinks it is and thinks it isn't. It was worth the premium to me, that's what I know about it.

 

On another note Steve .... That's one helluva signature .. perks of being a moderator...

 

I don't have a lot of experience with the base but I recently got my 07 type S with 34k miles for 21.5 OTD and I have yet to have the slightest bit of buyers remorse. Yeah I could have got a base for 2 or 3 grand less but to me it was well worth it. I see base TL everyday, but it is a rare occasion for me to run across another type S in my town. I say keep it someone earlier made the most legit comment saying something along the lines of how much you would loose in taxes etc. if you did sell and go for a base.