supdawg

Hi, I have been browsing the site for two days now, I figured I would post to let you know this is a great forum and I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay here.

I am in the market for a mid sized luxury-sports sedan. I have been looking at cars for months now, and I have narrowed it down to two choises. Lexus ES330, and the Acura TL.

I have just been to the local Acura dealer on Saturday, and I must admit I am really impressed! I was all set for the ES, but after spending 45 minutes test driving and talking to the salesman I am now leaning the other way.

I was worried about four things when I decided to check out the Acuras.
1. First year platform. I have visited many car forums, and it appears that many cars suffer from growing pains. To my surprise, there appears no real issues with this car except for the crappy stock tires. Not really a big problem as we don’t get much snow here.
2. The interior was too "cold" and it really turned me off at first glance. On the website, there were no pictures of the car with wood trim. After seeing one in real life, I have grown quite fond of the Acura interior. Space age looking would be a good descriptor for it.
3. Seats. I have test drove the 04 Accords, and I really hated the seats. They were too small for me, and the car was okay, but not great. The Acura on the other hand, had excellent seats.
4. Torque steer. After driving many Nissans, I must admit that there is very little torque steer in this car, even at very high rpms.

Thinking about purchasing within a few months, any advice tips would be greatly appreciated!

catsailr

Bought my new TL Friday in Nashville. Really like the car except Sunday I lowered the windows and the right rear window would not come up. Hate to have to come all the way back to Nashville, especially in the rain, to have the window fixed.

6mtV6

so your in the market for a mid sized luxury-sports sedan......
than why are you even considering the ES330...it is luxurious but not sporty....i'm just messing with you...lol

the ones i would consider are the G35, 330i, and TL...
but the 330i with the options that G35 and TL has will be too expensive...
i would definitely pick the G35 or the TL...

VQ35DE

You also may want to consider the I35 but, only if you're on a budget. They're loaded and are pretty heavily discounted. Caveat: no manual tranny, 5 y/o design and the usual VQ35DE/FWD torque steer.

But I will say that the new TL is in a different league. IMO, it's in the same league as Lexus GS and Infiniti M45 in terms of feel (subjective).

Peace.

vtechbrain

The name of this website is Acura-TL.com although other brand trolls lurk here. The unanimous recommendation is going to be buy a TL!

supdawg

Yes, I agree. The only way I would own another RWD car is if it had AWD. And that being said, The G35 is out due to because when you option it up, it's like 40K. The I30s are nice, but they are on the old platform, and I really dont like them.

The ES330 is not really in the same category of the TL, but is in the same price range. But the TL is definelty more bang for your buck. There's really not one thing that the Lex has that the TL does not.

supdawg

Ugh.. What a drive?

I am assuming you went to the Acura dealership in the cool springs area? If I may ask what kind of deal did you get from the dealer here? I am concerned that the dealer is going to not want to come of the price since they will have to order the car of my choice. But I have read many people here who ordered the car and still got 1000 dollars or more off MSRP.

AccordTypeR

I also would like to know if it was auto or MT

NAVI or non-NAVI

catsailr

My 04TL is desert mist with ebony interior, 5AT, Navi
I traded my 2000TL so don't know the real selling price. I decided before I went what I would trade for and they finally took my offer.

jjsC5

I'm a G35 owner. I have no problem with you wanting to by a new TL - a fine car. But I feel compelled to clear this up. I can't imagine how you came up with 40K. That would have to include Navigation, AWD and a dealer installed aero kit. With similar equipment, it is in the same price range as a TL. My 2003.5 sedan listed for 33K, and has everything a 33K TL has except Bluetooth and the DVD capability.

TL_6SPD

Option a G35 up you can get the G35X with AWD for $33-35k out the door.

Mine was loaded for 31k and it is rwd.

supdawg

True but with the two options I want, AWD & Navi, I get total.
Total Configured MSRP† $37,690.00
Not quite 40k, I guess I was using my handy dandy Enron math . But close enough to scare me away.

supdawg

I just dont get why so many people can't figure out what they paid when they traded in a car. At least here in TN it's simple.

Total price 35000
minus trade 10000
=25000
+ sales tax
+ payoff for previous car loan

Should equal the total amount of money borrowed.

catsailr

My interpretation of the question was what the dealer discount is, and not the amount of difference I paid. I agree that it is easy to figure that. What you don't know in a trade is what the dealer is actually getting for his car. Using your example, say the sticker price is $35k and the dealer says he will give $10k for your car. The dealer could be figuring a selling price of $33k and actually putting $8k in your car, making the same difference of $25k.