dhruvgupta

I'm considering a Tl Type S. Unlike some other cars, Acura TLs don't come with free maintenance over the term of the warranty.

Is there such a thing as pre-paid maintenance for Acura from Acura ?

Does anyone purchase the pre-paid service contracts from Acura dealers? How much should one be paying for these?

Thanks for any advice.

toocoolcord19

There is a package that you can buy from the dealer for maintenance packages. The price depends on how long you want to pre pay. They have a few options I think ranging up to 90k if I'm not mistaken. Honestly, you will be overpaying if you do it through a dealer. Just read the maintenance booklet and take it to a reputabkle local shop for ROUTINE maintenance and you will definaely save money over the dealer. Good luck with the purchase. You won't regret the TLS

LyfeIs

I have this for my TL. The dealer gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. The free maintenance is for the term of my lease (36 months).

It's usually the finance guy that offers you this pkg and I would negotiate this with him. After I refused it several times, they cut the price almost in 1/2.

dumamei

I bought an 08 TL in December and paid $500 for synthetic oil changes for 4 yrs..

I looked at it like this.. $60 per oil change, 3 times a year, for 4 years is going to cost me $720. A savings of $220...It was a good deal..

I dont keep cars longer than the warranty lasts, (which is 4yrs or 48000 miles), so once I have used up all the oil changes, it will be time for a new ride...

Desert_TL

Seems like a waste to dump all of that money for expensive synthetic oil when you're just going to get rid of the car at 50k. Everyone knows that synthetic oil doesn't really help performance, but will be very nice to the person who buys your car and keeps it to 200k+ miles.

BMW and other car makers have "free"maintainence, but don't be fooled. You ARE paying for that maintainence, you just don't realize it. They roll the cost of that maintainence in the price of the car. If BMW wasn't offering "free" maintainence, they could afford to drop the prices on all their cars by $500 or more. They're not in the business of doing people favors and giving them freebies - there's nothing really "free" about free maintainence. They ARE recouping that cost from you.

Service contracts seem like a waste. What happens if you move, don't drive the car as much as you think you are, etc? It's money down the drain.

dhruvgupta

I used to own a VW passat and the included maintenance saved a bundle on the major services (not just oil changes).

Could anyone tell me how much the major scheduled maintenances cost? 15k? 30k? 60k? etc.? Do you go to a PeP Boys for such services as well?

The finance guys are definitely going to try to pressure me into buying the maintenance contract and the extended warranty - just need to be armed with the right data!

Thanks for all your comments - much appreciated advice.

platinum1

I don't know much how the dealers charge their customers for the scheduled maintenance since I always it myself. It's because DIY maintenance save you a ton of money + you know exactly the condition of your cars (since you maintain them yourself). You can expect your cars to hold up the value high for resale later on, like the cars that are maintained by dealer service shops (but you pay hefty price for them to do the maintenance because the cost is included with the price of the car, or the finance guy will ask you if you want the option of scheduled maintenance price added into the total price).

That's right. There is no such thing as free scheduled maintenance. Regarding people here that have european cars, ask them if they do it themselves or go to the dealer to do it (independent service shops can do it as well, provided they have the necessary electronic tools needed to reset the computers in the cars). Most of the time they go to the dealers or independent shops because they don't have these needed tools to do it themselves

dhruvgupta

I'm definitely not qualified to maintain the car myself! So I will need to go to a shop or a dealer.

Does anyone have any insight into the cost of major services? The dealers always fudge the numbers and quote "$500 for blah blah blah ..... this $950 contract will save you so much" ..... Any real data will help.

dhruvgupta

So what was the offer? What made sense? Did it include major services?

LyfeIs

Dont know the exact price, it was around 300 for both the maintenance and the windshield replacement pkg.

dhruvgupta

How much do oil changes/services at non-dealer shops cost?

sayhey66024

My dealer (elk grove acura) included all scheduled maint at no charge as part of the current lease deal on the TL's. I realize nothing is free, but I got the lease for the same price as advertised on the acura web site plus maint at no additional cost. Not a bad deal.

vawn69

It's a case by case depending on person. What works for you might now work for others. I agree that nothing is free. I want things for free but understand it is what it is. The TL has been a great car for me. I enjoy and take pride in owning one. I have an extended warranty on mine only because I had an aftermarket one. I don't have to drive 150 miles to the nearest Acura dealership. For me, time is worth waaaaay more than dealing with stuff that might break on my car!

wilsel

If you're willing to spend/finance that into the price of the car, and monthly payment. Why not just take that money each month, and have it automatically drafted from your checking account, into a high interest savings account? Atleast instead of paying more interest, you'll be earning some.