I tried searching for this but couldn't find any specific mention of this topic.

Anyway, I was wondering if any A-Spec owners out there were given the original 17-inch wheels and tires in addition to the upgraded (A-Spec) 18-inch wheels and tires when they bought their car. I'm quite smitten with the TL and have test-driven a couple of them at various local dealerships. But when questioned about the arrangements over ordering the A-Spec package and what actually constitutes that package, I've gotten somewhat differing responses from the salespersons.

I'll refrain from mentioning which dealerships I'm referring to here, but one dealership told me I'd get the original 17-inch wheels and tires along with the 18-inchers "to use as a backup", while two other dealerships said that I wouldn't. The price for the A-Spec package they quoted me was the same in all cases.

So is this merely a case of one particular dealership being desperate to close a deal (and thereby being prepared to throw in more goodies), or am I being bamboozled?

Hoping to have this cleared up before I commit to buying. Thanks!

 

It depends on your dealer. No matter where you go, you should be able to demand that they give you your wheels back. I had mine installed after I purchased the TL (Mainly because the cost was cheaper after the fact) but, the three dealers I asked all said I would rcv my original wheels and tires back.

Do some price shopping to make sure they are giving you a good price on the a-spec. You can get the a-spec package from ebay (a few acura dealers sell them on there) for much cheaper than the $6000 dealers try to charge you.

Good luck with the purchase and welcome to the forums.

 

VP911> Thanks for the quick response. In my case, I'm (most likely) buying the car with the A-Spec package installed, in fact, right off the showroom floor (not sure if that's a good thing). Would you say that it seems like a pretty good deal if the dealership is indeed willing to give me the original wheels and tires in addition to the A-Spec wheels and tires, in light of the fact that there are some dealerships who wouldn't?

 

I bought my TL and had to wait a day to see if they could get their hands on an A-Spec package. This was also part of the reason I got my car at the dealership I did. It came down to who could get my car together on the day I wanted it. But back to the A-Spec, since I was buying a stock TL 5AT with NAVI and then getting the A-Spec installed, I asked for the 17" tires and rims and the steering wheel. They gave me the wheels, but not the steering wheel. I forget the reason why, but they reduced the price by about $500 for that. I also asked the same thing about the suspension parts, forgot what they said about those, but I do not have the original parts, nor did I want them.

If you are buying a dealer prepared A-Spec, you might not get the wheels and steering wheel back as they have "used" them or sent them on. But if you are buying a stock TL and then asking to have the A-Spec installed, demand your 17" wheels back at the very least. I would ask for all the stock stuff back unless you dont want it. But it is nice to have a spare set of wheels and a steering wheel to hang in your home office!

 

Pocus> Thanks for your input. Actually (and please don't laugh), I'm toying with the idea of putting the stock TL wheels and tires on my older Legend. The stock wheels on my Legend are 15 inches only, and this would constitute a +2 upgrade, but the overall circumference of the 17-inch wheel/tire combination isn't significantly larger than the stock setup on the Legend (which has only 54,000km on it by the way, not bad for an 11-year-old car, huh?). If the offsets work, and the spokes clear the calipers, I'm hoping it'll give the Legend a new lease on life. In any case, the stock TL wheels would cost a pretty penny if you had to actually buy them from a dealership, so I figure it's a pretty big factor in my purchasing decision.

 

It depends on the price you are paying. You should be able to negotiate the price. I paid $33,800 for my 5AT (2005) with navi. I then paid about $3650 for the a-spec parts and then about $600 for installation. So a total of $38,050. If they are not giving you your stock wheels you should be able to get an additional $500 off the price. You can sell the stock wheels for that much on ebay (just to show the value of the wheels).

 

Yes, you've got a good point there. And you know what? Given that all three dealerships that I've spoken to are indeed quoting me more or less the same price for a dealer-installed TL w/ A-Spec, I guess it's pretty much an automatic decision on my part as to which dealer I ought to go with.

Okay, I'll report back after I haggle over the price a little more with the salesperson and let you folks know what I've ultimately decided on.

Watch this space.

 

I bought my TL without the ASPEC kit, but am slowly upgrading everything. Acura of Seattle wanted $3500 for the ASPEC gunmetal rims with tires, and said they would give me a $1000 credit for the Stock Wheels and tires, making the ASPEC rims "only " $2500 plus tax of course. I got my rims off ebay for less then $1400 and $500 for my tires, and then turned around and sold the stock rims w/ tires (used) for $600, so they ended up costing me $1400 tax free. So I suggest you do the upgrading yourself, it saves you alot of cash.