Been in the market to buy another car for quite sometime now but recently have been taking it more serious after starting a new job in Illinois (originally from New Hampshire). I'm new to the site and joined to help with the purchasing process and hope to be able to contribute once I do find and own what will be my first Acura.

I currently own two Hondas, a ‘99 CR-V as daily and a ‘95 Del sol as a project/fun car/money pit. The plan was to replace the CR-V as a daily but at the moment I’m not necessarily looking to get rid of it in order to get another car.

My father is a used car dealer back in NH and because of this I’ve had to opportunity to test drive several Hondas and Acuras driving to and from inspections. This is when I really admired the TL and wanted one of my own.

Originally I’d thought I’d just get a salvage or high mileage TSX, base TL (3rd gen) or even an RL(2nd gen) for as close to $10-12K as possible but since then my budget has increased to around $20K. This made the RL more of a possibility as well as Type-S TL and with the higher budget even considered an RDX since it would retain the space and utility I’ve come to enjoy with the CR-V but have the luxury of an Acura and the power of the turbo.

But as of now I think I’ve managed to narrow my choice down to a TL Type-S as my number one choice but still consider the RL as a strong second contender. I just haven’t had much luck finding the RL I like or even got the chance to test drive it compared to the TL which is why the Type-S seems a more likely choice at the moment.

I spent a majority of last week which I had off for holiday car shopping in the New England area.

I test drove this CPO WDP ’08 Type-S with 48K mi from an Acura dealership in MA:

http://www.acuraofpeabody.com/certified/Acura/2008-Acura-TL-f47c31d0404638d301aec462bb755c46.htm

The list price was $24,800 at the time and see they have already dropped it almost $1k in the past week.

The only problem was I wanted WDP with ebony/silver interior versus the taupe which is why I didn’t end up going back to negotiate. I was considering “dealing” with it since it was local and could take it home that week but decided to keep looking even if that meant looking further into NY or NJ.

I ended up finding this private sale ’07 WDP $54K mi with the interior I wanted in NY for around the same price so contacted the seller:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=313041102&dealer_id=66888421&c ar_year=2007&systime=&doors=&model=TL_MODELSCLASS_ SERIES&search_lang=en&start_year=2007&keywordsfyc= __VHlwZS1T__&keywordsrep=084121112101045083&highli ghtFirstMakeModel=&search_type=both&distance=200&m in_price=&rdm=1325616028910&drive=&marketZipError= false&advanced=y&fuel=&keywords_display=Type-S&lastBeginningStartYear=1981&end_year=2008&showZi pError=n&make2=&certified=&engine=&dma=BOSTON_MN&p age_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&body_code =0&isFlashPlugin=true&transmission=&default_sort=& max_mileage=&color=WHITE&address=03038&sort_type=p riceDESC&max_price=&color2=&make=ACURA&seller_type =b&num_records=25&cardist=190&standard=false

You’ll notice the missing oem type-s wheels and 350z wheels in their place but wasn’t a huge concern to me since it would just be an excuse to pick up aftermarket wheels later on.
Also the next most noticeable thing is the black painted roof which again I don’t mind and figured its an easy option to have the roof painted back to WDP later on.
But again the car was reasonably close with the interior I wanted and the added bonus of the a-spec lip kits already installed which would be the first mod I’d do to my type-s if it didn’t come with it. The extended warranty is also an attractive feature as well.

Unfortnately with holidays and timing I didn’t get a chance to drive out and check it out in person before I had to fly back to IL for work. Also getting a loan in that time frame was difficult as well which I would need since it’s a private sale with a current lein on the title. I am having my dad go check it out while he is in NYC for a wedding. I trust his mechanical opinion as good as mine so looking forward to hearing back. If everything works out I’d be willing to fly back home to pick it up and drive it out here to IL.

In the meantime I did find this in the Chicago area, an 07 WDP with ebony and lower milage, just under 20k, but obviously with a higher price and a strech away from my original budget.

http://www.acurabymcgrath.com/used/Acura/2007-Acura-TL-Westmont-ccb7f02f0a0d048e009bf2016a6859ef.htm#


But anyway I just wanted to share my situation and get any opinions feedbacks from others since this has been quite a nerve racking process. Being indecisive doesn’t help but I have come to the conclusion I’m pretty sure what I want and it's just a matter of finding it. White with black interior is a must and would only consider other color combos if the price was worth making the sacrifice.

The last major concern I have is if I will regret going with AT instead of 6spd MT (one of the main reasons I wanted an RL since this wouldn't be an option/issue. plus sh-awd of course). I have driven a 6spd TSX for the past week and really enjoyed how fun it was but can see where it can be impractical as a daily (in traffic or city parking). The Type-S would be even more fun as a 6spd than the TSX but hope the paddle shifters on the type-s would keep me entertained enough when I want and just leave it auto when I don’t.

 

cliffs?

 

^ lol damn... +1

Welcome to the board!

 

whoa alot to read through?

 

The Type S in Chicago is a bit higher, but considering the cost of flying and driving back to IL., and the much lower mileage, it may be worth it to buy the local one. Plus it has the stock wheels and WDP roof (again, a cost to paint the other one WDP). My

Oh, and welcome to AZ

 

Ya i have a tendency to do that and a bad habit I picked up from other forums I've joined.

But the truth is that is everything I'm thinking which is why I'm so confused about buying a new car.

Cliffs:

1. Want TL Type-S, WDP with Ebony.
2. Found one and hope to buy it.
3. Thinking of waiting to find MT instead
4. ???
5. profit.

 

i love the white type s with taupe much nicer and luxury looking i think..when i bought my TL-S they had a white TL-S with ebony , i pass on it because i think the black don't look nice as the taupe...in the end go with whatever makes you happy ...if they don't got one you want just wait. If your not in a rush

 

Thanks and good point. Also financing through the dealership would be easier than the whole loan process I've been looking into with the private sale in NY.

It would cost more to fly home and drive back but comes with a few advantages but may or may not be worth it. One being having a friend install the alarm/remote start for cheap/quick but could be something I could get done out here too or even do myself. Not sure about registering/inspecting and taxes back in NH versus IL whether its allowed or how much cheaper it may be.

 

If you want a MT car, don't settle and buy AT. Hold out and get what you want, otherwise, you're going to regret it later.

 

I don't like taupe but truth is I'm not thrilled about the two tone ebony interior either. I'd prefer all black and even thought about getting base black interior and just swap over the headrests if that's possibility.

Also the taupe on the type-s is far better than on the base. The dash and carpet is still black later on converting to black wouldn't be that bad in theory...just expensive I'm sure.

 

Out of those 3 I would take the one in NY. The roof can be repainted for very little.

If it were me and I have some time, I would keep looking.

 

That's what i'm most afraid of it would just be a matter of being sure if MT indeed is what I want. I guess my best bet is to try it. I certainly don't mind AT and actually think there is possibility I could regret MT if I went with it. That definitely doesn't seem to be the case on this forum from what I read and the consensus appears to be MT > AT.

Although I don't want to rush when making a decision like this I have to admit I've had enough trouble finding WDP with ebony interior in AT. I have a feeling it will be a while until one in MT pops up somewhat local to either location. I have only found a handful of them in nationwide searches.

That's where I'm at now and was even thinking about calling my body shop that did my del sol to get an exact quote and factor it into the price.

I really don't "need" the car as the CR-V is more than fine for the meantime. It's just at this point I kind of just want to start doing instead of just looking.

I could wait until spring and not have to worry about having the first few months with a nice new car like that to be winter. Not if prices for these car's fluctate seasonally by much.

But I'm also thining if I wait maybe my thoughts of an s2000 might come back by then. Right now a 4door sedan (or SUV/RDX) is the only thing on my mind for daily practicality. The S2K would just be a more daily driveable version of the del sol and keeping the CR-V would be a must.

 

^^^

My other question is does it have to be WDP?

 

Anyone else go through the RL vs TL dilemna?

At this point the RL would actually be cheaper from what I've been looking at compared to the Type-S. More luxury than sporty of course but still a very nice car with great features, especially the sh-awd for winter.

Anyone have comments on driving the TL base or Type-S through heavy winters as well?

It's definitley my first choice in vehicle color and to give you an idea my del sol has been through 3 shades of white, original frost white, white diamond pearl (twice) and now championship white.

I was looking forward to having the shine of wdp back if I got a type-s which I definitely missed.

I considered other colors and think I would be happy with NHBP, Silver or possibly the carbon bronze pearl provided they all came with ebony interior. There was a salvage 6spd NHBP Type-s for sale on here in the Chicago area I had my eye on for a while but decided to keep looking for WDP w/ clean title.

Also in all these scenarios I keep the CR-V and put up some of my savings as a downpayment. I would either keep or sell later on at my convenience. However there is one person in the IL area I've talked to possibly interested in trading his Silver Type-S 100K MT for my CR-V.

http://.com/showthread.php?t=3002903

Example of one situation where I could see not having WDP.

^ Link doesn't work (new to the site so know I know) but its from a popular Honda technical forum.

 

I have a CBP base with black interior. I saw a TypeS the other day and it is an awesome color. I like WDP but I always think that the bumpers look like the color never matches.

 

I do appreciate the CBP for its uniqueness and its definitely a great color. I admire the blue as well and saw one yesterday in Boston but as nice as it is I'm not sure if I'd necesarily get a Type-S in that color.

Looking through another thread a member posted his link to a low mi CBP Type-S in the Chicago area:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/2769853350.html

Price is up there and not too much more than the last WDP I posted but with half the mileage.

 

I've seen so many people talking about the MT only to get an AT in the end. I have a MT, and let me tell you: I would not settle of anything else. You won't regret it, and it's not a hassle in traffic because driving it becomes second nature after a few weeks. If you are even considering the manual, don't settle for an automatic. It's what you want.

 

Price is too high on that one.

The thing is with these cars the miles between 10K and 50K miles is almost nothing. Hell, mine will be over 100K by the end of this month and it still drives really well. Keep looking and open up your options a bit.

 

For the record, I went to go look at this car too while I was in the market, as WDP with Ebony was exactly what I was looking for too. Only the car was already sold back then, which is close to 2 months ago now. When I went to ask about it, they pulled up in a Type-S with 112K on it and tried to ask $19,900 for it. Who knows how long it had been up before I started looking. I can only assume that they must just be leaving the car up to generate interest. When I was in there, what they actually had on the lot had absolutely no relation to what was on the website or AutoTrader.

That being said, for almost $1K less 2 weeks later, I did find a Certified '07 ASM w/ Ebony Type-S with only 17K on it in Elmhurst, and I still can't stop looking at it. Keep looking, and make sure you get exactly what you want, it is definitely worth it.

 

Never considered an RL as I thought it would date me a bit too much. I just see it as a car that an older person would drive.

I drove a base tl for the past few years here in Wisconsin and hated it in winter without snow tires. Now I have a type-s 6mt which fares better but with snow tires it is pretty good. Since this past weekend was the first real snow we had I made sure to go put the car through its paces. Was not disappointed by my snow tires.

I would without a doubt say get a type-s and throw some solid all seasons on, and if you have moneys, buy a separate set of wheels to mount snow tires on.

 

hey
i have had both the 6spd and auto. i love the 6 speed. its soo much more fun to drive and you can feel more power.
if the 6spd is what you really wanted, i would wait and find one.

and btw that black rebuilt 6spd in chicago is still for sale
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ctd/2755542957.html

 

Welcome Mugen. In the lower right hand corner of each post, the middle icon is a multi-quote button. It allows you to respond to more than one person in a single reply.

Be sure to check it out and give it a try!

 

Welcome aboard, you missed the most important question of all. What does the word contentment mean to you? I'm grateful every time I get in the TL-S for a drive but for some that eventually wears off and you lose the joy of even having the car. Just a thought....eh what the heck, buy one and mod the crap out of it. That will surely bring happiness.

 

Dont let a flight stop you from a car that you feel is the best deal..I actually flew from NC to Chi-town to pick up my TL and things went beautifully.
Try to work with the seller on price since your flying, see if they will drop price because of your time and expense to purchase the car from such a great distance.
Good Luck

 

^^^How true. Wait, Save, whatever it takes to get exactly what YOU want. I learned many times the hard way-Not being patient usually works out bad for me.

 

Interesting and thanks for the heads up. I was considering making the trip up on a weekend to take a look in person but definitely should call ahead and make sure its actually available.

True about the RL and age group. Harder to picture a twenty year old in one verses a TL for sure.

Two sets of wheels would definitely be the way to go as I'd be looking for a dedicated summer wheel (hopefully volk) with a summer tire that would be awful in the snow. Then I'd look to find another set of oem wheels to put true snow tires on.

I definitely love and enjoy 6spd (one of my favorite things about my del sol) I think its just a matter if I want it in my daily or not. Perhaps it would be wiser to separate the two and if I wanted to drive a sporty 6spd everyday maybe the s2000 as a daily summer vehicle would be a more practical choice and keep a beater for the winter. However that's not really sensible on account I already have the del sol I barely drive as is. The s2000 would get drive much more since it wouldn't be as modded (not yet anyway) but still essentially the same "type" of car as far as function goes, which is for fun.

Right now I could see myself happy with an AT but possibly bored. MT has its advantaged and disadvantages too for the type-s I guess I just really have to see if they outweigh each other compared to AT.

Also thanks for the pm a while ago about the rebuilt 6spd and sorry I never replied. Everything seems legit from what you had explained and was really considering it/tempted like I said. Just thought it wouldn't hurt to keep looking. I'll definitely let you know if I change my mind

Thanks and got it

The back to back posts were more of a timing thing and defintely agree consolidating with multi-quote is a great feature on a forum.

Is there not an option to edit posts on here?

LOL edit: The edit button wasn't at the bottom yesterday but it appears to be here today.

I like your thinking haha. However the whole idea with getting an acura sedan was to not mod it as much as I did my project honda. Thats sort of why I ended up dismissing the TSX since I think I would be tempted and there would be more options than the TL or RL. Also the idea having a monthly payment was hopefully supposed to stop me from spending unecessary money on mods for the del sol I don't even drive. In the long run I was hoping to save money...

Contentment in this case really comes down to at least being happy enough to make the payments on the car every month. I'm pretty content with what I have now driving the CR-V as a daily (definitely a step up from the '96 odyssey I used to drive in college but the storage). I also love driving in general (always the one to volunteer when friends and I go anywhere) so why not have a car I really like driving to do that with?

Its not out of the question but more of a last resort. I've seen people say buying a car sight unseen (flying out or just havinv the car shipped) is not the worse thing in the world if you have all the information you want. Its just something that makes me nervous for my first major purchase is all.

Point is I know I like and want the car after research and test driving a few so trying the specific one I buy isn't absolutely necessary. Its just a matter of making sure I'd be getting the exact car I think I'm buying and no surprises once I get it in hand.

I've had a few bad experiences myself and pateince is definitely a valuable thing to own. It takes twice as much work to get rid of what you don't want to get what you want rather than just waiting for the right thing to come along. Settling only works if you really settle and don't change your mind lol.

 

sorry for the double post but wanted to add a separate thought that my dad did end up checking out the Type-S in NY yesterday afternoon and looking forward to hearing back what he has to say.

If everything checks out I might start looking at flights home in the next few weeks.

At the same time I looked up the one or two WDP w/ Ebony MT Type-s's I found a while ago and appears to still be for sale. It was "too far" before but now I figured why not make a call and consider it as a possibility since searching only "locally" hasn't worked out much better. Looks like it would be a flight either way at this point its just that home is home versus someplace I've never been before.

P.S. I found it ironic after making my first post/thread here about buying a TL that as soon as I leave work a WDP Type-S literally passes me going the other direction. Should I consider it a sign? lol

 

I did the same thing. Looked locally for a few months, everything I found was gone by the time I called about it. I decided I was gonna have to travel a bit to get what I wanted. Drove to Jackson, MS to get mine which was about 6 hours. It was worth it.

 

The one WDP MT I've been looking at is in San Diego for under $20k and 60k mi (w/o type-s wheels).

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

I'd consider flying out to buy and drive back if I wanted it now. The only other one I found is in hawaii and not even sure where to start if I wanted to buy it.


Also of course this had to pop up the week AFTER I'm in the area:

http://boston.craigslist.org/nwb/cto/2781748865.html

100k for $17.5k 6spd silver. Original owner garage kept.