Hey guys - I'm pretty bummed but tomorrow I'm trading in the TL for a Mazda 6. It sucks - I don't HAVE to do it - but I'm really sick of the $470/mo payment I've been making to it the last year - thats almost as much as my rent!

I wanna have a life and go out and do things and not be broke paying for my car. It's a hard pill to swallow but I know it's for the best - I can start my savings for a down payment on a house so I'm trying to be optimistic.

Thanks for all your help and the laughs guys - take care, and farewell.

Ryan

 

i think thats a very wise move on your part considering your age. You should enjoy life as much as you can before the years stack up. You can always get a TL when you're older! Hope to see you here in 5 years

 

Smart decision, def work on the savings otherwise you will have difficulties further down the future.. Enjoy the 6
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Kansas City/Missouri Meet!!!

 

ummmm... kool lol, ill b doin the same later on not now

 

Tough but wise decision. Best of luck and see you back on here soon!

 

Not many people are wise enough or prudent enough/humble enough to realize and act on this. You see a lot of people driving cars they cant afford, getting new ones every other year, etc. For image or prestige, or just to have the latest and greatest.

I do think the TL is a wise financial decision, but only for people making over a certain amount. The mazda6 is a good vehicle, my only problem with it, is I believe the residual value on those things was horrible...but this could work well for you if you picked up a used one...

 

See if you can find a mazdaspeed 6. AWD, turbo, not too bad of a car. It's actually pretty evenly matched to the TL as far as performance goes. Gas mileage sucks big time tho, gearing is pretty short, even 6th.

 

save yourself more money by getting a mazda 3 instead. JDM baby!

 

Besides our TL we also have an '07 Mazda 6i mtx for around town/2nd car duties. Pros: cheap to buy and run, ~32-35mpg on the highway, comfortable car, sweet 5 speed transmission/ 4 cyl engine combination, no mechanical problems with either this one or the previous '97 626 with 150k miles.
Cons: certainly not the performance match of the TL, not as quality a product as the TL(but half the MSRP), not as many standard features as the TL, dealers/service not as easy to deal with (in my experience).
The Mazda 6 community are also mod maniacs as many are here. Go to:
forum.mazda6club.com to get started.
+1 on the common sense. A car shouldn't be your whole life, just a pleasant adjunct to it.

 

Ugh..I'm trying to make myself think that way

 

Thanks for the words guys! 'ppreciate it! hopefully i WILL see you guys in a while - I def love Acuras!

 

Good luck with your Mazda, I always thought they looked nice, well as far as exterior, never really looked at the interior. I'm sure if you find a M/T 6cyl. it can be as fast as the TL.

 

surprisingly enough its not too bad - i got the type s - which is a 3.0 DOHC V6 - its much faster off the line than the TL - but I def. miss the vtec and the hum of the engine [of the TL]. I miss the heaviness (luxury) of the TL - but this thing is pretty quick - id put it close to a TL - idk about the freeway but off the line is hands down faster acceleration.

as for the features it has everything the TL has except the in dash thermometer and and hands free - i miss that now when my music is up i dont get my calls - lol

but all in all its pretty nice. not the TL - but ya gotta sacrifice I guess.

 

I wouldnt say the mazda 6 is faster...it has 212 hp if I remember and I remember beating one by like 3 car lengths..BUT you did make the right desicion and hopefully it all pays off in the end. Good luck man

 

good luck man!

 

When I was 20, I was driving a pretty beat up used Ford Probe GT. I was a senior in College and really had no savings. When I bought my 05 TL 3yrs ago, it was my first car new purchase but I was in a very financially secure position. You have time.

 

not faster - just quicker off the line

 

thanks =)

 

Ryan,

quick question, you are paying 470/mo assuming in a lease? how are you getting out of it?

What's the difference in final payments (terms) between Mazda and the TL?

With a dropping dollar, you maybe losing in the long run, but at least you will feel freer to enjoy life....a car payment should never be a burden.

good luck, and let us know how you made out...wish you all the best!

 

it wasnt a lease - its just my monthly payment for a 60 month term. as far as the trade value i still owe about 1000 on the TL - but that was transferred over to the mazda as I bought the mazda from the Acura dealership

thanks for the good luck!

 

My GF has an '07 base model 6i. It has the outside temp. on the display in the center of the dash. Just press the "AMB" button (I guess it means ambient temperature). Great car, BTW!

 

omg thank you! i was wondering wtf that thing was!

thanks alot!

 

Hi All,

Not sure it matters now since it's been forever - nearly 10 years! But, I finally got her back! I got my baby back. If you've gone through the thread you've seen that I had to get rid of my old TL about 10 years ago for a Mazda. That Mazda threw a rod and was a PITA. Caused me a couple years of grief! When it died, my grandpa gave me his '98 Acura CL, which I had been driving since 2011 up until about 3 weeks ago when I bought a black 2014 TL (Tech).

It's not brand new - but it's certainly better than my 98 and puts a smile on my face the way my 05 did!

Any customization tips for a '14?

 

Welcome back.

 

crzy you were spending 450/month and then it didnt even matter cuz the mazda threw the rod.
all in all crazy ass story

 

Wow - Congrats on your new to you purchase and welcome back to the fold

 

Welcome back local Wisconsinite! I am out in Oconomowoc with a few other TL's.

 

I'm in Pewaukee/Waukesha area here

I was reading this thread thinking $450 a month for a 9-11 year old car... WTF!! Then saw the dates of the original posts being 10 years ago and it clicked.

 

Thanks everyone. In the Waukesha area, as well. It has been a very crazy ride. Thankfully I was able to find a mechanic who liked to fix up cars and re-sell them, so he bought my busted Mazda. Not sure if he was able to fix it. Very thankful that my grandpa was able to help me out with the '98 CL - but boy, that was quite the downgrade! Back at it now, though

 

Very! My 20's have been through their ups and downs - that's for sure.

 

Grew up in pewaukee, just off capital dr.

 

Nice, do people here still do Acura Meetups? Maybe we'll cross paths in the service department in Brookfield?!

 

Only if you give me discounts! I don't like forking out $130/hr plus getting the car back with broken stuff I have to fix out of pocket. Would rather do the work myself. No offense, but stealerships are rip offs and try to take advantage of the customer.

I haven't seen any Acura meets. Couple shop meets but that is about it.

 

I am not sure about your experience but every time when thing broke or not done right because the dealer and several occasion I should eat the labor charge, I always get the work done for free along with my choice of picking a specific loaner car.

 

Great story. Amazing thread. I love how you came back ten years later!!! So goood. If you could do it all over would you do something different? Can you give any advice to those who may be in a similar situation nowadays? IE: those in a loan or lease they can't afford or barely afford.

 

Hey there - sorry for the delay - have been busy the last couple of days.

What I would do differently - first and foremost I wouldn't have moved out of my parents house as quickly as I did. I turned 18 and the U-Haul was in the driveway 3 months later. After high school I landed a great IT job that paid me more than anything I was used to - keep in mind, I was 18, now salary, no rent or major bills except for my beautiful new car that I was going to pay off over 5 years.

Should have stayed home and saved money when I was younger.

 

Great advice.

My son, now a ripe old 23 hit the road two months after graduating high-school with all manner of grandiose plans; a year later he was back home with a new plan. He enlisted in the Navy, invested the max in his GI-Bill, and has busted his butt to make Petty Officer 2nd Class in only three years; he finishes up his first enlistment next January with a very nice pile in his GI-Bill for college as well as a very healthy bank account. Unlike most of his friends in the Navy who bought nice shiny new cars, he bought a 1996 M-Edition Miata and a 1990 Ford F-150 with the venerable 4.9 liter straight six and a 5-Speed manual.

So, bringing this full circle to you're experience/advice, being young and being able to finance your own living place AND a new car is typically too much of a burden, even for us "well-paid" IT types. Geez, I started in IT back when I was in high school in 1972; oh the memories.

 

Wise decision on your part. You can always keep your eyes peeled for a great deal on your next Honda/Acura!!

 

WTF, where do you live? My rent is like $3400/month for 2 bed 2 bath

 

Just to keep this in context, the post you are responding to is over nine years old. That said, rents vary around the country; my college age daughter and her roommates pay something like $4,500 per month for a three bedroom in Boston near her school, I live about 50 miles north of her and pay $850 per month for a two bedroom apartment on a 70-acre horse farm.