JERU

I usually keep a car for 6-7 years, but the TL comes packed with so many gadgets, it has me wondering. Is this the type of car you keep after the warranty is up? Some of these items have to be expensive to fix/replace:

1) Exhaust system (winter salt will kill them)
2) Navigation system with screen and DVD rom
3) Tilting mirrors, gauges, screens, anti lock brakes, etc

I came from a Nissan Maxima '96 that had to have some of these items replaced and it was decent money, but not nearly the sophistication of this 3G TL. Soon the TL's will be too complicated and expensive to keep after Acura stops paying. Anyone going to jump ship when the warranty is up on the 3G TL? As in new Acura, other car, etc.

Riu

Next time this should be something you think of before you buy the car.

Not being mean. Just it is important to think about money after warrenty if you know you wont be able to afford it.

leedogg

Sure I'll jump bail in 6 or 7 years or so.




For the next generation of TL's

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

Never gave it a thought.....prob keep for about 5 years or so most likely. But who knows...was just talking today about trading in the Lexus for a Ridgeline and keeping the TL for a long period and doing some extensive mods.....

JERU

Uh that title was just a headliner that I can change if you like. My TL will paid off this year, so my finances aren't the point in this thread. I don't think anyone thinks about how much a car is going to cost 5+ years down the road after the warranty goes out. Back in the day you got nickel and dimed to fix cars out of warranty, with the level of sophistication in cars like the TL, you will pay through the nose for an item. Take the dual exhaust for instance, if they start to rust through in 5 years, thats going to set you back $1000.00 + (minimum) dollars to get replaced. The Nav screen or that auto dimming rearview mirror does not look cheap. These are items that are more common today and not many people think about the cost to replace them that far down the road. Good example, you think many people will keep that new S series MB or the 7 series from BMW with all the gadgets they have after the warranty is up? The TL is going that route.

kennyc

I would say a small price to pay for a nice car like the TL.

Chevy Impala is about the same size as the TL without all these gadgets. I'm sure it would be cheaper to fix than the TL once the warranty expires.

But would one really wants to drive a Impala?

azrocks

the parts for the tl may be more costly, but I think in the long run the TL will hold up better. anyway, you are saving a lot more with the additional miles/gallon over the impala.

Tufferson

my warranty on my 05 tl now is 4 years or 80000km(dont quote the km's) with the option of purchasing through til 7 years 140000kms (again dont quote distance) at the end of the four(this can be purchased no matter what number owner you are). I am not sure on the extent of the coverage but maybe thats something worth looking into if your worried about it.

frank69m

Ah, this is fantastic. Another typical american who is in debt over their head. Thanks for keeping our interest rates high....


I just love it when this happens at my work: one guy gets a BMW or Mercedes at works, shows it to everyone and in another couple of months, everyone has a German cars. Don't you just love how this all works.....No wonder why there is so much debt in america.

CSI

You can sell ur car when the warrenty is expired, if u worried so much.

ndx2

Why do you have to make such condescending remarks? He already stated his finances isn't an issue.

Do you always take everything so literally?

Brush up on your grammar instead of lecturing people for no reason.

Anyway, those parts, judging from older TL's, shouldn't be a concern. If you're really worried, or if your car's having problems during the factory warranty, then it might be wise to get the extended warranty... if you shop around, you could get the Acura extended warranty for 1300-1500. Run a search and you should find the info.

Riu

Typical American? I dont have any debt and I dont have a German car.

MR1

For me it depends on a lot of things. I hope that most of the accessories hold up for a very long time. If things hold up or die slowly and I still enjoy the car, no problem. If it starts to have expensive failures, bye-bye. The main concern is and will be the auto tranny.

OTOH, if the next 80k miles are like the past 20k, I made a great decision on a wonderful, strong, reliable car.

neuronbob

I plan to purchase an extended warranty shortly as I plan on keeping the car to around 100k miles (another 2.5 years at the rate I drive). By then, the next gen TL will be out and it will be time to comparison shop to keep current.

leedogg

Fantastic, a typical poster who replies based off the thread title. If you dont get it, he is indirectly complimenting the TL by saying this may be a car he actually wants to keep more than 6-7 years and therefore might have to deal with all these imagined toungue in cheek problems....sorta like saying to a fiance 'oh great, after I marry you I have to live with all these annoying things you do?'

slapmesilly

JURU

First, I think your question or the intent of it if not the actual wording was legitimate. Don't take the posts flaming you personal, ignore them.

I never even thought about the long term costs when I purchased the car because it is an Acura/Honda. If it was a GM vehicle then yes, I would be concerned. I think overall reliability is more of a concern and this is why I went with another Acura. My Integra is 9 years old, has 120,000 miles, and I literally have not had to fix a single thing other than normal wear items.

I don’t’ think you need to worry about it. You are going to have to change the exhaust on any car you purchase, if the tilting backup mirror feature goes out that sucks but honestly, is it really that important, you will be able to get an auto dimming rear view mirror much cheaper on line than through Acura, anti-lock brakes are very common so again, you have the problem with almost any car you purchase, ...

Finally, and most importantly, even if you have to repair every single item you mentioned including the navi/touch screen in 8 or 10 years, it will still be a lot cheaper than dumping the car when the warranty runs out and buying another new vehicle.

Don’t sweat it, enjoy the car.

Russdaddy

I thought about these things before I bought my TL. But I was impresssed with the car and haven't looked back. If you take care of it and do adequate proactive maintenance, then the car should last a good while without any major problems. Good luck and spend more time enjoying the car!!

invincible569

LOL.

Riu

I will not be keeping my TL long after warrenty is gone.

Brettg

I dont have the navi, so no problem there.
I dont use the tilting mirrors, so that should not wear out.
The exhaust should be stainless, most modern cars are, they should not rust out.
There are aftermarket self dimming rear view mirrors with a built in compas and even led ambient lighting, for about $200.00.

I am good at fixing things, so I dont worry about power windows and locks.
All cars have abs, I dont want the stability control, so if that craps out I will remove the alarm bulb and be glad.

Acura seems to be much better than most cars as far a problems with accessories goes, not up to Japanese par with body integrity (rattles), and very good mechanical reliability. I dont have any rattles, and if I get some, they are easy to fix. Sure, you could get a real basic car (manual windows and locks) and never have to fix that stuff, or get a good car with the stuff and fix it when it breaks, or live with it broken.

There are lots better built cars than the TL, as far as paint, leather, rustproof, metal, wood, most of the German cars will hold up better there, as will the Jaguars and volvo's. But they have problems with all sorts of things, and not when they get old, my 2 year old passat GLX had plenty of gizmo's, more then the TL, none of them broke (yet) except the climatronic, but the trans ecu went, the fuel pump wore out, the engine had a coolant sensor fail, and evap alarm
(check engine light), etc, all in under 25,000 miles and 2 years.
That car will LOOK very good at 10 years, partly because it will be in the shop for a great part of its life!

Now a lexus will do better in the rattle department, but will still look like crap in 10 years, well before 10 years...but it will run like a top.
If you like a lexus better, you should get one, I dont like any of their cars much.

The toyota avalon will also be good, but will likely look like crap in 10 years.
Its hardly a sporty car...

The new Buicks will likely be very reliable and hold up very well, but even though they are inexpensive, they are hardly exciting...

There is no perfect car, they all have trade offs, strong and weak points.

Brett

Rapid1

new technology is expensive to repair, there is no doubt about it. the fact is that it matters not what car you buy, out of warranty repairs have the potential to be very expensive. it's at these times you will be glad you didnt buy a high maintenance european vehicle. not only are good mechanics hard to find, parts to fix them are much costlier.

an extended warranty will help, if you anticipate long term ownership. just dont worry about purchasing it until you are close to the end of the warranty period. many warranty companies will write the same coverage as long as the vehicle is within factory warranty. the warranty on by last car was a 7yr/100Kmi warranty I bought cost over $1K (1995) and I never had to use it once. one repair could have paid for it tho.

after 100K miles, I figure I got what I paid for....no disappointments after that.

leedogg

I've given it some thought, and I think I actually will purchase that extended warranty...not because I think or expect to use it, but moreso for value it provides if I want to sell it.

Boardman

When I bought my TL last week I went with a 7 year extended warranty. It was pretty cheap and I used it's purchase to get a great deal on the car [dealer makes $$$ for selling the extended warranty as well ]. I got a 7 year warranty for C$1,300 is - given the number of toys on this car and shop labour being C$100 / hr seems like a good investment ot me. I plan to let the G/F drive this car once the new MDX comes out and I pick up one of those .

FightingTL

I dont really keep cars longer than 3 years, we'll see if this keeps me interested long enough.

MrAlex

My tl is a 99 and nothing of the things you listed above have been changed .. the exaust system is in good condition too.. the car have about 110 000 miles and is drived winter too..

Rapid1

keep in mind that buying a warranty out the door with a new car isnt all its cracked up to be. with a 7yr/100k warranty that is purchased at the time of sale new, the effective coverage you have bought is 3yr/50K since the mfg warranty covers everything till then. also, acuras have a powertrain warranty of 6yr/70K. so for powertrain items, you have 1yr/30k of effective warranty coverage. there are also many emissions related items and carry a 8yr/80k warranty. the warranty company would never have to cover catalytic converters and PCM's.

just so you know, most warranty companies will write a nearly new policy as long as the vehicle is still covered under factory warranty. there may be slightly different terms and it might not have quite as good coverage as the one offered new, but you are getting more of what you paid for. I will consider a warranty just before the 4yr mark of my ownership, at which time I will have a better idea of how much longer I will be keeping the car as well as if the car has had repair issues.

HEK

Two things here, why worry 1st of all, and if you worry about it now get rid of the car.
If you don't have any money saved up for rainy days and live on plastic well there are other things you should be worried about .

On the other hand I've had Hondas and besides the exhaust as you mentioned, when and if becomes "bad" then is a good reason to upgrade to SS and a Magnaflow, as far as the NAVI, I don't have to worry about it...all else is like life ...is all you make of it...

levon1830

I think some of you should read the thread author's posts. He/she said that money is not an issue, he/she is just curious about other's opinions on the topic. I will say that the title of the thread is little misleading, but we all know that a catchy thread title entices members to read thread X. Maybe that's why he/she titled it that way.

JERU

levon1830, you hit the nail right on the head

JERU

Oddly enough I was interested in how many people would keep the TL after the warranty expired given the potential cost of repairing some of that hi-tech stuff. What I got was a few lectures on my finances and a stern warning to stop using my credit cards.

Its all good though, thanks to everyone that answered the question, I will have to watch my titles next time.

Brettg

Well, you have the problem on all modern high tech cars.
Is there going to be a car with gizmo's that last a long time?
lexus may be better.

The cost of fixing things would be a lot less then a new car though.

Brett

SodaLuvr

The 5AT transmission does not have a good history, reliability wise. Fsttym1 in 2G TL just had his "remanufactured, updated" transmission fail on him after 40K, Torque Converter and the lining failed, causing it to "plug" the transmission.

The 6MT is also somewhat questionable. I'm shocked by how the transmission cannot shift properly on the stock MTF...I'm wondering if the GMSFM you guys are using is simply covering up a potential problem that may "bite" us eventually.

KJW73

Good question.
It was a passing thought when trading in my 04 Accord Cp 6MT V6 for the 05 TL (AT); and my Accord had all the options with the navigation system also (although, I'm aware the TL has a few more bells and whistles). I bought the car with the expectation that it would do me right by knowing it's a Honda. Regardless that it's a Honda...your question is a good one. For me, I guess I'm hoping that if something is going to go wrong...it'll do so while under warranty. If not, the repairs would have to be cheaper than buying an entirely new car at the time (during the period of ownership after warranty has expired). I didn't purchase the extended warranty on the TL as I did w/ the Accord. But, the dealer will extend the warranty via the dealership if everything during the regular warranty is done at their facility (e.g. oil changes, inspections, etc.).

The reason for my trade in was the manual transmission; I needed to get into an automatic (as much as I didn't want to). I knew that I didn't want to get another Accord and that I wanted to upgrade. And I knew that whatever car it was I chose, I'd be keeping it for at least a minimum of 6-7 years. I've gone through 3 new cars (2 Honda's and an Acura) from 2002 to 2005; people in my office were beginning to wonder if I was moonlighting or selling drugs (haha) in my early-thirties because MOST people don't trade up as often. And I work with people in political power that make a decent dollar and they're the folks driving around in Explorers and Taurus's...not all BMW's and Infiniti's, etc. (although, I'll admit they're are a few in our garage). AND - I know there are a lot of other tangible items that I want to have in life that I could have if I didn't have a substantial car payment each month (Frank69m: FYI - I'm NOT in debt, but I'm an American who is a responsible homeowner, enjoys traveling, clothing, jewels and finer items in life and I don't depend on my fiance for those things). Sorry - HAD to throw that in there; that comment by Frank69m really irritated me...

Anyway, I suppose we'll be able to tell when the time is near.