Filip75

Today I was just driving by the Acura dealership and stopped by to see if I can get the RL. OK, my TL right now $456/mo. for 48 months (12K/year).

So I go in. The dealer takes my car for an upraisal. It has 19,000 miles and an A-Spec package/Navi... well, the whole deal.

We call in for my pay-off and it's $30K... get the trade in appraisal... it's $28,5K. Then they show me the '06 RL and ask me to pick options. I go to town and get a few "needed" things (19" black/chrome lip wheels, which are cheaper than the A-Spec ones and look much nicer... Back-up camera with out back-up sensor... wood steering wheel and the shiftknob... rear lip spoiler... it all comes to like $58K).

They show me the numbers and with $9K down I was still looking at like $900 payment. I almost immediatelly walked off. Then the General Manager came over and we talked. I basically told him that I'm not gonna pay this much for this car, and I would n't pay the lower price to drive a bone stock RL. I wanted extras but for the low price...

Then he asks if I want to buy his personnal 05 RL, which he leased 6 months ago and which is Black/Black (as I want) and has 7K miles, A-Spec kit, back-up sensors (no camera), 19" TSW black with chrome lip rims. We talked and talked and the last offer was that he would Pre-owned Certify it (for extra warranty), take $3K down and my payment would be $640/month for a 48 month lease. I'm still thinking. I told him that I would do it for $620/mo. So I left the Acura dealership and have their promiss that they will call tomorrow again, and try to meet my demands. BTW... my insurance would go up by $10/month if I do get this RL.

So, then I drive by Lexus and decide to stop by and take a look at the new IS-350. Guess what... they are sold out and have no clue when wil be the next shipment. The 250s are pretty easy to get, but the Black/Black 350, with Navi, Wood, 18s is very hard to get. I looked at the 250 (to get the feeling of the car) and I liked it. I gave my infor to the dealer, so he calls me when the 350 I want comes in. But with IS-350 I'm not sure. It's the first year of production. Even though fully packed it's $39,500 and it has 306hp... I'm just not sure. And there asre no solid Lease plans for it yet, since the residual hasn't been established

And then the last thing: I checked out the loan rates for cars and saw that I can pay-off my TL and re-finance it for $490/month and just drive it forever.

What do you guys think? Which of these 3 plans sounds the best.

That RL is smooth, and those black wheels with a chrome lip are sweet.

IS-350 is good looking, comes with all gadgets for under $40K

Pay-off/re-finance my current TL and stop exploring

kennyc

Damn.. you must be loaded for a 26 years old.

You're leasing the TL right now and are looking to lease the RL or maybe the IS350, right?

Currently you're "upside down" on your lease and you're looking into getting another lease?

For us regular working folks, I would advise against getting anything at this point. But since you sound like you have a lot of money and can REALLY afford $600+/mo car payment I'd say go for the IS350.

Filip75

Well... I'm not loaded, but I can pay 600/month.

But truthfully, I'm leaning towards either the IS350 (with lower payments) or re-financing my current TL.

Even though I'm upside down on my car by $1,500, I would get a tax-break at the trade. And it would be about $1,500 by itself. So, I'd come out even.

HiTEC

You should not put money down on a lease. It's not smart.

kennyc

I think you should just keep the TL then, use the extra money saved every month to do something else.

It's not like the TL is crappy anyways!

HiTEC

Why do people think that because somebody has a nice car they are loaded? This is not to the original poster, but any kid who lives at home with mammy can afford a $600 a month car payment or lease (if they want more car) payment.

HiTEC

Save your money for something else because cars are a incredible waste of money. Buy a house, pay more into your house, save more.... anything but wasting it on a car

Filip75

I've already bought a house last June and now I want to re-new the inventory in the garage. ;-)

House prices down here, in TX are much lower compared to East and West coast. So after buying a very nice house, there's still plenty of moolah to go around

HiTEC

Pay it off quicker then, or if there is plenty of moolah than payoff your car and don't have a car payment.

I have no car payments right now, and it's great! Paid cash for my TL.

kennyc

Dude! Then by all means get the IS350!

TCMS

If you're going to spend the big bucks why not move up? The Is350 was boring cosmetically. Go test drive an e55.

neuronbob

I'd pay off the TL and buy similar nice rims for it. I had to make a similar decision recently and my sig tells you what I decided.

Peters

If you're not too concerned about the payments look at a BMW 330xi or an Audi A4 Quattro 3.0

Filip75

If I was to go with BMW, I'd have to get at least a 530i. I've already owned a 3 series before. And for the Audi... I have an A4 in my garage rght now. It's my gf's. She is in Iraq right now, and I have to drive that car like twice a month. I don't really like driving that car and Audi in general. I've looked into getting an A6, but it's just too crappy of a car. It's still a VW

Brettg

Just lease an XJR, 390 hp and all the goodies you can think of.
Its likely only $900.00 a month, why fool around with cars like the RL, or a lexus, thats not going to impress anyone.

The only cars I would rent (lease) are the german ones, you sometimes need to get rid of them in 2 years because they have problems...

Brett

sjkforever

when you leased the TL, how much was your down payment? im currently in lease also but i wanna get an RL instead.......do you think i have to pay another down payment on top of what i already paid for my TL???

06 Acura TL

IDK y u would go with something AWD, ur in TX. i would deff refinance the TL, stick with it for a while n maybe, jus maybe when the new TL's come out u might wana trade. but as far as for the IS, it's a toy. idk how biig you are it's also not roomie. good luck

ILLustriousUA6

iTrader: (2)

i would lean towards the IS350.. it looks real nice but i also heard it's not as roomier as the TL... i owned the is300 and it was fun to drive in.. more of a car to mess around with.. as for the TL.. it's more roomier plus got better features.. i would go with the IS350, but at the same time.. would sticc and refinance the TL. the choice is yours

TCMS

The IS felt TINY on the inside and it is clearly much smaller on the outside.

Not a bad car, but just didnt do it for my styling wise.

colberto

Man this sounds like a future Suze Orman caller to me.

If you get new car fever this easily...start going for 2-year leases! If you can't afford the payment on the 2-year lease...then you really can't afford to be playing these car shell games every 2-years.

Save you money...or buy some San Antonio real-estate. It's one of the hottest markets in the country!

Appreciating assets good....depreciating assets bad!

vp911

I have had the 05' TL and I now have the 05' RL. I am selling the RL and I ordered the IS350 w/ navi/ml/lux. I think that shows which car I prefer

If you are going from the TL to the RL - keep in mind you are going to lose the sporty factor of the car. I didn't think about that when I bought my RL, but now I realize it and thats why I am getting the IS350. If you want a sporty car, I would hold out and get the IS350. Call around across the country and see what they will offer you. They can ship the car to you. A dealer in NY offered me 1k off the IS350 and included shipping to my location in Michigan. My local dealer ended up offering me 2k off the IS350 and invoice on the RX330 - mainly because we bought both at once.

MR1

There is 'plenty' of money when you have everything you want paid for including the car and your house with extra $$ in the bank or stocks.

Stop looking at new cars if you don't want to go through this every year or so. This is a big waste of money imho. If you can't pay cash, leave it alone if you can't write off the interest. How about paying off the TL and then looking around if you must? This way you may deceide to get something really nice....or not.

your_mom

Other explanation:

Since you seem intent on wasting money on a depriciating asset, go nuts and get the LS430h with all the options! That thing even parks itself!

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

Shit... For $600 a month you better be BUYING a car, not LEASING one. I bought my TL and I pay less than $600 a month.

trancemission

how do these threads get bumped?

TL1999

Waiting for the 09 TL

JAB00

Get the IS350 if you have the money to blow

leedogg

YEAR OLD THREAD. get over it.

Filip75

Holly crap... this is old. I received an email subscription notice and kind of had think what it was

Well, to give an update...

I ended up getting a 2 year Business Lease for an '06 Mercedes CLK-350 with every possible option known to man. Now I've had it for over a year and I'm thinking I'll move up to CLS-550 next winter.

here's the CLK.

MpegtwoTL

hmm
tough choices. take a look at the new G35 as well.

Byruns

go buy a bugatti!

pimpin-tl

IMHO, the IS-350 gets you way less for your money. You can get a RL for the price of that car! Plus its smaller!

I would consider a RL or a new 07 G35 over a IS-350 any day. The G35 is also much cheaper and comes standard with a lot of the items the RL does. The IS-350 is all optional and you will pay like 40k+ for it.

Hey Flip, I just noticed you were form San Antonio too! You should keep an eye on our San Antonio meets in the Meet section so you can come meet us! We are having that big Texas meet on Jan 13th in Austin that you should come too.

PM me for more info.

pimpin-tl

I really wouldn't call the IS350 sporty either. The 07 G35 is sporty.

TorontoTL

Have a look at the Road and Track comparison of the 2007 Acura TL-S, Infiniti G35 and the Lexus IS350.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=4444

You don't think 0-60 in 4.9 sec and quarter mile in 13.5 is sporty enough?

SuperStar

In my opinion, if you're not sitting on at least 30-40% equity in your home and over 100k in the bank, at your age, you should not be wasting more money on cars.

It's fun to look at the toys in your garage, but dont spend the money you should be putting away so that when you're 35 you dont still drive the same shit you splurged on at 27.

leedogg

Does anybody bother reading the whole thread or look at the dates? btw, nice looking car filip. How you like the benz?

Filip75

LOL. Yeah, I was wondering the same thing, as the message notifications keep pouring into my mail box.

Benz? I like it a lot. It's very smooth in driving and can get seriously aggressive if I push it. BUt as I said before, I want to move up to a bigger car, especially since my business flips the bill.

I've looked at the new S-550, but I don't like the design. CLS, even though unorthodox, has a nice interior and overall feel good.

I used to be into BMWs, but after driving my Mercedes for a year I'm more into luxury than performance. So out of BMWs I'd consider the 750i... but it has the a very ugly nose.

pimpin-tl

Speed is not everything.

In the corners is where it counts. And Lexus put more Luxury in the feel over handling. The G35 does and I bet the TL-S would take it in the corners.

Filip75

Even though I hate to keep this thread going (it being over a year old by now)... but I treat housing equity a lot more different than you. Once I acquire equity I pull it out and use it for another property. If you even get sued, and your house is paid iff... guess what? You'll prob loose it.

Keep the house always financed, use the pulled out equity for business development and/or purchasing more properties for rentals... all the while using most of the charges associated with the house as write-offs