Are there any useful tips or things to check for when purchasing a TL? What sortof flexibility in price should I expect? When is the best time to purchase one? Financing tips?

Oh, and if anybody can recommend a good dealer in the maryland/dc area (I live in Gaithersburg), let me know!

 

My daughter had a good buying experience with the Acura dealer in Bethesda (I think on Wisconsin Avenue). I think if you buy towards month-end you may be able to negotiate a lower price since the sales folks are typically on a monthly commission. I'd check kbb.com for invoie and retail pricing, then be ready to hopefully meet somewhere in between. Good luck with your purchase decision!

 

What about quality control things I can check? Like how do I test for the 'rattling'?

 

I have two.. one is a manual (mine) and the other is an automatic (my wife's). Both are fine.. no, make that great.

 

I would buy at the end of the month.

When I got our 6MT Navi 2005, 33.5k was pretty typical on the forum. I don't think I saw better than 33,300 on here for a Navi car. This is before tax. One guy posted a lot cheaper but I don't believe it.

They play little games with the floormats, lug nuts, and the trunk tray. In the end they sort of lump them in.

My Acura dealer finance arm was very good, very good rates too.

Don't get the high performance tires if you plan to drive the car in snow.

 

keep this in mind.

them - mindless bastards looking to rape you for all the $$$ they can.
you - firm and demanding, give in to nothing, only sign on your terms.

if you can accept these 2 rules about car buying, then you're on your way to a fruitful experience.

 

TALK them down!!! Check out more than one dealer if you can, and see if any of them will give you a deal....we got over $1800 off our new 05. Going to pick her up TODAY!!!!!! I'm pretty excited.

 

Three weeks ago, we bought my wife's new '05 Satin Silver/Quartz/5AT/Nav for $32,299. This included their $249 "processing" fee, but not taxes and tag transfer costs. We have a close friend in our neghborhood who works for a credit union. My wife had asked her to get a price on this car from the dealer where we wanted to go. She got $33,305 (including the $249 processing fee). So we used this price (actually $33,300) during the VERY short negotiations to buy the car.

I have to say, her SSM with the quartz has got to be one of the best looking color combos you can get in the TL. Just drop dead gorgeous. And the new '05 front seats are head and shoulders better than those in my '04 (wish I had them). Every night we check on the "twins" to make sure their safe and sound in our garage before bed.

 

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/

Good info!

 

I would agree with everyone’s tips. I would add a few things:

1. If you don’t really need a car, don’t act like you do. BE PATIENT.

2. I would go in 1% over invoice and work from there.

3. Call the dealership first and ask for someone in Fleet Sales. These guys have better base salaries then regular sales people and are more willing to give you a deal. I had to order both of my cars (2000TL and 2001MDX) and I was able to get great deals working with fleet sales.

4. If they can’t meet your final price by taking something of the car itself, negotiate the price of any options that you are getting. The dealer has direct control here.

Good Luck to you.

 

I'll sell you mine. SSM/Quartz/nonnavi/LSZ tires/22,000 miles/vibration at 50-60 mph and 65 plus. Don't worry about it though, because it is a natural characteristic of the car. Otherwise, excellent condition.

 

To Wildcar Jon;

You wrote, "..vibration at 50-60 mph and 65 plus. Don't worry about it though, because it is a natural characteristic of the car".

I would say that is a decidely unnatural characteristic of any car. Neither of mine do this. There is absolutely no vibration of any kind at any speed at which they've been driven. Of course, the EL42's, with their tendency to flat spot, do cause a vibration until the flat spot is gone, but that's not the car.. that's the tires. And once gone, my cars are as smooth as you can imagine.

 

i think wildcar jon was being sarcastic. i think he posted regarding that vib problem recently.

mine vibrates, too, at times... like when im in the wrong gear.

anyway, leedogg, just remember to thoroughly check out the car you're gonna drive home; check the odo, interior fitment, paint finish, sound system/rattles...
you can check out the "3G TL owners sign in" thread, especially the recent entries, and see what people paid. and unless your credit is excellent, 720+, i'd suggest getting pre-approved.

im not familiar with your area, but i wouldn't pay above 32K for non-navi, and 33.7K for navi.

 

Southern Boy, read my posts on the vibration issue and you'll see that I was, indeed being (unfortunately) sarcastic, as both Acura and the dealer told me it was a natural characteristic of the car.

 

To Wildcat Jon;

For an automobile manufacturer and one of their dealers to tell you that this was a natural characteristic of the car, I would say that is ludicrous in the extreme of them because this is certainly most not a characteristic of any car. It could be a problem with a type of car in its design, but then you would see this across the board if such were the case.

Sounds to me that you are being snaked by them. I have seen cars that were delivered new with alignment problems, but those are easily fixable. My wife once owned a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham that we ordered new (took 8 weeks for delivery), and it had an alignment fault. This was fixed and the problem never appeared again.

I have read of some members on this site who have complained of vibrations at a certain speed, but I would be more inclined to suspect tire/wheel balance or alignment. Worse case might be a fault in a suspension component.

How is your car now? Has the problem(s) been fixed and if so, was it done by the dealer or did you take the car to someone else you trusted to do the work? Hate to see you having such problems because both of mine are pristine handling machines in terms of steering, tractability, turn-in, you name it.

Take care.

 

Sometimes its extremely hard but you have to ready and willing to walk out if the deals not right. As for checking out the car.... i really don't know, just make sure it has low miles? haha
It's a great car, you won't regret it.

 

wildcat jon -

have you tried getting the dealership to balance the wheels? i noticed quite a few wheel weights on my front wheels, and these sometimes fall off... which causes noticeable vibration at high speeds (say, 50+ mph?).