I have been on this forum for a number of years and I have heard why many of you bought a tl over many other models. Some say it was the interior or toys, etc.

I went to an interview and the VP took me out to lunch. We got in his TL. As many of you may or may not know I have not always been a fan of the TL. But.. I asked this guy why he bought one..

He said it was by accident... I said explain. He said I'm cheap. And when I did a search on the internet I found the cars in the class.

Mercedes c class and BMW 3 series were very costly to repair and the purchase price was very high...

He also said that the TL was had with more standard features for the price.

He did not know much about the other models (G, audi, and so forth), it all boiled down to price.

So cheap wins lol. Now I am now worried about the offer if they decide to offer me one, since the guy is so dam cheap. lol

 

Buy a TL because it's looks great, drives great and is a good value.

All I can say is "Someone is cheap" is often confused with "it must be a good value for them to buy it". Value = what you get for what you pay, and is not directly related to price. Something inexpensive can be a really crappy value compared to something very expensive. Some people can't get that sometimes less expensive <> good value. or that more expensive <> good value

Example one. I talk less than 15 min/month on a cell phone. I use a pre-paid cell phone because:
a) I am too cheap to buy a plan.
b) I don't use enough minutes to get any value from the plan.

B. I spend about $100/year on a cell and never run out of minutes. Why would I ever pay $30/month. Cheap has nothing to do with it.

Example 2 I bough a TL because:
a)I am too cheap to get a 3 series, ES330, A4, ....
b)The TL was a better value than anything in its class.
c) I was completely drawn to the car the first time I saw it.

C. of course. B just also happened to be true.

As for if this guy is going to be a good boss...who knows. If you end up getting a TL and working for him it is better that he has one first. That way if he ever has problems with it he can't blame you for convincing him to get one. But for sure he will be looking for good value from you as an emp...so work hard dude.

(I'm probably a little cheap too but I hope that will let me retire some day)

 

cheap is a harsh word.. how about conservative?

 

The other engineers in my department thought I was cheap. I startled them when I got the TL. They like my car so much that now I have to drive for our weekly lunch.

I just like getting the most for my money...

 

listen, i could have afforded a 330CI and even a 5 series but why buy a car who is so over priced for what its got to offer when 50% of the asking price is because of the name?? why buy german car whos fidelity to japanese cars have no absolute comparaison, and what about the finishing of the interior, which the TL is much more appreciative then most competitors


TL= Top dollar/ Top quality

thats what i think

 

When I was looking in July '04, I had narrowed my selection down to these cars: the Jaguar X-type, the CTS-V Cadillac, the M3 BMW, the Z06 Corvette, the Ford Focus ZX4 ST, and the Acura TL. When I first came on this site and mentioned these cars, you'd be amazed at the number and comments of some of the auto-bigots here who were aghast that I'd even have the nerve to mention a Ford Focus in the same breath with a TL, the inferrence being that I obviously couldn't afford a TL. Well if I could afford a CTS-V or a Z06, I sure as hell could afford a TL. In fact, I have two TL's now.

Anyway, I quickly removed the Jaguar and the M3 from the list because of problems inherent with the breeds. My wife talked me out of the Focus because she knew that even though Ford has done an excellent job with that car (the ZX4 ST is really nice), I'd grow tired of the 4-cylinder engine's lack of some decent power. That left the CTS-V and the Z06 in competition witht the TL. I removed the Z06 because of utility. I really like a sedan for it's utility/versitily, and may really miss that. So then it was down to the CTS-V and the TL, and I agonized over these two. I really came close to getting the CTS-V.. I love that machine.

That's when I went to take a test drive of the TL. I thought that a test drive might help me take my final decision.. and it did. I was worried that the TL might be so lacking in power compared to the CTS-V, that I would find myself wishing 6 months down the road, that I had gone with the CTS-V. But the TL has enough "felt" power (read that as throttle response under normal driving conditions) that I was able to go with it.

So there you have it for me. My bottom line deciding factor is performance. The TL has enough of this (only with the manual transmission in my opinion) that with everything else it offers, I was able to take the decision to buy one.

 

Well it was funny to hear this guy tell me.. I am italian and I am cheap...lol

I said I own a g and a tl and I was talking about the differences... etc. and he said wow you know alot about cars. I said when I go shopping for a car I look at the one with the most power, comfort, styling, etc. I decide based on service records and which one I believe will provide more of what I need. I also like the driving experience more than the styling.

Nope to him it was the cheapest and he bought it by accident!!! Maybe he will hire me by accident as well!!!

he has 10k on it and I asked him if he had any brake issues etc and he said no... He wonders what it is like in the snow and I said it depends on the tires.

I did say that living in NE it's not a big deal having RWD as long as you have some snows. Even FWD is much better with snows.

 

Nice post. That's one reason I went with the TL. Why spend the extra money on the roundel (BMW) when the TL has most things one would need, and at a relatively reasonable price? The money I saved has gone into mods and my mutual funds.

 

being "cheap" is relative. If your vp is making millions a year then yes, a TL is pretty cheap for him. The appropriate answer is that the TL provides the most value for your money at its price point. period.

 

The cars I was considering buying included the 1976 Ford Pinto, a tangerine-coloured AMC Pacer, a Datsun B210, and an Audi Fox. The fact that I ended up buying a TL means I'm anything but cheap!!

 

For me, the TL is a good looking car (interior and exterior) with more standard features for its price compared to the 3 series, IS, and G35.