I was surprised recently that my 2012 TL SH with the Advanced Trim Package had depreciated from more than $25,000 a year ago, to less then $18,000, now. I have driven it just over 20,000 miles, but was not expecting it to drop that much. Am I missing something?

 

Such is life .. a car is a depreciating asset..

 

20,000 miles is a lot of miles in one year. How many miles does the car have?

 

lol at surprised.


SURPRISE, cars do not hold value well.

 

Sounds normal to me, most cars lose about 65% of their value in the first 5 years.

 

even though japanese cars are usually pretty decent at resale value, you have to remember that if you want a car to really hold its value you have to go for the rarer models. This limits you to the performance/sport models especially for japanese.

Look at the price of used STI's and EVO's, ISF etc. Being less common and performance cars they will always be "desirable" which helps resale.

When i trade in my EVO was surprised at the market value at the time. Compared to the BMW i had before that which dropped like a rock over the 2 year period i owned it. I took a huge hit on it. The TL SHAWD I have now just has to be kept for a long while to make it worthwhile. Also the styling of the 4g tl is something that not everyone may like which doesn't help its case. Couple that with the airbag recalls recently and you have all these things against you.

 

clean dealer trade on a 12 SHAWD Advance is about $15k-$16k. $18k was at the beginning of the year. Trust me I checked with 2 local Acura dealers. The 4G is a great car to drive but the airbag recall really hurt value because they sat on dealer lots for over 6 months or longer and some just decided to trade them in to dealers. Saturated inventory meant lower prices to move them, which in turn meant lower resale value.

 

simple economics

 

Buying a new car FTL. I wouldn't buy new unless I was worth a cool million. And even then.....

I've lost a lot of value on mine since I bought it last year. Technically I'm upside down on my loan. It didn't help that I put 60K miles on it in one year driving Uber But I'll be hanging on to it until the wheels fall off so I don't care too much. I earned enough driving Uber to pay it off twice over but I'm only paying 2.49% on the loan so I maxed out my Roth for 2016 and 2017 instead. Retiring at 59 1/2 or bust (unless the market crashes or Trump pushes us into a nuclear apocalypse)

 

^This... OP you put 20K miles on the car in a year which is a lot, so for it to depreciate roughly 25% to 30% in that time is not that strange..

 

Acuras seems to depreciate more than they used to.

In 2013 when I bought my 2013 TL Tech, I saw a couple of nice 2008 TL with 60K miles listed for 19-20K and they were selling well.

Right now in 2017 when I look around, most of the 13' TL Tech with 40-60K miles are listed for 17-18K. And it only has been 4 years.

I think the reasons are:

1. 3G TL were and is still more well received then recent Acuras.

2. So much incentives available on the new models to help boost sales which make resale worse.

3. The airbag recall.

 

It's basic economics - supply vs. demand. Demand for OP's car is down for many of the reasons already stated above.

 

Regarding your #1 item; I recently purchased a 2006 Acura TL 6MT, and from my perspective as a buyer, if a 2006-2008 TL was going for the same price as a 2014 TL with similar mileage, I'd opt for the for the older car every time. Why? As you intimated, "no appeal".

 

Yeah, I'm in the market for an 08 TL's.

also it's crazy that 13-14TL Tech with 22k miles are going for like 18-19k. Lol

 

^^ Yeah that's crazy!

I do own both 3G and 4G. The 4G (bought new) is a better car in every way. My 4G is 4 and 1/2 years with 60K miles on the ODO - it drives like new. Fit and finish is perfect. Love the buttons. I keep my interior clean and the leather looks new. Leather is higher quality than the 3G (and a G37 I owned). It drives very nice for a FWD which you can feel clearly when cornering. Comfort is good because I have 17" wheels. I only wish it were a bit quieter. It has a long long long service life and I plan to keep it at least until 120-130K miles as my daily driver.

The 3G (bought used) however is getting old in terms of interior wear & tear. It still looks great for a 10 year old design. I plan to replace it with something else in the next year or so. It has only 95K miles.

 

^ This. I was initially looking for another 3G after I got rid of my TSX. I test drove a few but hadn't decided on one in particular. The dealer convinced me to test drive a 4G and it nearly pissed me off to find out what a better vehicle it was. I knew at that point there was no way I could go back to a 3G. Handling, power, the stereo, interfaces, tech, leather and transmission were all significantly better. But I still love the styling of the 3G. They catch my eye every time I see one on the road.

If you have a 3G and love it, I don't recommend test driving a 4G.

 

in '11 a co-worker bought a 4G and he always took me out to lunch in it. Loved the interior, way better than my 3G

 

I test drove a 4G and disagree with all of those points. The stereo seems the same to me, tech isn't really special in either model, leather was not any better imo and power wise my car feels a lot faster. I like my 3G a lot better, I may change my mind if I test drive a 6MT SH-AWD model.

My RLX has been loosing value almost every month. My 13' MDX lost about $2000 in value this year, so now having personal experience I will probably never buy new again.

 

I think in some cases what dealer says it is irrelevant. Visiting few dealers and battling for your own car to get a higher price is inevitable regardless of the brand.
Now, something to know about valuation on SH-AWD is a risk of oil consumption on 3.7 engines. Dealers are super knowledgeable about it but do not let you know that of course. It is a simply a risk they need to take and do not want to get stuck with the car. Typical example is two 2013/2014 (I think either oor) TLs SH-AWD that have been sitting in the inventory of Acura of Westmont for the past 3-4-5 months. Regardless that both were certified, that both had 43 and 46k miles, that were driven with ok miles, ok interior, all in all - they priced them 22-23k and still could not sell them... they got stuck pretty much...

In all honesty, as other said, car is NOT an investment ... it is a necessary enjoyment we opt out for, therefore, kick back and enjoy your car for years to come, until it starts breaking down

 

A couple things. My 2010 6MT dropped like a rock this year. Literally in the span of 2 weeks NADA dropped the value about $2500 which was around 25% of the value it had been (just using rough brain math, it went from 14,500 to 12k). Mine was even worse because it had a burnt sideview mirror, broken fog light, and chipped front bumper. All that is fixed now so the car has a little more value to it but that's just gravy; it is far nicer to look at now with an A-Spec kit, new OEM bumper, new fog light and mirror glass. I have 120k on mine and I intend to keep it until 200k, or more. At the rate it's going, who knows how long it's going to go.

I came from a 3G Tech, non-S, auto. My 6MT 4G is similar, but subtly better in just about every way. I feel the sound system is a little better - not huge but maybe the updated dash helps acoustics, I don't know. Handling and power are in a different league and then throw in the 6MT and it's really not a contest. And I didn't expect it to be. I'm sure if I had a 6MT 3G S I'd be singing a little different tune.

 

I found this thread pretty informative/useful. I've been contemplating whether I should cut loose with my '08 RL for a '12-'14 TL but now, by the sounds of it, maybe that isn't such a hot idea? I was kinda hoping that the depressed value would work in my favor but are the '12-'14 TLs really that much of a ticking time bomb as far as the engine and drivetrain?

 

I wouldnt be scared to drive a 6MT SHAWD TL. (which is the one that eats oil.)
it's a case by case basis.
and if you're scared, dont buy

 

I wouldnt be scared to drive a 6MT SHAWD TL. "(which is the one that eats oil.)" idk about that statement.. like you said it's case by case but of at least 7 plus 4G I know most burning oil is the Auto.. But some of us will be doing or have already doing other alternatives to see if there is any difference with consumption.

 

IMO I would say no it's not a ticking time bomb.. IMO most honda/acura I been around and own ALWAYS burn oil.. Some of the guys don't burn oil with the J37 some don't. The one issue I hear most of the Auto guys have is the TC issue with the car is shifting.. There was a recall and a work order set to fix that. I'll say just test drive one see how you like it. I opt for the 4g TL over the KB1 RL because it was stick and had more room.. I have a 2011.

 

Interesting, I'm relatively new to the Honda world, but I own two well used J-Series engines and neither burn any measurable oil between changes.

 

My oil burning days started with a Acura Integra lol... From Cam seals to Vtec solenoid gasket swaps.

 

Yes horseshoez you are right. If maintained (keyword) almost every Honda engine since the beginning of time will not burn oil unless they have an issue from the factory.

I have owned around 20 different Honda Acura vehicles including dirtbikes. None burned oil unless there was an issue that I found I could easily solve like a bad seal or gasket.

 

I bought my 14 TL new and paid it off the first year. I have no intention of selling (currently at 15.5k miles). Love the car and eventually it will become my daily. I have the auto SHawd and my consumption is normal. The problem with a lot of people these days is they don't keep there cars for more than 4-5 years. I rock them until they die and just add new ones to the fleet in the meantime.

 

#Preach

 

Surprised that nobody has mentioned the fact that the TL is technically a discontinued car, superseded by the TLX. This means less inventory, higher costs for maintenance, parts, accessories, etc.

 

I don't understand your logic; even if the TLX was called a TL, as in a 5th generation TL, it would still mean generations 1 through 4 would have been discontinued. Said another way, for 1G through 4G TLs, the inventory levels, and costs for maintenance, parts, and accessories would be no different today, regardless of whether there was a 5G TL, a TLX, or no TL-anything currently on the market.

 

TLX to me is a TSX and 3G TL had a baby.. The 4G to me is a more update 05-12 RL..

 

It's true. I wish it weren't, since I've been a Honda/Acura fan for some time. For the first time, I'm not sure what I'm going to replace my current car with when it's time to put her out to pasture. I really don't consider the TLX to be much (if any) of an upgrade from the 4G TL. I haven't driven the 2018 A-spec yet though. That might change my mind I may actually consider going with the RDX or MDX as my next vehicle.

 

I've noticed the same thing on mine. I found it very surprising. I wonder if it isn't in part due to the fact that used TLXs are readily available now.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...than-you-think

 

Great article. That certainly sums it all up. Thanks for sharing.

 

You're welcome. Not sure if it was mentioned, but I think what also led to the depreciation of the 4G TL's aside from the Takata airbag recall was the transmission recall on select affected vehicles.

 

Good call. Didn't think about the damn tranny recall. Mine has actually been acting a little strange lately... holding gears too long and such. Drives great in sport mode but it never seems to know what gear to be in in normal drive. Thank god for that extended warranty Honda has been on those transmissions.