Finally pulled the trigger on a 2012 TL SH-AWD Advance over the weekend. I had been comparing and comparing, trying to decide if I wanted something different after driving my 2001 CL Type S for 10 years. Glad I stuck with Acura. Even after 2 days, I'm 100% hooked. Can't wait for some break-in miles to pass, so I can stop babying it so much.

Never owned a black car before. I'm worried about keeping it clean, but it looks so amazing when clean, I'll deal with it. I mentioned in another post someone made about limited Advance availability, mine was the only Advance available in St. Louis currently. They are tough to find I guess. The 19" wheels looking amazing on this car, especially on black IMO.

Mine happened to be the car the dealer dressed up as their "Thor" car on the showroom floor. They just had the diamond cut wheels on it and the SHIELD decal on the doors. Since the stock Advance wheels are perfect, no need to shell out over $2K for different wheels. My kids BEGGED me to let them keep the SHIELD decal on the car, but.....Nahhh!

 

Very nice. You made the right choice. Glad you got what you wanted.

 

Nice upgrade man...way to be patient and enjoy a car for 10 years. Black is easy...just keep it waxed and read up on good washing techniques so you don't swirl it up!

If you keep it well protected and shiny, you actually see the reflection of things thru the dirt and the car can stay clean looking for 2 weeks at a time.

Trust me, I know.

 

Congrats! Car looks great.

 

Congrats!

 

congrats!


good taste in wheels (no bias here)

 

Beautiful. I need to spend a little quality time with mine to get it looking that way again. It's close, but just needs a minor detailing. (If it ever stops raining).

 

 

congratz! ... car looks good

 

get yourself a pc7424, a few white pads a few black pads, xmt 360, fourstar ultimate paint protection sealant, and a 30 pack of yellow microfibre clothes from costco to wipe it down during the detailing process, and you will beable to keep that black looking better then the way it looks now...also, no automatic carwashes for you including the ones were they hand dry it after...get a quaility sheepskin wash mitt, and some microfibre drying towels...that should keep you in business with the black paint...

nice ride

 

Congrats

 

Congrats! Great choice.

 

Nice, congrats.

 

gorgeous car...congrats!!

 

Very nice car congratz !
Black is my favorite color for the 4G TL. The car is MADE to be black. Throw some nice tint on there and you will be set.

 

I have to say that the TL looks damn good in white too!!! Missouri doesn't like tint much.. when I moved there a few years ago, I have to remove the tint to get it inspected... moved back to Texas and can have tint again!

To the OP, nice car!! Congrats! The love affair begins!

 

missouri has lightend up on this, you can get your windows tinted now...

used to be common practice to get illinois license plates and get your windows tinted...it was a work around, but i knew a bunch of folks that did it...

 

Congrats!!!!

 

Looking good

 

Beautiful car! I'm on my second black car. If you plan on keeping it for 10 years I highly recommend getting 3M Clear Bra installed on the front end. My 06 TL got chewed up from road rash. I put it on my 550 and it sure works.

 

Buffa, nice pick up. You ought to grab the THOR shield and put it on for the kids every once in a while!




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I totally agree. White is a real head turner as well.

 

Unfortunately the SHIELD stickers were too hard to get off without destroying them. That made me a little nervous, thinking: What did they need to do to remove if they shredded them, ha ha.

Thanks to everyone for the compliments. Now I just need to get through this week, as Missouri is still getting pounded with bad storms. Don't want the huge hail to destroy a new car. I should count my blessings though since we don't live near Joplin where so many people died from a tornado. Crazy stuff over there. Sad to see.

 

Those yellow microfibers from Costco are garbage. At least the ones they have been selling around here. I switched to the ones at Sams. They seem much better.

Congrats OP, awesome car

 

what's wrong with the ones you bought at costco?

 

They are rough, they shed a ton, leaving yellow fuzz all over the place, and they seem thin and cheaply made. Not the same plush ones as I used to get from Costco.

 

Congrats on the black - it's beautiful.

I pick up a white SH-AWD Advance this Friday for my wife. I look forward to driving it quite a bit myself.

 

Why would they do that? Up until about a year ago you couldn't have any tint on your front windows in Illinois.

 

Buffa, you should join us on the weekend of June 12th. We've got guys coming from St. Louis for the National Acurazine meet. We'd get to see your 4G in person!




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Congrats! You won't regret your decision. Awesome color choice...dark colored cars tend to project elegant power...at least IMHO.

 

we did that for years when i lived in stl...get illinois plates so you could avoid mo laws with window tint...

its a mute point now as you can legally get your windows tinted in mo....

 

many detailers i know use the 36 pack yellow microfibre cloths from costco...

they are the best bang for the buck...

i have had zero issues with the costco ones for about the last 5 years....go figure

 

Congrats on the new car. Black is a great color but such a bitch to keep clean. My last car was black, looked beautiful when it was clean. I used to wash it once a week, then started a new job and washes came less frequently. The California duster worked great in-between washes. RED99HT mentioned getting a clear bra, I completely agree. I didn't get it on my Accord and after 3 yrs there were a ton of chip marks on my bumper and hood. Clear bra was a must for the TL.

 

Congrats!. Like the color choice.

 

If I were getting the 12, would get that very car combination. The mags if I am not mistaken were the same as the A-spec in Canada for 11, and some sort of sport package in the USA.

 

Very nice. I just picked up the exact same combination myself. Three weeks and I'm still enjoying it.

To the community: Thanks for the good info on upkeep for the black paint. It has been difficult to keep clean, especially with all the storms.

 

Those were factory options on the 11 SH-AWD and now come with the Advance package on the SH-AWD. They were a stand alone option on the SH only, not a sport package.