tSchwarz

Hi there,

I've been looking and driving 2009 SH-AWD for weeks, but finally decided to bite the bullet and drive new. I found a 2012 CBP/umber. On Saturday I'll make the long drive to test drive it. What should I be looking/watching for? In my 51 years I've never bought a spanking new car, always let someone else deal with depreciation. And I'm not as up to speed on the 2012's as earlier models. Any advice would be appreciated. And thanks everyone for all the knowledge I've gained on this board!

Edward'TLS

The 2012 has a brand new 6-speed automatic gearbox vs. the 2009's 5-speed box. As a result, gear shift is smoother and the car drives better.

In addition, extra insulation in the 2012 also makes the inside cabin quieter.

Check it out.

Litt

I would want to drive on some cracked rough roads and listen for rattles. not all cars are affected but quite a few on here have had them fixed in roof or rear deck.

Overall though its a an incredible car though. Drive it hard.

tSchwarz

Its pretty much a done deal, but I'll "drive it hard" and see what I come home in.

Mitch-S

Watch your wallet! Haha

Dealers can tell when a buyer really wants a car. You are also driving far to see the car so you may not have the ability to walk away if #s are not right.

This car is so awesome, it will be tempting you to take it home. Good luck!

DannyZRC

Make sure to have your various challenges in mind, think about accessibility concerns in your family or social circle, make sure it plays nice with your particular electronic companions (cell phone and/or any music device). Try to make sure that it actually pleases you in the ways you expect it to. Focus on what are the positive characteristics that draw you to the car, and make sure to evaluate the reality against your expectations because it is these 'perks' that will go a long way towards your long term satisfaction.

A non-exhaustive sample lists of TL SH-AWD attractants; for handling or acceleration, for comfort after a stressful work day, or to chauffeur clients in the back comfortably, or to enjoy a great stereo or perhaps an easy to use nav system if you often have to find your way to places.

Try to examine those perks in detail, and also make sure to be aware of any personal "deal breakers" and to make sure to check for them. Examples might be speedbump sensitivity, availability of power on request for passing, ability to fit certain people or items satisfactorily.

Oh and, the obligatory : buy a stick!

Good luck, be sure to be ready for the negotiation should you decide you are interested.

Linmk2

As an owner of an '11 and a member here since that purchase over year ago, here are my personal observations. Open the trunk and size it up (pun intended). Many complain that the trunk is too small or the shape is too odd. I have owned cars with bigger and smaller trunks than the TL. The size was not a deal breaker for me. Also, be aware that the rear seat does not fold down. Again, not a deal breaker for me, but that lacking feature has been mentioned a number of times as a negative by fellow members . Check for blind spots. IMHO, there are more cars out there that have bigger blind spots than the TL, but only you can be the judge if you have issues seeing out of the car. Check out in detail all the interior features. Are there too many knobs (some think so), or too much plastic for your liking? Is the glove compartment too small? Check the console, will it meet your needs? Check out the function of the tilt/telescope wheel. If you use this feature a lot, I find the control to be hard to use and placed in an awkward location. As Danny mentioned, make sure everyone in your family can be comfortable, especially in the rear seat area. Next, drive the car on a number of different kinds of roads. The TL is not the most quiet car out there, so try it out of different road surfaces. Is too noisy for you, does it rattle? In your opinion, how does it handle smooth or pot holed streets? Try it out on the freeway, does its performance meet your expectations? How do the brakes feel? Is the steering effort to your liking? Some have claimed the TL's electric power steering is over boosted. Try out the voice commands. How accurate does the system respond to your voice. Try out the radio, how does it sound to you? Again, as Danny pointed out, make sure all your cell phones work with the HFL and Bluetooth system. Test drive both the FWD and SHAWD cars. Which one feels the best to you? While most on the board will recommend the SHAWD model, I found it to be harsher riding and noisier. The area in which I live is about the square and flat as there is. For me, I do not see any advantage in having a SHAWD TL. I think you owe it to yourself to try both. Keep in mind that you have a few favors of TL. The base, Tech, and Advance. See which one meets your needs and pocketbook. The TL can be had with, the new for '12, six speed automatic transmission and a 6 speed manual. If you have your heart set on a manual, there could be a problem. Those cars are about as rare as "hen's teeth". Don't let the sales staff rush you! Make sure you have adequate time to evaluate your needs before you get into price negotiations. The TL is a great car value. It has distinctive looks (some may say too distinctive), good performance, reasonable fuel economy for the class, and a lot of features for the price. In the end, you and only you can decide if the TL is the right car. If you decide to pull the trigger, but sure to post pictures. Good luck!

axg

Purchased one a few weeks ago. I think there a lot of obvious good things about the car, but here are a few negatives I didn't personally think hard enough about before I purchased. To be clear, I'm just giving some of the negatives/warnings - don't take it as a slam against your interest...


- this is a really wide car; perhaps 3-4 inches wider that many similarly priced and sized vehicles ... realize you need to be much more careful about parking then most people.

- it's a really large car. I do not comprehend how they do not have forward parking sensors given the other mid-luxury features (my dealer sarcastically remarked "well, it's generally easy to see what's in front of you) ... but actually, it's very very hard to judge to within the precision of a foot or so where the nose actually is.

- (assuming tech package) Every time you start the car you need to hit the center button to move past the lawyer-page, or else you will get a beep about a minute later as the nav screen goes to its wallpaper. So you must pess the button to make the lawyers go away, or get a distracting beep a minute or so after you are on your way. Every time. For ever. So long as you own this car. Not something you can turn off. You can send Acura a thousand pages signed in your blood that you accept their terms, but you will still have to accept or get the beep every single time you start this vehicle. Every time. Forever. A small thing, I know, but the annoyance just seems to grow and grow.

- What happens if you lose your key? Or if you lock they key inside (this is unlikely, they will tell you), but what? Make sure they walk you through what happens then? ... are you comfortable with that? What happens if you don't have the code? What happens if your nearest Acura dealer is 200 miles away? What happens if it's 7pm on a Sunday and they are closed? Are you really comfortable with this?

- Related to the previous point, suppose you lose a key or want an spare; what would it cost? This varies from dealer to dealer but CR found Acura to be the most expensive in the country at > $400 for a replacment or spare key. Locksmiths cannot help you. Are you ok with this? I recommend you do what I did not but you should try, and negotiate free lifetime key programming with your dealer (it takes them 10 seconds, they want to charge $150, this should be gettable). Ask yourself before buying: can I get a spare key for under $500? If so, how much under? Is this a promise? And whatever they say, am I comfortable with that? _That much_, to get a new key ... what else are you not being told?

- Fancy audio system. With the key feature and dealer demonstration centered around the beauty of the DVD/A facility. DVD/A? This is how you sell yourself? In 2012? DVD/A? There is praise for the audio on-line but it's a somewhat bizzarre offering in 2012. Make sure it does for your what you need, don't accept any hype. But if you have a large DVD/A collection, go to it. If you don't, realize that some of the hype ont only does not, but never will, apply to you (I promise you: no DVD/A collection now, then no DVD/A collection for you later on.)

axg

One more thing. I've never had a car even with NAV before, but the traffic alerts feature seems as though it could be really fantastic ...
But I'm heading north on Freeway XXX and there is a big pileup 2 miles head, but it thinks this is seventh in importance relative to a problem on a southbound freeway that I'm not even on and is 20 miles to the east of me? True example. They actually know about the problem ahead of me, but it's not really important relative to a problem in the other direction 20 miles away? What is up with that?

N.b. while I'm on the topic of "things about my TL I don't think are quite right", count the auto headlight setting amongst them. 11am on a sunny California day, not a cloud in the sky, lowest sensitivity setting, but my headlights are turned on? Except a moment later they are not?
No sensor obstrucition. After I noticed the first silly error on my second day of driving I've being paying attention to this -- conclusion, the car has a ridiculous sense of what is light and dark and any feature that requires it (auto headlights, nav screen color) is better off disabled. It's not close enough to being right to be safe.

LaCostaRacer

These issues are the deal-breakers for me anyway. If you own a 3G and move to 4G- the car won't park the same, particularly in length. I have some vertical racing stripes from my rollup garage door on the back of my 3G bumper and the chances of this on a 4G are even higher since it's 6"+ longer now. Everything else I could live with.

types1fan

So did you test drive the car?

tSchwarz

Wow, everyone was so great....I can't thank you enough. I actually missed a couple of the later responses and those would have been great questions to ask. I'm really appeciating axg's commentary on the splash startup screen. Since I actually bought the car :-)

I now own and love my 2012 SH-AWD tech TL, CBP/umber. I'll post some photos when I get back from a vacation and business trip. Initial impressions: quieter than I thought, bumpier than I expected, love all the technology, got nearly 30 mpg today on a 70 mile tour under 65 mpg (except for the time I passed that motor home hitting 90 before I knew it).

Again, thanks everyone. Yes, that stupid splash screen is driving me a little nuts, but it's a small price to pay. That sound system rocks and I can hardly imagine what it will be like after a little burn in.

Now how do I keep that black beauty clean? :-)

Todd

Ronp8

Congratulations on your new purchase.

mihink

congrats! that's my fav color combo...which dealer did you buy it from? and what was the deal? happy motoring!

tSchwarz

Lyle Pearson Acura in Boise, ID. I know this is just dealer "you're killing us" language, but I'm sworn to secrecy in terms of the deal. They treated me well and I want to maintain a good relationship with them, so I'll abide by their wishes. I'll just put it this way, I'm a tightwad, never bought new before, and I drove away feeling good.