My wife and I test drove a pristine 2010 with only 7000 miles on the odometer. The freeway was clear and dry, but the weather had been nasty, with packed snow on the side roads, so we could only get a small feel for the handling. Even with MXMs, the car did really well on the slick roads. We both loved the car, tho the Buick dealer was asking $38K, which is around the cost for a brand new 2010 "end of the year" special down the road at the Acura dealer.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

Lights: how are the xenon and high beam headlights on a dark back road? Pattern and brightness?

Clutch: this car has a wonderful, easy progressive clutch, but OTH I have read about the slave cylinder restricter removal mod - for daily rational driving is this mod a good idea? Both of us are real easy on clutches.

Price: the car has been sitting un-driven for a couple of weeks - the sales guy was really eager to see a potential customer. We received two separate calls (sort of "Come on over and take it for a spin!") He had the car warmed up and running when we arrived, and when I popped the hood I saw that the battery terminal cover was off, showing that they had jumped the car to get it going. So most likely the battery is suspect....

What would be a reasonable offer right now? The car is White Diamond Pearl with Taupe leather, MANUAL tranny, but no HPT. It has the dealer added Midnight Chrome Sport Grill ($329) and an aftermarket medium dark tint all around. The paint is immaculate and there is no body damage or curb rash. Interior looks show-room new and has not been smoked in (I am allergic, so I would know instantly).

The car would replace my wife's current RAV4 Ltd V6 as a daily driver. We have owned a few nice driving cars (2000 Saab 9-5 Aero Wagon 2.3 HOT 5M, 2001 Audi A4 Sedan quattro 1.8T Tiptronic, 2005 Mazda6 Sport Wagon 3.0 5M) and we have test driven a number of luxury sedans, but the TL is the only car that has really reached out and grabbed her heart _hard_. We will most likely end up with one, the question is this car or another....?

Thanks for any comments.

John Davies
Spokane WA

 

As you can see from my sig, I have the exact same car, except in black (it now has about 7K miles too). It's a great car, probably the all-time favorite among those I've owned.

38K is too much for the car you're considering - as you said you can buy a new left-over for that or better, but OTH, the 6MTs are hard to find new right now. You should check KBB, Edmunds, etc. to get an idea of what a fair price would be.

As to your other questions, the lights are good. I use the brights when I am on dark back roads and they do a good job. No problems there.

I think the clutch mod you're referring to dealt w/ the 3G TLs to overcome the restrictor installed to minimize torque steer in lower gears. Haven't heard about that for the 4G.

Overall, the car is really sweet. It's fast and handles tremendously (the AWD is primarily a dry-road handling aid, but it works great in rain/snow too). I'm averaging 24.7 MPG in half urban/suburban, half highway use. The sound system is excellent, the details are nice, and the car is very comfortable. It's a lot of vehicle for $3_,xxx.

Good luck with the purchase.

 

There is no issue with the lighting, they use two bulbs, one for high and one for low with slightly different angles and the fog lights are very useful, between the three there should not be a problem.

The most I would pay for that car is $33k-$34k and in most cases for a non financed deal, it would be trade and/or cash only otherwise I would just look for a brand new 2010 which go for invoice minus incentives at around $37k, even less in some areas. Plus the new car financing should be better than the used.

Do you plan to finance and did they give you any idea of what the rate would be?

Assuming you can get it for $34k and the interest rate is like 3.9%, you are better off with a new one for a little more on the sales price ($37K) but with cheaper financing for around the same monthly payment.

Honestly, I wouldn't consider the used one unless you could get it for at least $34k and if financing, a rate at around 1.9%, otherwise it wouldn't be worth it IMO. Anything more and you would be paying the same thing as a brand new one or only $10-$20 less per month and in the worst case you could be paying more.

 

If you can get it for $33-34K max then I would go for it. Otherwise walk as there is plenty out there. Just keep hunting.

 

Thanks for the comments.

John Davies
Spokane WA

 

Wow, that's pretty great and about what I avg. in my TSX! Actually, I can do worse than that some weeks because of my commute and now being in the colder months.

John, I agree w/ the others and I wouldn't even bother for that kind of $. Either hammer on them to drop it down at least $4,000.00, or find something else out there. One caveat, though, as you may already know: the 6M is a rare breed and no where near the wiggle room on a 5AT if you're considering buying new. Also, color/exterior combos can be severely limited.

 

yes I agree that is over priced. I bought my TL-SH-AWD 6MT 2 months ago and paid 35K brnd new with 50 miles on it and with HPT