EazyRider562

Hey guys,

I recently bought an '09 Acura TL (w/tech package) and love it.

It has 30K miles on it, however I've been driving it to work everyday the last month, 50 miles round trip.

I'm worried that I'm gonna be putting too many miles on it, too quick and its going to depreciate the value of the car, plus wear it out.

Do you think I should start driving my '03 Nissan Altima to save my Acura?

What would be beneficial in the long run?

potmilkz

yes, drive the altima to work, leave the tl for weekend or going out car..

EazyRider562

My thoughts are though, the car is going to depreciate with time. Yeah miles are going to make the car depreciate as well.

Other thing is, I bought the Altima to enjoy it. If my wife is only driving it 6 miles a day to work, and I'm only using it on the weekends. Kinda spending alot of money on the loan to use it 8-10K miles a year?

Kinda a hard decision.

potmilkz

do you mean you bought the acura to enjoy.. not altima..

its a 8 year old car, get over it..

your only driving it to work, there is nothing to enjoy lol.. personally.. i can care less if i am driving a 88 civic to work lol

EazyRider562

Yes I bought the Acura to enjoy. And I like to be comfortable to work as its about 30-45 min each way.

Its a toss up like I said, maybe I should just drive the Acura maybe a few days a week and the Altima a few days.

eazy

iTrader: (8)

If i were you, if I had a nice parking spot at work that I dont gotta worry about people hitting my car I would drive the TL everyday. If not I'd drive the altima and park it wherever and not care nearly as much about it.

EazyRider562

The parking here is safe! There is a tree thats close by the car.

The only other issue, is that we have a 9 month old dog (small about 20 pounds) that my wife brings to work with her daily. Until we get a car seat for the dog, she only can go in the car for short distances on the passengers lap.

And even with a car seat, I'm not sure I want our dog in the car without someone holding her. Even if it is only 3 miles each way to work. Agreed?

So maybe I should just drive the Acura daily like I have been the last month and not worry about it. Like I said, I'm just a little concerned that I'm putting about 250 miles a week for the commute to work.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

I would drive the Acura to work; for me every morning is a nice commute to work because im in the TL. My commute is not as long as yours and I don't plan on keeping the car longer than 5 yrs and Honda/Acura hold their value regardless of high miles!

Oswald Vater

To me the dog is a deal-breaker. I wouldn't transport a dog in my new(er) car (except in emergencies) as long as I had an older car to do so in. Otherwise I would swap out cars through the week to keep mileage down on both (my wife and I do this with our 700 mile round trips to our Central FL home (every 2 months) between her 09 Ody and my 10 TL).

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

lulz at this thread.

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

funniez..

Cars were made to be driven.

nj2pa2nc

the 50 mile roundtrip is better on a car than the 6 mile one. I travel from NC to NJ and back every few weeks. (1,300 miles roundtrip) We also have been on 3 cross country roadtrips covering 42 states. I bought the car to be driven not to worry about selling it someday in the future. I just make sure the maintenance is done on it.

potmilkz

if you got the dough ($$$$) then take the keys and goooooooooooooooooooooooo................... to work that is..

erdoc48

Realize that with a mass produced car, depreciation is going to occur. That said, in my opinion, use the car that has all the features for a 50 mile commute that appeal to you (the Acura). It's going to depreciate if you use it or not, so you might as well use it. Otherwise one day you will be selling it to someone at a much lower cost than you paid, and you didn't enjoy it to its fullest (same applies with seat covers over leather- you sell the car with prefect leather seats that you never enjoyed having).

I have an 06 that runs flawlessly, looks great, and has 72K miles on it. Now it's my challenge to keep it as long as I can, and keep it past the 200K mark (which shouldn't be too hard).

Enjoy your car- you paid enough for a luxury car and should be using it!

Shellyduchsk8s

I have a longer commute - and that's the reason I bought the TL, because it's comfortable, reliable, and makes the long drive bearable. Why buy a car you aren't going to drive?

EazyRider562

Thanks for the help guys!

Once again, I just feel kinda uneasy putting 250 miles on it per week, just for work, not even driving on the weekends or around town after work running errands.

I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and use it and enjoy it as much as possible. I figure after its paid off in 6 years, I'll be ready to trade it in for something else anyhow. I might as well enjoy it, right?

777mycoolangelo

Hmm...should I eat a big mac or a whopper. I really like the big mac but I heard it has more calories...hmmm to many decisions.

YES MAN ENJOY IT!

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Should I gel my hair today?
let me axe acurazine.

777mycoolangelo

^ haha..."axe"....by the way shave it!

EazyRider562

Just seeing what you guys thoughts, sorry for asking the question. I've noticed that some of you guys aren't that easy on a new guy trying to become part of the group.

ib_jimmy

its all good bro.

I drive 50miles each way everyday too. Got mine brand new with 8 miles on it. I've thought about getting a beater just to drive to work but remember I've bought this car so that I have a lot of features to play with and be comfortable when sitting there for over an hour.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

what the hell does a tree have to do with the parking being safe...i would park as far away from the tree as i could...parking under a tree will get tree sap, and bird shit all over your car....

EazyRider562

It protects it from the sun! Duh!!!!

weather

EAZYRIDER....I think your half and half aproach is not a bad idea since it appears that you are really torn and have pros and cons to either options. Myself, I have a 75km round trip to work (~45 miles) daily and I really hate taking my TL to work for putting on the mileage on it so I take the "beater car" to commute to work....besides, I never drive my TL when it rains. Occasionally, I'll take it to work and when I do, I always make my co-workers envious and often find a few hovering around it in the parking lot and checking it out.

With respect to the tree comment made by VINNIER....He is 100% correct, be very careful of parking underneath a tree. Now not all tree are the same so we can't generalize however, I just washed and waxed the car of a friend who has obviously been exposed to tree sap and that stuff is nasty!! I don't like the sun NOR tree sap, but tree sap will damage your finish (clear) much quicker than the oxydization from the sun.


SHELLY....On a side note, if you find the drive long and unbearable, why don't you take me along....I was told that I am great company *lol*

Shellyduchsk8s

Hahaha! Sure, but I don't think you're close to me.

EazyRider562

Thanks for the feedback once again guys!

I think I'm just gonna drive my TL until I can see the wear and tear! I mean, I spent alot of money for this solid piece of machinery and will be the next few years, why not enjoy it to the fullest extent!

TullyMN

You could try to be somewhat scientific. Determine how long you plan to keep the car and determine how many miles will be on it at that age for your two scenarios. Then use a trade in tool to go back the same amount of years to see how the mileage impacts the value of the car and if the difference spread out over x years is worth your enjoyment of driving in comfort (and safety). Using KBB and a 10 year old tl, difference between 70k and 100k miles was $1675. A lot of other variables to consider but this gets you in the ballpark. I say drive it and enjoy it. My '05 Outback rarely goes out these days (though I'm sure that will change when the snow starts to come down!)

jnc2000

I bought my TL to commute with... and I'm modding it heavily - finding the untraveled back roads between Ohio and Pittsburgh are half of the fun!

With my normal "commute" coming in at a short 55 miles one way - I can find ways of extending that to 70 miles or more, depending on the twisty, less traveled back roads of WPA, and the Ohio Valley....

Car's are meant to be driven. Believe me, I DRIVE my car... in less than a year of ownership and 30K miles she still leaves a shit-eatin grin on my face everyday.

On those really nasty days (chance of hail / severe storms) -- I take my truck.