Brutus31

Hello all, I'm happy to be a new member and a proud new owner of the TLX V6 Tech slate silver metallic with graystone interior. It was delivered to my house from a dealer 60 miles away on Sept. 1st. Which was the second delivery, read on to find out more....

A little background here, I own a 2013 RDX and had a 2010 C300 which I really didn't want anymore. I was dreaming of an RLX but knew it was out of my price range and too big of a car for me. Believe it or not, I didn't hear about the TLX until early August. I kicked into full research mode and after a week or so and cross-shopping the ATS I decided I had to have the TLX.

I went to my local dealer in South OC and test drove the V6 and V4. I read all the reviews of people loving the V4 but I just wasn't feeling it. It felt like my 2007 Civic I used to have. The V4 was very nimble and quick like my Civic, and the engine was fairly high-pitched which i thought cheapened the driving experience.

So I decided I had to go with the V6. I love how it rides...very smooth and quiet but can pick up speed quickly when needed. I started to work a deal with them but they didn't have the SSM that I wanted and said it wouldn't come until October! So they tried to sale me on the CBP, BWP, and BCP. Didn't want black because my C300 was black. Didn't want white because my RDX is white and I didn't want BCP, well, just because!

I told them I would wait for it but they didn't push me to actually order the car or anything. After a few days I started searching on my own and found that Acura of Riverside had the exact car I wanted. The only one within 500 miles of San Diego. I contacted the internet manager and he assured me they still have the car. We started talking about price and to my surprise he said I would not qualify for the $1000 finance credit or the $500 accessories simply because they had the car on their lot. I told him that my local dealership was going to give me the credit even for the black one they had on their lot. I then did some more research and read the fine print and he was right. Not sure why my local dealer didn't tell me that upfront.... I was pretty upset at Acura's promotion and their fine print.

At this point I was on the fence. Should I buy now and forfeit the $1500 or order the car and then wait until October? I had the new car itch bad and couldn't wait. Riverside contacted me again and said they would try to sweeten the deal with $500 off MSRP and throw in $733 worth of accessories. I was fine with this deal but didn't really want to drive 60 miles to get the car especially in SoCal traffic.

It's now late on August 31st and the internet manager really wanted to get this sale under his belt for the month. He said he would actually deliver the car to me. I was all for it so I said let's do it and I will see you in an hour or so.

Guy shows up at my house around 7:30 and its getting dark at this point. I'm so excited, walk out to see my new car and instantly noticed that it is the WRONG FREAKING COLOR!!! He brought the graphite luster metallic...totally not what I wanted and I had to explain to him the only reason why I even dealt with this dealer is to get the SSM. I previously sent him the VIN of the car I wanted so I have no idea how this deal got screwed up. He made a call back to the dealer and realized that they wrote down the wrong color on the contract and that they still have the SSM. He left with his tail between his legs and I felt totally let down. He said he would return the next day with the right car.

And he did. I finally got the car I wanted and I instantly fell in love with it. Paper work was quick and easy and I signed everything in my living room. Probably the best new car buying experience ever. If you are wondering how the sales pitch with the finance guy went, well it was about a 7 minute phone call in which I turned down their crap warranty and other stuff. When I bought the RDX I was in the finance office for an hour...

To wrap this up, the car is great and I am very happy I got it and I'm probably the first in Orange County to get the SSM. I actually haven't seen any TLXs at all and I drive 120 miles a day.

As far as performance goes, nothing to complain about. I wish I could swap the Lane Keeping Assist and Collision Warning system with ventilated seats though. I tested the LKA a few times and don't really see where it is necessary. Maybe if you need to take your hands off the wheel to open a bottle of water is where it would come in handy. Other than that, probably a waste of money.

I love the dual stack screens and probably just because I'm a tech guy. It does take a bit of getting used to and is distracting so be careful not to fool around with it too much on the road. The GPS seems to work well and traffic info is accurate, although it didn't work for like 30 minutes the other day. One thing that annoys me is since I put in my work address as a favorite destination, it beeps several times every time I am near the location. I'm not sure why it does that and hopefully there is an option to turn it off.

I've gotten used to the button shifter and like it a lot, but still sometimes want to rest my hand on a real shifter.

The backup camera looks good but I have noticed that the lines don't always appear right away. It takes a few seconds to appear on the screen but I'm already backing up at that point. The cross traffic alert works good.

The whole system rebooted once and I think it was when I went to Aha. But it hasn't done it since and Aha works fine. The sound system is GREAT so no complaints there.

Alright guys, sorry about the novel but I enjoy reading about others experiences so I just wanted to put mine out there.

ostrich

Thanks, Brutus! Now please show us some photos of your SSM TLX!!! :-)

BTW, why did you not want your C Class anymore? Also, how does the TLX ride and performance compare to the 2013 RDX?

carz0159

Simple answer. The c300 is a big pos IMO. It's really cheap and small and has less luxury features and feel than a similarly priced Kia, chrysler, just about anything. The base should start at 26k because that's how it feels, and I'm including some extra for the badge.

Congrats on the TLX. I completely understand the shifter feel because I'm going through the same thing in my Chrysler 200 with the rotary knob. That's nice how he went to you. I would much rather do that, then I don't waste time going to dealers, they waste time coming to me!

Brutus31

Hey ostrich, I ran up 78k miles on the 2010 C300 and it wasn't originally mine to begin with. We bought it for my wife and then we had a baby in 2013 and that's why we got the RDX and I took on the C300. It was a nice looking car but I never really liked it. Barely any good tech in it and I remember paying like $300 for an ipod adapter that I never used. Bluetooth didn't work that well and you couldn't play music through it. The tuner screen had like 2 colors and poor graphics if you can call it that. For a 2010, it really seemed out of date. I ended up selling it on Craigslist for $15,000 cash. I was curious of what Carmax would give me so right before I was supposed to deliver the car, I had Camax give me an offer. They came back with $14,000. So I was happy...

I actually like how the RDX drives but I don't drive it often. It is quick and seems very light and loose for an SUV. The wheels do spin a bit when cornering but overall it is a good ride. But of course my TLX rides better

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8r...it?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8r...it?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8r...it?usp=sharing

thebluexanadu81

I'm from OC too and surprisingly haven't seen a single TLX either. I seriously would have thought I would have seen a TLX by now but no... I'm from Anaheim by the way. What city are you from? It's nice to see someone else from OC on here lol PS: Let's see some pics!!

BandwidthExceeded

I am in a similar-ish situation, but they are denying me as well on the deal but because they said the deal was over. I have been looking but have not been able to find any official documentation on this deal. Could you point me in the direction of the fine print you found?

narnia

Hi Brutus31, congrats on your SSM (and your new baby!).

I'm waiting for my SSM/Ebony V6 Tech to come in. No dealers have SSMs around here, but I did find one listed online at a dealer nearby (which I thought was odd, maybe they don't really have the car?). Anyway I asked my dealer if they could do a swap with them, and they told me I wouldn't qualify for the promo. They also said trades are optional, and this particular dealer doesn't do trades with them.

There's been some negativity regarding the shifting/transmission, so I'm glad to hear you're happy with the car. I thought it was a really nice ride when I did my test drive. Can't wait to get mine.

Please post pictures!

jayb082

Congrats and welcome to the SSM CLUB

Quandry

You may not have put these together, but the LKAS and Collision Warning is there to protect you when fooling around with the controls when you should be watching the road.

Congrats on joining the club.

I wish I cold say that my buying experience was like yours. After the test drive I spent maybe 20 minutes on the deal with the sales rep and then an agonizing 45 minutes with an obnoxious and pushy finance rep. They got a big fat zero out of ten on that part of their customer survey.

ostrich

Thanks, Brutus! I really appreciate the photos - what a CLASSY RIDE!!! Congrats!!!

Do you feel that the TLX is significantly faster and quieter than your RDX? I would love to have the utility of the RDX (just the right size for everything!) but the sportiness of a sedan....

ostrich

ROTFLOL, Quandry!!! I wonder whether the dealerships take these customer surveys seriously? I hope that they really get some good feedback from Acura with the responses!!! :-)

wlkeel

I don't know about Acura, but when we bought our Lexus several years ago, the Lexus dealer seemed to take the survey seriously. On the dealer survey, we said we were less than "completely satisfied" due to the low trade-in for our old car and the kind of non-luxury car negotiation process.

Before we could submit the corporate survey, the dealer contacted us and tried to make the experience a little better by throwing in two years of scheduled maintenance (every six months for Lexus) - not a big deal but at least they did pay attention to the survey.

For Brutus - we live about 30 miles from riverside and I've never been to the Acura dealer there. But I have noticed that darn near all of the reviews for Riverside Acura (they are a Hendrick enterprise dealer) are positive.

BookemDanole

I live in South Florida and haven't seen one on the road myself. Mine will be seen at 4pm when I pick it up!

Brutus31

I'm in San Clemente and dealer I would have gone to is Norm Reeves Acura. They are great but they couldn't get my car soon enough and I just couldn't wait.

Here you go: Acura Celebrates Coming Launch of 2015 TLX Performance Luxury Sedan with Special TLX Acura Advantage Program - Honda.com

"The TLX Acura Advantage program is only applicable to the order of an unavailable 2015 TLX. An unavailable 2015 TLX is a vehicle that is not currently in the dealership's current on-hand inventory at the time of the client's visit to the dealership."

My local dealer failed to tell me that when I was about to pull the trigger on a black one.

Thanks! Yes, I do feel the TLX is faster but I still love the RDX. It is the perfect size for my family and can fit everything we need even with a car seat and stroller in the back and all the crap we by from Costco.

Stew4HD

I think They've sold 2700+ nationwide.. not many out there .. yet

Brutus31

Yeah, my dealer said they were trying to do the trade but I'm pretty sure Riverside wasn't going to give it up. Go ahead and try to work a deal with their internet manager and get the car you want. I'm so glad I did although I could have waited but there's no buyer's remorse here. I remember when I bought a car when I was younger and didn't get the best deal I could have. I felt like crap the next day. This time, I went driving around at night because I just wanted to drive the car! Oh, and to check out the jeweled eye lights which far exceeded my expectations.

Brutus31

Thanks Jay! It's such a great color and I'm glad I didn't settle for anything else. My wife keeps saying how it looks blue at times and I like that effect.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Looks good, Brutus-welcome to AcuraZine.

Hey, we've got a tool to make your life easier here-it's the Multi-Quote button. It's the icon in the lower right hand corner of each post. It allows you to respond to more than one person-all in a single reply. Your reply post will look like Post #14.

Be sure to give it a try.

Brutus31

Oh yeah, they do. They need all 10's to get whatever incentive for themselves and they have no problem asking for all 10's. I got a call for a 4 question survey and I believe it was from the dealer and not corporate. I docked the internet manager 2 points and gave him an 8 on one of the questions because he brought me the wrong car. I think that is fair. They also sent me an internet survey which I haven't filled out yet.

A couple hours after that call, I got a text from the internet manager asking why I gave him an 8. He then said he needs all 10's and if there was anything he could do to change that he would greatly appreciate it. Also said they live and die by these surveys, and I believe him. I might hook him up on the internet one...kind of feel bad for him lol.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

I got the 4 question phone survey yesterday too - I'm pretty sure it's from corporate Acura. Got the internet survey today - pretty standard stuff.

thebluexanadu81

Oh you're pretty far from me then since that is almost in San Diego County. The dealer closest to me I think is either Tustin Acura or South Coast Acura and I've read good things about both of them as well.

aIRpeACE

iTrader: (2)

Congrat and post pictures

JLawrence

I had a good experience with John Wong at South Coast Acura when I got my Fathom Blue Advance.

JLawrence

Jmark

Brutus31, thanks for the pictures.
I had not considered the greystone interior until I saw your post and fell in love with that combo!
Have you had a light coloured leather interior before? The reason I ask is I've always had an Ebony Interior and my wife's CRV has a tan interior. Her Tan leather seats are dirty now and I can't get them clean. The dirt seems to have imbedded itself into the leather and no product I've tried will get them clean again

Brutus31

Hey Jmark, we do have an RDX with the parchment tan color. I really like it and there is a different feeling sitting inside vs. a car with all black interior. It just feels more open and luxurious. Once I got parchment, I decided I would probably never do black again. Also, black just got too hot for me. No doubt it probably holds up better by not showing dirt as much but I did notice light grey cracks in the leather probably from sun damage. I haven't tried cleaning the parchment yet but hopefully it won't be too bad. For your next car maybe you can buy a protectant like this one: http://amzn.com/B0004ELKC4
As a matter of fact, I'm going to order this now. Has great reviews so it is worth a shot.

Jmark

Thanks for the reply Brutus31.
Never thought of it as it relates to cars, but your 100% correct, light colours do make a space look/feel larger. And maybe that's why the greystone looks so good to me?
I take much better care of my vehicles then my wife, so I clean and protect the leather interior at least twice a year. She hasn't cleaned or protected hers since it was new in '08.
It was only when I went to get something out of her vehicle that I noticed how filthy and cracked the leather was. I think if it had been cleaned and protected, the cracks wouldn't have appeared and filled up with dirt. The part that concerned me is that the leather was breaking down as I tried to clean it?
So I think the trick may be to keep the leather supple, by using good leather products. That way any dirt will just wipe off and not embed itself into the cracks?

Stew4HD

You should use leather cleaner and then a protectant at least once a month to keep the leather supple and protected, especially in hot climates. It really helps.

As for the Greystone color, it really does look so nice in black cars!

Jmark

Will have to look around for that combo.
However I really do look the likes of of the subject colours! It also seems to be a bit more elegant IMHO.

As for preserving our interiors I believe a conditioner should be an important part of maint.as well. That's what should restore the oils in the leather, then add the protectant.

Quandry

Then you are not doing your job. Think of how much she would appreciate you looking after her car the way you do with yours. Lots of benefits my man!

Jmark

Lol !
Problem is it takes me at least two FULL days to detail my car each time. Her vehicle is rarely available for more than a couple hours!

I don't know if it's a women thing but her vehicles are usually full of junk and it looks like a homeless bums shopping cart with all that crap in it. To detail it and fill it backup with all her junk seems a waste of time
Now come into our house and it's like WOW is this a beautiful looking, clean, well decorated home, hell sometimes I don't even recognize it as a house I would live in she has it so spiffy. Now what's with that?

In any case if I don't clean her vehicle it doesn't happen. I just don't clean hers as often, as she thinks I'm crazy spending the amount of time I do detailing my car! But my '05 TL almost looks brand new, if it wasn't for those morons in parking lots it would look brand new

Quandry

They are complicated and complex beings they defy explanation, but then someone spending two full days on just the leather (twice a year) could be considered over the top!

Brutus31

Treated her to some 3M FX Premium Tint, 30%. Rear window has a little white particle of something underneath the tint. Not sure if it is something they can fix without damaging the defroster lines.

Jmark

Very nice Brutus!!
Would you be so kind as to add some car/interior shots?

Brutus31

ostrich

WOW! Beautiful car and beautiful shots, Brutus - thank you!

Do you guys agree that SSM does show off the lines of the car better than BWP? OR does BWP do that too, given the same lighting condition?

neuronbob

I absolutely adore this car in SSM. Thanks for the pictures!

a35tl

Such a beauty! I'm like Ostrich. I love SSM and then I see BWP and think I like it better. Then I see another picture of SSM and I'm back to that as my favorite. At this point, I think I would give a slight edge to SSM though. There's just something extra rich looking about that color, especially with the Graystone interior. Thanks for the pics. Your car is gorgeous!

ostrich

I know, I know!!! It's so hard to decide, isn't it!? LOL

Brutus, BTW, what does SSM look like when it is in lower light condition, please? Does it look more bluish? Does that bring out the colour even more, or is it best under bright light condition like in your photos?

Can I ask you for a favour please? Would you mind taking some photos of SSM in lower light conditions or when it's overcast please? I hope you don't mind! Thanks so much.

Jmark

Thanks again Brutus, I now know for sure which vehicle I'm buying. I looked at at RLX's on the lot yesterday. And IMO greystone looks nicer than then the tan color.
The greystone makes the interior look so much richer, the REAL wood trim just pops out at you. And your new pictures prove it's the same on the TLX !

Brutus31

I didn't forget about you, was just waiting for the right light. I washed the RDX this morning and it was overcast. It certainly looks a little gray/blueish which I really like.