Here's the news....I am out!!! Acura has lost me. I was very excited about the 04 TL and was getting set to trade in my 2000 TL....BUT

1) new model problems

2) Nagging AT problems, old and new.

3) Pricing of new RL - OUCH BABY! OUCH!

4) Low trade-in valve for my mint 00TL.

5) The OFF-LEASE market is crazy right now.


Sooooo what I have done is bought a 1998 BMW 540i 6sp, 48000km (thats about 30000 miles), warm stored in the winter IE no SALT!!! with every option known to man!!! and this is the real kicker, $25Gs CDN funds.....saweet!

Anyway, I have my new toy and I wont be posting on this site other than to say BMW Hp's are different than Japanise Hp's.....do you want to know what the difference is - TORQUE!!!!

The fun factor of TORQUE should not be under estimated. BUT, the current trend in the market place is to only quote Hp numbers, not ft-lbs....This can be very misleading.

Thats my 2 cents worth.....and might I add, there are ALLOT of Mercedes/BMW/AUDI 's that have the usual 60000 miles from a leased deal....and these primo cars are flooding the market, and thus, the prices are amazing.....

Bye for now all you FWD TL owners....I'll be gasing it from the RWD bimmer world...maybe see ya in 5 years or so.........LC(cheers)

 

no worries though....I am keeping my 2000TL for all-season driving.....LC

 

HAHAHA! Humorous.

 

have fun w/ ur new toy, although the cockiness of bmw drivers seems to have already taken over in ur case.
i love 5 series tho, congrats.

 

Enjoy your outdated 6 year old vehicle. I'll agree that torque is a big issue, but I cant really shed light on it, since my European car is an E55

i still love our '04 TL and it puts a smile on my face.

 

"allot" is not a word. It is spelled "a lot." And you're comparing a 6 year old Bimmer to the TL? Does that thing even have a CD player or is 8 track?

Seriously, this is a ridiculous discussion. There is no reasonable comparison whatsoever between a '98 5 series and an '04 TL. And what the hell do you care about the price of the RL if you were thinking about a TL?

 

:imwithstupid:
and you definately are...

I can understand a 5 series being a great, but you cant compare it to the TL. Its 6 years old, and doesnt have near all the fun stuff the TL does. The only advantage is RWD.

 

Please, go yourself. A manual 540 is one of the greatest sport sedans ever. Not of the greatest values ever. That is a REAL car. Incredible inside and out. It's what the Tl wants to be.
Acura doesn't build ANYTHING in the TL. All the tech is outsourced. Basically comes down to a great engine, and Accord platform.

New does not mean better.

 

There's no reason to be defensive, he's got his reasons. It sounds valid to me.

 

i love the 540 6MT, its one of the best sports sedans out there. but like others said it is 6 years old which means maintenance will be inevitable. i don't know what your warranty or maintenance plan with your dealer is but fixing BMW's is expensive. my last car was a 3 series and everytime i had to get something fixed it was an arm and a leg. don't get me wrong the bmw was reliable as hell but little things on it would need replacing and fixing. congrats on your "new" ride and good luck with it.

 

Enjoy your BMW.

I almost bought a 330i. If the BMW dealer had a 330i on the lot with what I wanted I would probably be driving a BMW. Don't get me wrong I really like my TL (except for the EL42's).

I think you will be better off maint. wise with the BMW you purchased than a new "Bangled" BWM with i-drive.

Now keep all of those other BMW owners in line on roadfly.org.

 

I've tended to agree with you from the sidelines usually 1SICKLEX. In fact, I also agree with you here. The previous 540 with the MT was an awesome car in terms of handling coupled with comfort, and fluid looks that age extremely well (I don't like the 545 as much, although I'll be test-driving it soon just for kicks).

HOWEVER, look at the original post. Is it humanly possible to be any more arrogant?

Here is a guy that has 24 posts, writes like a high-school student, on an Acura enthusiast forum. Its not even the dignified goodbyes that other former members have made before they purchased their Benzes, BMW's or Infiniti's.

I consider him in the same manner I consider anyone who blindly defends what they just purchased by putting down the very car that they were seriously considering before. That is my only beef not another TL vs. BMW thread.

Linnley:
All that aside, good luck with the 540.

 

Enjoy the car. Sound like a good find.

As a reward for "stirring the pot", your post earns a: :gheywave:

 

Enjoy the car while you can. After 6 years, those cars are going to need major replacement parts.

 

I have seen you in this forum for a long time, you must either love the TL!!!! or just jealous.

 

Good Luck, Farewell, and Great Desision. Your reasons are definately valid. At 6 years old the 540 still looks sweet - don't hate.

 

:whocares:

This should have been your first post on a Bimmer forum, not your last post on a TL Forum.

Maybe I should go over to th G35 forums and tell them I considered a G35C before I bought my TL.

 

I suppose you'll find a lemon with almost any make.........but I must tell you, our VP of Sales....who also just happens to live in Toronto............just ditched his '03 330 when the tranny tanked on him. Check any consumer report magazine............Acura outscores BMW or almost any German product for that matter (including VW and Mercedes) when it comes to reliability.

 

Good luck. Hope your 6 yr old bimmer doesn't break down. Cause you got very limited time before warranty expires, if it didn't already.

 

I drove my friend's 540i 99 6speed when it was new, and had the good fortune of driving a C5 Corvette the same week. I was amazed that the 540i took turns as quickly as the C5 did (75mph on 2222 in Austin if you happen to know the city). In any case, it was a dream of a machine, but I was disappointed by a creaking in the dashboard. It just surprised me as German cars are always vaunted as being rock-solid. I've also heard from other BMW friends that it's best to sell them as soon as they get out of warranty, but this is just heresay. All in all, enjoy your ride...

 

let us know about the electrical problems and large service receipts :P

j/k

 

Congrats on your purchase. In my opinion, I would not spend over 15k on a used car. Does not make any sense to me even if it is a BMW. But anyways, Congrats on your new ride.

 

All I can do is laugh at this thread

 

I also love torque.. I come from a time when American supercars reign supreme and 420 to 440 lb/ft of torque was the normal.

If you want some real asphalt pounding torque, get American iron.

 

Please forgive....it's just the teacher in me coming out....actually, "allot" IS a word.....it's just the what he said was an incorrect use of the word. You're correct that he should have said "a lot."

Allot -
tr.v. al·lot·ted, al·lot·ting, al·lots
To parcel out; distribute or apportion: allotting land to homesteaders; allot blame.

To assign as a portion; allocate: allotted 20 minutes to each speaker.

 

Sorry, you are absolutely right. I'm so used to seeing people post "alot" that I overlooked the spelling in this case. Yes, "allot" is certainly a word, but I suspect it is rarely used in its proper context! Rep points to you.

 

your not stirring the pot. you are the one who is going to breaking down on the side of the road. before you do anything you should consult the manual so you know the hazard switch is and also practice pulling onto the shoulder. i would also recommend getting some sort of towng service such as aaa.

 

Please explain how this was a factor in buying a used BMW instead of a TL.

 

I am sure once you start paying for your six-year-old BMW repairs, you'll be singing a different song....

But, enjoy it while you can!

 

Bitium,

You stole the words right out of my mouth......how the hell do you have 10,000+ posts on this board and have the audacity to keep ripping on the TL. You dont see any of us go to clublexus.com and keep ripping on the ES or IS do you? It's because WE DONT CARE...we love our TL's regardless and dont have to diss other peoples cars to make ourselves feel better.

Go drive your Lexus.....or maybe its not satisfying you and maybe that's why you have 10K+ posts here

 

you must have owned a bmw. this was one of the worse issues. always some sort of electrical problem. its not just the parts are expensive the labor involved is nuts. bmw's are put together like tanks and you have to take so many things apart to get to something especially an electrical component.

 

I pretty much figure that after a new car is about 6 years old, things that shouldn't go wrong start to go wrong. I was lucky with my Prelude in that I didn't have any problems even though it was 7 years old when I got rid of it. Because of this, I would never buy a car that old (except if it was a classic and I was into that type of thing).

Hopefully, you understand that you'll be paying some major $$ in maintenance bills over the next few years. My friend had a 94 5-series that he bought used. It started to go downhill fast after about 6-7 years. I remember him telling me all sorts of horror stories like paying almost 2 grand for replacing the exhaust, and another couple o' grand for engine work (seals gone).

Also, hopefully you didn't need to borrow any $$ to buy that. Oh, that would be aweful paying monthly payments AND maintenance bills. That's why I always make sure my payments are done before the warranty is up.

All that being said, the 540i is a great car - probably one of the (if not "the") best sedans in its time. However, 6 years has past, and there are some other great cars to be had for lots less money (the TL and G35 come to mind in the mid-size arena).

In any case good luck!

 

This discussion doesn't even belong here. Moving to "cars and bikes".



Have fun with your Beemer. Not a bad choice, maybe a '99 or '00 would have been a better one.

 

I think it's the latter.

 

First off, let me say, YES I write like a high school student. This happens when I can not stop shaking from the excitment of picking up a new-to-me car. And also, for the most part, everyone was positive. THANKS FOR THAT!

I realize I could be in for some tuff repair bills. The gas milage wont be the best. BUT, and this is a big BUT....the cost difference from NEW to USED was large. So with that in mind, I will pay for the "electrical repairs" , new tires, whatever.

NOW....as far this thread being another "comparo" between the TL and BMW....thats not want I had intended at all.

The ACURA TL is a great car, the MAZDA RX8, the Mercedes CLK430, the AUDI A6 (4.2 or 2.7 T) Heck what about the new RL.........These are all great FUN CARS to drive. BUT, in the end fate sees me driving a BMW.

I do find it interesting that the 6 year old 5 series comes with a hands-free phone, one touch bottons, memory seats and mirrors. These are now found in the TL, and they, of course, have been improved. IE Bluetooth, memory seats etc etc.

The 1998 BMW540i 6sp has the fun factor and the price of admission that was right for me .....

ENJOY and be SAFE.......................LC

 

The 05 RL (which I have been waiting for) is priced at 69,000 cdn ....then add %15 TAX.....OUCH! For me this is toooooo much money. The BMW540i (1998) has a BIG fun factor and was only 25200 cdn....+tax it cam to $29000.....thats an okay pill to swallow.

..........LC

 

The 05 RL (which I have been waiting for) is priced at 69,000 cdn ....then add %15 TAX.....OUCH! For me this is toooooo much money. The BMW540i (1998) has a BIG fun factor and was only 25200 cdn....+tax it cam to $29000.....thats an okay pill to swallow.

..........LC

 

28 grand on a 6 year old BMW!!! sorry buddy might be a nice car but you just paid through the nose for that one, I'd rather get a used G35 if you're spending the money on torque, why not go the xtra mile?

Hope you're happy with your decision. Best of Luck

 

My car is alomst 6 years old. And it still feels like new. The only sounds I hear are the CD cases rattleing around and the sweet sound from the re-moving of the intake resonator.

BTW..in this week alone. I have seen 2 broken down previous version A4's, 1 curretn Jetta with a huge coolant leak, and one current 3 series on the back of a tow truck.

Will I ever own a German car? Only if I either won one, or get an AMG.

 

hey i thought u r going to have teh TL 6spd??

a used 540i would do it too!!! nice one~