rick955i

I sold my 04 TL after 11 months and bought a Benz. I am saving $120 a month, and my sanity. Yes, i have sacrificed some HP, but i have gained rock solid buil quality, good paint, perfect steering, rear wheel drive and no vibrations!

TTYL.
Rick

vp911

Which benz did you buy? I am in the market for a new car, TL is at the top of my list...but I am always open to others

Of course, congrats on the new car.

rick955i

I bought a C230 Sport Sedan. After re-evaluating what I use my cars for (36 mile r/t commute) i determined that solidity, safety, fun to drive and great service from a dealer were more important that 270hp, lots of "gingerbread" and a boat load of rattles. On top of that, the lease rates on the benz are better and the mileage is incredible. The Acura isn't bad, it just didn't live up to my expectations.

rets

Sorry to hear that you're one of those having unexpectable and unresolvable issues/problems on your TL. Wish the best luck to you that your C230 is trouble free for a long time.

rets

.

orrorin

How much did you sell it for? What was the mileage on the car? Can you provide details of your car, like auto/manual, navi, color, etc.

JWhite1301

HA!!!! Benz and quality in the same sentence????

Get ready to visit the dealer often......

shawn744

enjoy ur 230, those are awesome....wish i had one....(along wit my TL of course) ...

congrats, now if anyone asks, you drive a Benz biyach

Hybrid

Rock solid quality? That was decades ago! Check Consumer Reports reliability ratings for Mercedes. (Which are, by the way, put together from surveys of owners). Way, way below average. Electrical problems abound, among others. Another TL owner went to VW to solve his reliability problems. That's even worse.

johnstl

JackSprat01

Not sure I'd call anything with a 189 HP 4-banger a "sport sedan." Then again, it's a Chrysler. I test drove one; it buzzed like a Brigs and Stratton lawn mower.

Dr.Murdock

I would never go to the low c-class benz. doesnt look as good and is underpowered. expect to waste half your life at the dealer. the amg's are the greatest cars benz has, but other than that, your just wasting your money for a 3 spoked circle emblem. it sucks to see people leaving the TL because of the problems they have with it. thank god i have 0 problems with my car.

terse

this thread is stupid ...i don't have a problem with rattles and stuff...but I wanted to see what the fix could be for the rattles and thin leather so i clicked to open it..and it's not even a real answer..

ChRiS_nYc

car sucks its a waste of money id rather go with a nice accord to save some $$ than that car

Repecat

It's an answer for some people. The flip side is that the answer may be worse than the problem. I hope not for rick955i's sake, but ????????

rick955i

As a consumer of JD Powers and Consumer Union, i can tell you there are flaws in their methods. As for laughing at me for time spent at the Benz dealer...all I have say is just wait for a few things to come out about the 04 TL. You think the rattles and second gear eating itself was an issue? Hold on for the next little bit of news from AHM about their slide in to the abyss of poor quality...something even Mr. Amemiya has acknowledged and apologized for.

999999

Just don't insult our intelligence trying to sell it on QUALITY for God's sake. How dumb do you think we are?

I've done the German thing. Ain't gonna happen again here.

rick955i

It isn't a matter of dumb, it is a matter of,"perceived quality" versus quantifiable quality. Until you work in the autmotive biz, it will be hard to comprehend. Take VW, for instance; their initial quality ratings, based on number of visits to the service dept etc... comes back very low, on the other hand, their owner loyalty and intent to repurchase is extremely high. The same goes for the other German manufactures. Having taken apart both German and Japanese (built and engineered) cars, I can tell you first hand (as an ASE certified mechanic) that the Germans put more effort and time in their engineering and assembly.

hypertech

Cut the guy some slack. I hope he enjoys his new car. Just as I have had NO problems with rattles in my car while others have, perhaps he will have NO problems with his new MB even though others have.

rick955i, enjoy your new ride, and if you have a chance after a couple of months, please come back and give us your feedback as to how the car compares. I'm sure many prospective buyers would love to hear how it worked out for you.

need4spd

Hypertech, Thanks for being open minded!

rick955i,

Congrats on the MB, sorry you also had issues with your TL, don't listen to the others, those who are not having problems, they just can't accept that the TL is flawed, even Acura admitted (not in writing) that the TL had vibration problems (proof is in the 2005 TL new sub frame), and proof of the leather issues via the redesigned front seats for 2005.

Why else would Acura give me a 100% refund on my car after only 3 months and no lemon law or arbitration, nor any real attempts to fix my car (plus my car did not meet any lemon law requirements). Never did the service manager, or the regional ever drive my car. You might ask why, well they knew the problems existed in the design of the TL, not just my car. Why would Acura not offer a "swap” and only cash back? All I wanted was a few things fixed, or a swap, but the answer was no can do????

I am getting tired of Acura brushing all the 2004 problem owners under the rug so they could push out a problem car to meet deadlines, and cost cutting. I have read about so many of these issues on this site, and various owners with problems. Just look at the poll of who has vibrations, and see who has NONE, quite a low percentage with none for sure.

Honda/Acura loyalists are just that, and blind to the issues at hand (or too numb to feel them).

Sorry people, I had a rotten egg, and I am having a real problem getting over it, I still love the TL and could not get enough of it when I had it, but based on what I know now, I will not buy one again.

I will say this, all new build cars have issues, the more they are computer controlled, the more trouble they are, now that they try to be smarter than humans, is the problem, as humans write their code.

Just look at how many updates and reprograms there are on a multitude of cars out there.

Sorry for the rant, but when things go wrong, they go wrong, and all the computer programs out there cannot anticipate everything, including bad connections, or faulty sensors. Rick unfortunately felt the only way to get out of the aggravation was to get a different car.

PS – don’t forget Acura/Honda’s reputation for Auto transmission failures with V6 engines (every V6 auto was recalled) and had a band aid applied, come on people, how many years has the auto been around and they can not get it right, they are Honda after all, not Daewoo.

Good luck to all!

Note, I think all new cars have problems, they are just too complex without reason.

999999

Acura tranny's murder VW and MB tranny reliability. You can ignore the facts if you want.

Don't even get started on electrical problems. Been there, done that.

smeds

Me too. Good Luck with the Benz.

I drove a 300E for 9 years. Had 130K on the clock. The engine will run forever. Few engine problems in 9 years. Did all the regular maintenance. BUT..... electrics will SUCK you dry. The last 3 years before I sold it, I spent $3000 on air conditioning problems. Electric seat motors packed up $$$$$, and replaced 2 of the electric window motors $$$$$. The car is rock solid, but the electrics suck.
Oh yeah, I hope you bought the extended warranty, I didn't - big mistake.

geminis2

The only Benz C class I would go for is the C55 AMG. But before I would go Benz I would have gone BMW. Good luck with your Benz. Do what makes you happy. The TL is a ok car needs to be refined I have all those problems as well. I will definately get rid of it after my lease is up. Hopefully get a 545 BMW or the new 3series. If not a Benz. Congrats and good luck..

rick955i

Gemini,

Thanks. We are looking at replacing our 745i with a 545i...active steering is great. I looked that 3 series with sport package, the ride wasn't quite compliant enough for my commute, but the car handles like no one's business!

Rick

rick955i

Here's a fun little thing for all of you out there...call Acura Customer Service and ask them what they know about the harmonic resonance problem on the 2004 TL.

MrGQDieselNY

benz 230 looks like a ford taurus, i wouldnt drive it even it was for free.

hey to each their own.

rick955i

Yes, exactly...to each their, thus I don't live in New York!

Neorick

This thread should stop here.

Rick955i may I ask what is the point of continued posting here at Acurazine when you have moved on to greener pasture?

Enjoy your new car...now please leave us alone...

If you feel that you have been given an inadequate car...then that is isolated to you. No talk about "C230", I have the 2002 "MBZ-S400" but you will never hear me discuss my MBZ, I have the gas guzzling Range Rover too but not comparing to any other car.

My point is to each his own and please move on to another Bulletin Board.

Shalom
Aloha
Sayonara
Paalam
Joigin

and Goodluck with your new "C230" I am sure you made the right choice.

terse

JetJock

Rick955i...I'm sorry to hear you've had problems with your TL. I've had 3, and didn't have any problems with any of them..0...NO Problems. Every car maker has problem cars, and the people with problems tend to be more vocal than those that don't. A friend of mine had a Mercedes C Class car for 3 years. He was one of those people who never seems to be happy with any vehicle he purchased, so finally he bought a "Benz", and thought his troubles were over. Well, the car was a nightmare. It had a few rattles, but they were the least of his problems. The worst problem was trying to keep it in alighment. The dealer alighned it several times, and within 2 weeks, the car was out of alighment again. Figuring the dealer didn't know what he was doing, he took it to a top notch alighnment shop, and they worked on it. The problem persisted and was never resolved. Another time, the car wouldn't start, and had to be towed to the shop only to find that some problem in the electrical system required a new "module", fortunatly covered under warranty...but would have been several thousand dollars had he had to pay for it. The problem returned 6 months later, and required towing again. The dashbord instrument cluster went bad and needed replaced. A CV joint needed replaced twice. Also, after 2 years, the paint started to fade on the rear of the car, although the remainder of the car was OK....go figure that out..and no, it wasn't wrecked. Finally, the lease expired, and he returned the car. Now, when you talk to him, a Mercedes would be the last vehicle he'd purchase. I'm sure Mercedes builds great cars, and his was an exception. Acura also builds great cars, and my experience with 3 TL's and one Legend has been great. For those who've had problems, I hope you get a good car on your next purchase...whatever brand it is. Good Luck!!

VelfarreClubber

Jerky

what was your loss because of depreciation? as soon as a 35,000 dollar car leaves the lot, 8000k is lost (i believe that is the correct average number)

or did you figure out a way to resell it for a good sum of money?

(FYI, congrats on your change, I'm sure you had justified reasons)

1acura

As a current MB owner and one who has come from the business (and my MB contact runs the Wilmington Delaware MB Store) I'd just like to add that MB is no longer the company it once was. They too are feeling the pinch of cutting corners to make a profit (hence the birth of the C Class). The next move is anything sold after 2004 no longer has the MB warranty (unless it is a lease), they are moving to a "pay as you go" plan for what used to be their covered items and believe me when I take my ML in for service now that warranty is up, it costs an arm and a leg. Next is the A Class to increase profit even more. It is actually kind of sad if you think about it b/c MB used to be one of the elite car manufacturers out there, but big business and corporate america only sees dollar signs these days. All MB's, excluding the S Class and AMG, are now mass produced and are subject to all the shake, rattles and rolls of all the other mass produced vehicles out there.

That being said, I went the opposite route. I too test drove the C Class (all of them) prior to purchasing the TL. I could have gotten a MB at a steal, but chose the TL for the performance side. It's all about compormise. I agree the MB is built a bit better than Acura, but for me the driving experience of the TL was the icing on the cake. Beisdes, if I want to "impress" anyone, I just take the "other" car. : )

Either way, good luck with the new ride!

rick955i

A couple of wrong things here:

Mercedes still have warranties, they just don't have scheduled maintenance for free anymore.

The C class wasn't just "born". This size and class of car has been in the Mercedes line up since 1983, remember there is a car market outside the U.S. and in its home market the C class is considered a mid-sized car

The C class is also produced in the same facility as the S-Class (Sindelfingen) and the SL (Bremen). The manufature of both is extremely automated.

rick955i

Shhhhh....don't tell Neorick, but I am still posting here. I lost about $3000 on the deal, but my sanity was worth it!

Rick

vp911

Thats not a bad loss considering 1st year depreciation. Good luck with the new car and ignore everybody bit*hing and moaning. Let us know how you like the new car! I am about to buy the TL and the C was one of my original choices.

JWhite1301

My folks are looking at an E55, i agree, some stuff in that car feels a little suspect. I like the refresh on the 203, esp. with the sport package.

I am officially envious of your Italians. If Honda weren't my client, I would buy and Aprilia, but they frown upon riding up on a non-honda to meetings and events.

Rick



Rick995, this was your post on a thread on 11-27-04 at 11:59 am.

Just found interseting that less than 24 hours later you own a benz.

rick955i

Two different things. I still own a Honda product, a 2002 VFR, I bought my Benz a week ago, and my dad is thinking about an E55.

PrimalScream

The C230 is the "I can't really afford a Benz, Benz."
I can think of at least 5 cars that are better for the price.

rick955i

Wrong, the C230 is the "I have a 745i and and Aston-Martin in the garage but i just need a solid little commuter car that is socially responsible, 32mpg, car" It is also the "i'm not too concerned about where people think it falls in the line-up of benzs i like the build quality and structural rigidity of the car, car"

BTW...for the price? It costs much less than the TL....remember this is a grocery getter, the 7 is for luxury and cruising...well if it hadn't been rear-ended by an uninsured, unlicensed illegal alien last night.