SeismicGuy

For those following my other threads, I sealed the deal tonight for the Mayan Bronze TL Tech. My wife and I won't be able to fly up to northern California to pick it up for a couple of weeks but the dealer is promising to take care of it.

I am trying to decide whether or not to have them put on the body side molding. I like the way it breaks up the otherwise slabby look along the side but I realize others have different opinions. Anyone like to chime in?


Doug

tmnhs81

Congrats!!

4GCEL28

Congratulations!

I think it depends what is on the car already. For some odd reason I feel that if your car has the mudguards on, you should not put on the body side molding. However if you do not have mudguards, you should put the body side moldings on. I recently took off my mudguards and put on the OEM underbody spoiler kit and I'm on the fence about putting on the body side moldings because I think it will complement the kit pretty well. Just my though!

SeismicGuy

Mudguards are already installed on the car but they really are pretty subtle. The area between the wheels just looks overly large and smooth and the few pictures I have seen of cars with the body molding were white cars and they looked pretty good. I can probably go either way on this though.

Doug

macguitar

Congrats, enjoy it! Mine's about a month away, so I'm starting to get pretty anxious/excited myself.

Treblig

Congrats! I opted for the side moldings for the same reasons that you are considering them. I debated for a long time but decided to go with them. You can't go wrong either way though. I know my car is a different color than you will have, but for your consideration....

SeismicGuy

Yours may have been one of the ones I saw. Obviously these moldings do not do much to prevent door dings unless you are parked next to some mini clowncar and the side molding on my 2000 TL (that came on all the cars as part of the design) was also a bit too low to do any good.

I found some aftermarket side molding places that had pictures of 4th-Gen TL's with the molding place higher but that really looked lousy. It seems to look better on the car when placed lower like it is on yours.

Anyone out there with dark color + moldings?

Doug

ardenne90

SeismicGuy - Here are some pictures of my car with the BSMs. In my humble opinion, I think they give dark colored cars an aggressive look.

https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-photograph-gallery-296/2012-sh-awd-w-advance-comes-home-816832/

Oswald Vater

Congrats on your purchase! I personally don't like the BSM but I know my opinion is very subjective. I'd try to get two cars same color as yours- one with BSM, other without - side-by-side (pictures would suffice) and make your decision from there.

JM2010 SH-AWD

Congrats on the purchase. As to the BSM, I personally prefer the car without them, but I've seen some silver and white 4Gs that look pretty nice with them.

I think you may be able to do a "build" on the Acura website and by checking the BSM box, see how they look on a car the same color as yours.

Either way, you're going to love the car. Post up some pix after you take delivery.

Edward'TLS

Great choice. Congrats.

SeismicGuy

Thanks for all the congrats.

ardenne90--your car looks great with the molding and they look more subtle than with a lighter color.

It would be nice to see Mayan Bronze cars with and without the molding next to each other.

Doug

Linmk2

I agree that the moldings do break up the sides a bit. I like them. Most folks don't seem to care for them very much. I have debated about installing them on my car. As far is their function, as another poster noted, they are too low to be a much value in the parking lot. I still think they add a little something extra to the appearance. Everyone has their own taste. One accessory I wish I did have are the splash guards. The last two cars I owned were equipped with that feature. The guards sure keep the sides cleaner.

sarge_in

Congrats! Do post pics when u get it!

weather

SeismicGuy....Congrats on your purchase. No doubt you will be in a very elite club as the Mayan color is one of the rare one out there so you will have exclusivity thats for sure As far as the BSM, like everyone said, its pretty much a personal preference as with the body kit. The car, in my opinion, looks great with AND without so either way, you won't be making a mistake. The best advice is get the dealer to order them and when the car is all cleaned, get them to just hold the BSM on the car to give you the chance to see what it would like. They can put it in front, then remove and do a few times so you can get a feel for it. I had mine ordered and was sure I was going to get them on but but by the time I had the aerokit and mudflaps in the rear, I felt the car was dressed up enough so I decided to go without the BSM.....I love the way mine looks but then again, why wouldn't I like it, I did build it to my specs *lol*

We look forward to the pics and either way, your TL will look AWSOME and you will just go nuts driving it! Everytime I get behind the wheel, I grin from ear to ear.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Seismic, I like the clean look of the door without the side molding. I wanted to buy side molding for mine too, but the dealership actually talked me out of it!

What does that say about the side molding if the dealership bypasses revenue for looks?

g37guy01

You are going to fly from LA to SF to pick your car up? Congratz.

My dealer is 10 minutes from my job. lol.

SeismicGuy

I never imagined I would ever buy a car that (1) was more than a reasonable drive from my house and (2) basically unseen except for the dealer sending me some photos they took.

Then again I never thought there would be exactly ONE car in the color I wanted and in the model I wanted available in the entire state. I think maybe there are only a handful in the entire country. One my wife and I sort of glommed on to the color, we just had to have it. It is one of those psychology things were if there were plenty of them, we probably wouldn't care but once we decided, it was like we were on a mission.

We actually got the dealer to agree to ship the car for $500 but he also offered to pay for one airfare and pick us up at the airport. Moreover, since our son and daughter-in-law live up in Silicon Valley, we figured we would fly up on a Saturday, pick up the car, visit the kids, stay overnight in the San Jose area, and take a leisurely scenic drive back on Sunday.

Really not a bad plan.


Doug

ucf_bronco

iTrader: (1)

Congrats man! Enjoy the drive back home, it's gonna be great and is only the start.

Treblig

Make sure you fight the urge to "get on it" during those initial break in miles.

under9hell

thanks for the pictures man. I have the same color, probably going to buy BSM too

Congrats SeismicGuy on your new car! I love your color choice! Was going for that color but couldn't find one in Houston and I had to get a new car in 1 week since my old one was totaled.

SeismicGuy

Just to make 1000% sure that we made the right decision, we might go back to the local dealer we visited a couple of weeks ago that has a SH-AWD tech or advance model in Mayan Bronze/Umber on the lot. We had explained that was really more than we were looking for and his bottom line price was still about $3k more than the model we are getting. I realize that is fair and if it were entirely up to me, I might have bit the bullet and gone the extra. However, the car is for my wife who is the much more practical one and we are already at the budget limit we had set. I tried convincing her how great the AWD is supposed to drive but it was a weak argument given that 90%+ of the car's use will be 4 miles to work and 4 miles back home mostly on slow-moving streets in the LA area with the occasional weekend freeway use for small trips and chores. Also, with the bronze exterior she really prefers the parchment interior to the umber (I half agree since the bronze/umber combo sort of clashes a bit).

So to get back to the point, she wants to take one more up close and person look at the color just to convince herself. I hope the local dealer doesn't think we're nuts but we were honest and up front with him letting him know about the car in northern Cal and telling him from the get-go that if a local dealer could not get the car in a swap we might fly up to buy.


Doug

Pens Fan

Buying a car is a major purchase so you want to be sure before you sign on the dotted line.

That being said I think Mayan and Umber is the best combination but that is up to you guys of course. From what I learned Mayan Bronze is now discontinued, so if you are interested you may as well buy now. I was told by my local dealer that there are no Mayan Bronze SH AWD Advance cars in the entire country left.

SeismicGuy

The slightly awkwardness of the situation is that there is no way we are going to buy the local car (and we did not lead that guy otherwise) but that car is the only Mayan Bronze within driving distance in all of California. We just want that one last look to actually physically see how the color looks and feel a bit bad about bugging a dealer that we will not be buying from. Then again we only need to walk on the lot and don't intend to take up his time.

Doug

SeismicGuy

Just got back from the dealer and he didn't think we were nutz--actually offered us water, and his help if we wanted to chat but he basically left us to our own devices.

As luck would have it I was able to see ALL the colors that were in the running within a few yards of each other. He had the Mayan Bronze next to a Graphite and, across the driveway, was the Basque Red (I think that one was a TSX). The Graphite moved up to second place as it looks very classy, but the Mayan Bronze with Parchment will be a smashing combo and we will stick with that.

The other fortuitous thing helped our body side molding decision. Of the 3 TL's that he had in a row outside, the Black and Graphite both had BSM and the Mayan Bronze did not. Coincidentally, there was also a white RL next to these that apparently comes with the side molding. We definitely liked the look of the side molding and it just looked like it belonged. The lack of side molding on the Bronze made it look like something was missing.

So I guess we will opt for the molding. The dealer agreed to have that installed and also include a trunk cargo net for $350. I realize this is not so much of a bargain but I had to dicker back and forth a number of times to get the price down to $350.


Doug

SeismicGuy

Looking forward to actually seeing and taking possession of the car tomorrow. Will take and post pics when I get the chance.

Doug

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Enjoy it Doug-take your camera with you!

jspagna1

Just my opinion! I like the look of the BSM on these cars, but over the years I have learned that adding body kits,side skirts,etc. to cars only gives more oportunity for rust to develope and more nooks and crannys for dirt to collect.
I added splash guards to my wife's car because it didn't come with them, but they are actually benefiting the car from avaoiding paint chips on the paint from road debris.
I've had/have many a car with BSM and if car gets damaged or the bolding falls off for some reason you can see the outline it leaves behind. Just like when people bebage their cars.
I would take the car just as it comes and keep it subtle. I think the less crap on a car the better.