acura_TL2010

Hey guys,
Iam planning to upgrade from my 2010 TL to BMW 535I with sport pack, premium pack and Navigation. The only thing that is holding back is the depreciation BMW cars have. I discussed this topic on the bimmefest forum and i thought i share this with you. Just click the link below and go through the thread and let us see what the Acura guys have to say
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=548422

NwTSXmt

"it's safe to assume that (I) we all got dumber just by reading this thread"


save your click...

OP ask me what I think of the 4g...I for one dont live for others...Enjoy your BMW..

Glashub

OP, in LA there are so many BMW's with "BMW Courtesy Car" stickers in the back window, my wife thought it was a new model.

I'm just saying....

JM2010 SH-AWD

One of my partners drives one of those all the time too - oh, wait, his "real" car is a different color.

To the OP - it sounds like you've made your decision and I hope you enjoy your new vehicle, but don't be surprised if you don't sense much of an "upgrade" with the 535.

acura_TL2010

I totally agree with you, when i went to test drive 535i, i swear to god i was expecting some thing unusual power due to all the hype BMW has for it's 535i engine, to my surprise i was not missing anything

eazy

iTrader: (8)

The rave is about the 550i model that come with a 4.4L twin turbo V8... 535 is basically a 335 in a 5 series body. It should be no surprise at all

TinyRK

That made me laugh

acura_TL2010

What made you laugh

Glashub

Probably my joke but I cringe at the thought that you might put yourself in this -


3 engine breakdowns already
By 2010lemon on 05/03/11 19:22 PM (PDT)
Vehicle
2010 BMW 5 Series 535i xDrive 4dr Sedan AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 6M)

Review
Fuel pump replaced twice. Once before recall, once after. Car lost power in two life threatening situations with children in car. Most recent engine issue has put me in a compact rental car for two weeks.... while car continues to confuse technicians.

Favorite Features
none at his juncture

Suggested Improvements
BMW needs to address this issue with honesty and fairness

http://www.edmunds.com/bmw/5-series/...r-reviews.html

Look at initial quality - http://autos.yahoo.com/bmw/5-series/...liability.html

The Need For Speed

I did the same thing yesterday. Test drove the 2012 TL SH-AWD and BMW 535. I must say I was surprisingly underwhelmed by both the ride and acceleration of the new 535. The ride felt like the car was floating like Buicks used to. And under hard takeoff, it just didn't feel fast . . . but it actually was fast. It's so quiet and lack of feeling with the road that you can't enjoy the acceleration. It's lost that visceral sensation that a BMW used to give. I walked away pretty turned off. For the money, the TL can't be beat . . . but I still prefer the Audi S4 (too bad it costs $10k more when similarly equipped). I'm trying to find every reason not to buy the TL, and so far can't come up with one (other than the grill still being ugly, though not as bad as it was).

dwest1023

Not that I matter, but I have always said, for the money the TL is hard to beat. I had an 06 RL and tried to replace it, and there was NOTHING for the money that could compare. In fact a Mercedes Benz dealer, was driven a 06 RL someone traded in. Said it was a wonderful car. TL is not perfect as we all know, but what is REALLY better in its class? Yes, it can be a bit boring, but in a good way. Unless I open up my short ram the car just moves you without nary a hitch. Excitement is my Mazda, but at the end of the day( after I'm beat to hell) I wish I drove my TL

acura_TL2010

Did you test drive with sport pack or without, if you drive with sport pack you can adjust the suspension from inside to soft and hard. In soft suspension yes it floats but when you shift to sport suspension i think it is better

TechnoCat

The particular size/feature/performance/price combination of the TL SH-AWD at $42K is hard to beat. If you want that size and the way those features are implemented, it's very hard to beat. What it has done for quite a few people, apparently, is convinced them to spend more money for approximately the same feature count, only done differently... i.e. with a bit more conservative style, or more low-end torque, or better integration, or a more composed ride. Many people are very happy with the TL, but some are saying that while it's hard to beat for the money, maybe that means they shoulda-outta have spent more... and then they do.

Just sayin.

godawgs10tlshawd

I owned BMW 5 series for many years (91 535, 99 540) before buying my 10 TL SH-AWD. While the BMWs were easy on the eyes, they were brutal on the wallet. Things started to break at around 60k miles and accelerated at 80k to the point were I was avg 2500-3000/ yr in repairs. Its one thing to have to fix a car, but another to have them be unreliable. My 540 was the only car I have had since I was driving beaters in school that left me stranded on the side of the road, 3 times in the final year of my ownership. The only way I will own another is on a short term lease.

Brother Acura

I take particular pride in maintaining my cars. I too strayed for a while into Deutschland automobile territory (not BMW but MB and Audi). The only car that I have ever had to have towed was my ML 350 and it was at 10:00 PM and 4 degrees F.

Prime Mover

That's amazing considering you could buy an Accord, or Civic for that matter, for 19k and have rock solid reliability for at least 5 years.

Outlaw06

BMW is overrated.

Stew4HD

It's the new lemming car mfg. followed by Lexus Infiniti and MB

It seems that everywhere I look on the road, there is a 3 series BMW, a 350GS or G35/37.... rarely do I see am Acura and when I do, it's usually an MDX or RDX... oh well.. many people have to run with the pack...

wakattack

Your always going to get a biased answer, on a dedicated forum. That said they are both great cars, I prefer the BMW over all after owning many Hondas and Acuras over the years. I did get rid of my white 535i sport after having some problems with the hpfp. BMW just has not solved this issue yet, regardless of the warranty they extended, they did not extend the warranty on the fuel rails, injectors, etc which the hpfp often takes out with it.

So I got another reliable TL, not shawd, it is plenty quick, but nothing like the torque in the BMW, I'm not sure how you cannot feel that difference. But besides power the feature set, way the cars are built is so very different. They are both excellent IMHO, but if you gotta go BMW, get some good warranty coverage. It's a fun ride.

Mr Marco

I especially loved "with the HUGE piece of twisted fake aluminum plastic running across the dash." -markl53

BMW is a nice ride. The drawbacks outweigh the positives.

NEGATIVE:
Price-Way to high with options.
Depreciation-Painful and unjust.
Maintenance-Expensive to operate.
Looks-Lets face it, BMW hasn't really changed a damn thing in 10 years.

Positive:
Drive-Best driving sport sedan on the market, corners like a snake in a rat hole, Gobs of power!

markcincinnati

Assuming I end up with a new TL, I expect to be an Acura enthusiast, just as I have been an Audi maven since 1977 when I picked up my first -- of 29 -- new Audis. Mean time, my wife has had a VW, three BMW's but mainly Audis until she got her 2011 Infiniti FX (after a BMW X3).

Audis are great to drive, great to ride in, athletic performers and -- with quattro -- confidence inspiring. I used to buy Audis when my friends all bought BMW's because there was a time when I could get a V8 Audi A6 -- loaded -- for the same price as my buddies 5 series i6's with "premium package" (and RWD only.) Then, I thought Audis were the greatest VALUEs (since i never kept them past 50,000 miles) of all of the Euro cars on the mkt.

I still think Audi makes great looking cars with class leading interiors -- and they are fun to drive, but they are no longer clearly higher in value than the other Euro zone sport lux cars. Make no mistake about it, if I could get an Audi S4 Prestige for $47,000 (about the MSRP of the 2012 TL SHAWD Advance with dealer installed parktronic), instead of $60,000, I would probably re-up for my 30th Audi and not even give Acura a second look see.

However, I have recently test driven the Audi A4 and A7 (not the S4 for over a year), a Cadillac CTS "sport" (19" wheels, sport suspension, paddle shifters, etc) an Infiniti M37X and a '12 TL SHAWD Advance (all in the same day), and I kept thinking the TL was Acura's S4 answer, since it clearly outperformed the A4 2.0T Prestige and felt remarkably close to the A7's turbine smoothness, albeit slightly smaller.

Now, having 29 Audis makes me pause and not immediately sign up for the TL -- and the M37X was actually leasing for less (with a $53,000+ MSRP) than the TL, to say nothing of the fact that the M37X is a very nice ride (and, to be fair, the TL doesn't seem like it is positioned to be compared with the M -- but I could be wrong). But with the production numbers back up on the TL, the price (on a 36 mo lease) will certainly become competitive around August I would think -- so the TL remains a contender.

I wouldn't even consider a BMW 5 when there is a new A6 on the market, however -- and, frankly, I wouldn't put the TL up against the 5 series (or the A6) anyway. The TL seems to be best when compared with the G37X, the BMW 335X-drive, the Audi 2.0T and the Volvo S60 T/AWD.

I am in that time and space between the parenthesis in other words, the TL clearly "beats" the A4 on value -- being more of an S4 than an A4 rival apples to apples; the M37X is more luxurious, bigger and Infiniti seems more, er, German than the Acura family (and currently is less money per month than a TL) which is not what I would have expected; and, the CTS, well, it sure is purty and blingy, but it is not at all sporty. What to do, what to do? My head says M37X, my gut (or heart) says TL.

I expect Acura owners to be loyal and to be bigots, ditto Audi and BMW and, and, and, owners -- the BMW, Audi or Infiniti sites won't change anyone's mind in other words. I care less what Bimmerfest posters have to say about TL's, generally speaking. I'd rather hear from folks here about the dimples and warts -- about their Acuras.

So far, y'all have pretty much convinced me that Acura is the new Audi -- now if they would just lose the BEAK!

Glashub

^^^^^
Yes well...the beak is an issue. I can tell you that it no longer bugs me because of the color I chose...PMM, and because I have had the time to take in the whole gestalt of the design and car. If one is focused on the beak and if one looks at the beak in an anthropomorphic way..well every grill looks weirdly human or animal like but the the TL grill will always look extreme.

Stew4HD

^^ and they did lose the beak! I would not consider the grille on the '12 to be a beak at all

Glashub

^^^^^
I spent Saturday morning for a time looking at the 2012. Sorry to say, it still has that manaical grin, and to me, the touted changes are very subtle. I like the grill and the tapering done but its still like putting lipstick on a pig so to speak. I mean its a design people love or hate even with the new grill when compared to even a Kia Optima let alone a BMW, imo.

TechnoCat

I went through precisely the same thought process about 19 months ago... I'd had a string of Audis including an S4, and thought the TL SH-AWD 6MT was the new S4. I bought a 2010 TL SH-AWD in late November 2009. I traded it in on a 2011 Audi S4 in August 2010.

The Acura TL is a great sports sedan. It feels sportier than the S4, and even though it's slower, it feels faster. Seriously. It's also larger, less expensive and statistically more reliable (though that was never a problem with Audis for me.) So for performance and size on a budget, the TL whomps Audi rump.

The S4 has some advantages though; it's easier to drive well in the city with more low-end torque and a more composed ride. Though smaller, the folding rear seats give it more cargo room. When you're accustomed to the integration and tactile haptics of an Audi, nothing Japanese comes close.

I won't give the warts you ask for, since I'm already considered a "hater" in this forum, but do a search and you'll find several people have posted here that they went from TL SH-AWD to S4. The TL is a great sports-car/sedan at that price point, but while the S4 costs more, that doesn't mean it's a worse value... just a different one.

Stew4HD

It's a grin, sure but no longer the "beak" is the only point I was trying to make.. but, remember, that "grin" is a trademark of all the Acura vehicles except the RL.

BLEXV6

My Boss has a 5 series 535i, and to me my TL is way nicer inside. That said the BMW looks better to the exterior. My co-worker has a 335i which is a similar cost and to me the TL is way better interior wise, but the BMW again looks better to the exterior. That said you spend most of your time inside the car. Based on this, getting a TL is a no brainer, especially for reliability reasons. Now the 2012 TL looks better to the exterior to the 3 series but not the 5 series.

Glashub

No offense meant Stew. I like the TL 2009-2012. I'd be happy with either version and am in fact happy with the 2010...although I've been finding the Genesis sedan "R" spec tempting of late.

TRIUMPHT

iTrader: (1)

This is my story and i am sticking to it. I want to state for the record i love bmw's and alot of other cars out there. I do not have a bias because i own a TL.

Now this is my experience with some other luxury brands when compared. My first TL was purchased after a toss up between the 96 TL & 96 Q45 infiniti. The TL had 150K on the dash the Q45 had 100K on the dash. I naturally wanted the Q45 the TL for the record was second choice .

I went to go and purchase the Q45 first off the car wouldn't start, then they said oh it was sitting a while then gave it a boost it started but then started to smoke nothing heavy. Light smoke but smoke none the less. Said hell no start the TL . Started with no hesitation no boost needed nothing .

Next experience more recent. Went to BMW looking to trade in my TL just out of curiosity wanted to test drive a 528 just to see then next move was going to be to test drive a 535 because i felt that would offer me more horses than my current FWD TL .

Long story short they tried to pull out an 09 528 2009 only 2 years old 2 years old. it only had 28K on the dash 28K. The car wouldn't start .First thing oh the cars been sitting a couple of weeks. Second thing oh maybe somebody left the lights on.Third thing oh maybe somebody left the door open. Tried to boost it and guess what still wouldn't start . So fourth thing was the booster was dead then couldn't find another booster.

So naturally from there i didn't even want them to pull out the 535 nor the 650 which i was also going to try out.

So beak or no beak, to progressive styling blah blah hoopla. People could say whatever they want insult the car how much they want and compare as much as they want i think the TL is the most reliable and a good value.

kasendorf

I own both, a 2010 TL AWD Tech and a 2009 BMW 535xi. They are both great cars. The TL stickered for about 43K the BMW for about 64K. If the decision is purely financial than the question is whether the BMW is worth the extra 21K ( about 49% more), answer, probably not. If the question is about the ride, the handling, the convenience and the reliabilty, than in my opinion I would choose the BMW. Of course this is my personal opinion. Before you all start bashing me I have had 4 BMW 5 series (540 and 535) since 1998, never had a problem and loved each one. I have had 2 Acura TLs since 2007, never had a problem and loved each one. When the lease is up on my TL in 2013 I will probably get another one so I do really enjoy the car This is all personal preference and I am just trying to be honest with my opinion.

Charles50

The car I had before the TL AWD was a BMW 530i. I have had Porsche 911, Mercedes, Lotus, Ferrari and a few Alfa Romeos. Plus a bunch of trucks as I also raced motorcycles in my younger days. I have been very fortunate as I have been able to buy just about any car I want. Now as far as the question goes. If u are leasing get the BMW if u are buying and don't want to spend a lot of money in the long run get the TL. I retired last year and bought a TL AWD. I like it but the main reason I got it was because the reliability and it was cheap.

Stew4HD

No offense taken, my friend.

aIRpeACE

iTrader: (2)

i love the tl

Kandiru

Be prepared for frequent visits and good friends at the service department, it's a Bimmer thingie:

2010_Type_SH

OP you think going to a 535 is an upgrade. I think it's a downgrade. I think a real 5 series is the 550 and that the 3.5 TT engine is not powerful enough for such a large car. Same for when people use to buy the 325i. I also think there's a higher percentage that you'll be paying more in maintenance than if you keep your TL unless you are leasing. These are my opinions. They're neither right or wrong. Just my opinions.

But my point is since you posed the same question in two different forums....

Your responses will vary depending on which forum you're reading from. People value different things when they buy a car. Some will base their purchases off of their vehicle history and experiences. For instance a Ford guy will always buy a Ford and Chevys are just crap. On the other hand you also have a large % of Americans who are very brand conscious and image tends to win over practicality and value when they evaluate cars within a given price point range.

Any BMW or Acura owner can justify why their purchase was better than the other. To admit that the other car is better or to give an objective opinion some times is like saying you were wrong. Not many people will do that openly. This is very true for those who have bought multiple BMWs or Acuras. The question is which side of the fence are you on?

jspagna1

Totally TRUE!!!!!

Mr.Skytech

iTrader: (13)

I dont care what BMW guys think.

For me Acura gives you more bang and toys for your buck!

Stew4HD

One of the BIG reasons I went with Acura is because it is NOT a BMW. I am not a lemming.. really, I'm not

I sure as heck do not care what BMW owners think.. except when they are drooling over my car

billpan

I have owned a 2006 BMW 528xi, a 2010 Acura TL and currently own a 2008 BMW 535i. There is no doubt the TL is a lot of car for the money and the Acura reliability is a huge plus. Having said that, IMO, the BMW is more solid with better handling and overall refinement. You can argue that the BMW should be better since it costs a lot more but if you are strictly comparing the two cars without considering the cost, I believe the TL falls short. Like I said, it's a lot of car for the money but the two things that drove me nuts in my TL was the numerous interior rattles and road noise. My BMW has no rattles and less road noise.

eazy

iTrader: (8)

just curious as to what interior rattles and road noise you're speaking of. i'm sure those run flats make some noise