Well I've found a hell of a deal on a car... Though it's not a subaru... It's one of those "can't pass it up" deals. It's a 2004 Acura TL 6MT with Nav. Silver on black leather, all the goodies, etc. I know acura's are solid cars, I used to own one and I loved it. My heart is still with Subaru, but I'm wondering what you guys think/know/heard/have experienced with a 2004+ TL. I love the awd of Subies, but I also have a 4x4 jeep now as a winter beater... and it looks like I'm going to grad school in Lincoln next year, so a comfy fwd car that gets 30mpg on that long drive sounds like a good idea. Lets here some opinions, and try talking me out of it if you like!
should be a good car. never heard of any major issues and their build quality is excellent. look pretty sharp too. I'd rock one (then again I'm a closet honda fanboi as my first car was a h22 swapped accord)
The TL's are amazing, so comfy, has a pretty good pull when you step on the gas. The ride is super smooth. I would drive one if the chance arose. They look sharp and they say that your ready to do business.
I actually just got the jeep in the last few days, so I'm keeping it. It's a '94 Grand Cherokee Limited in good shape, I got it for $500!!!! However I am selling my current daily driver/beater: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/721353850.html That's a good car, if anyone is looking for something like that! Price on the TL is $14,000 yea
14k for the newer body style is a good deal...most still go from around 17 and up. they have a lot of torque steer from when I drove my friends. always pulls to the right if you really stomp on it. maybe that was just his though....
As stated with the crazy torque steer, also, if you load stuff into the trunk you get some MAD FAST camber wear on the rear tires if you put much weight in the trunk. Wider tires will make this problem even worse.
Also, I've heard that they do have their own share of transmission problems. Acura was having a fair amount of issues with them, so that'd be something to check into. Otherwise, they're a great car and very nice looking.
Thanks guys! I'm pretty excited to hopefully pick it up on Wednesday... I've heard that the rear tire wear can be an issue. Torque steer I'll deal with, probably an even trade off for it still being decent in some snow. Brian, were those tranny issues on the manual models or auto? I've heard of some auto transmission issues, but not on the manual.. It sounds like they can have a lot of annoying little qwerks in the first few months of owning a new one, hopefully those have been fixed. If I fall in love with it when I drive it on wed it'll be mine!!
Yeah my buddy has one, and the rear tires are wearing quite a bit...early on too. his trans clunks slightly when shifting into reverse and stuff...could be getting a bit worse. maybe you will be fine with the MT.
I recently did a suspension job on a acura TL. Not a bad car, but kinda slow IMHO...and the FWD on the other hand, it was sexy on the inside!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my buddy has one, and I think it is a really nice grocery getter. It has a "upper class" look to it. I prefer the more aggressive look that the suby provides.
yeah they do have a pretty nice look to them...entry level luxury sort of. I dig my STi. The buddy I know with the TL always rips on my big wing on the back and blames me for the current rice shortage we have, saying that my car runs on rice. lol. I dig the interior on the acura for sure, and the bluetooth feature is nice, also the NAV. I believe they take the same tire size as the STi. I had an old set of STi tires that someone bought off of me and he had a TL. I hear that they don't do so hot in the winter unless you have really good tires. they seem to be geared as really jumpy cars for the sporty element they have. might be easier to get around with that manual trans since you get a bit more control with that.
I don't currently have one... I used to have a '91 legacy wagon and an '05 saab 9-2x aero (wrx). Right now I have an old corolla that is being sold tomorrow, and a '94 jeep that I'll mainly use in the winter. I'm a fan of the high-class look and feel, I like the straight line power it supposedly has, I have the jeep for winter, it still probably handles okay, all the technological gizmo's will be nice too. Another thing, if I got a wrx or an lgt... I know that I'd dump a bunch of money into modding it, which is a blast, but for me I think it's a good idea to start getting out of that phase. I don't see myself modding a TL much, especially because I don't think there are many things that do a whole lot to them unless you spend big bucks... I thinik I'll be pretty happy with it, but the jury is still out until Wednesday.
Thats a helluva deal, jump on it pronto. The Acura TLs are classy cars, guess it all depends on what you wanna do.
yeah, all things considered...when helping other people look for cars, that is one that often comes up, and I haven't seen a TL for less than around 17.5 or 18 ever, even with high miles---anything in running condition that is. do it up.
Well I'm the happy new owner of the TL!!! I'll get some pics up here in a couple hours. I love it so far, and I think I came away with a steal. Just a few things in comparison to the 2005 wrx (saabaru) that I had... Balls: TL>WRX Even when it was stage 2 I think. It's hard to say, it's a different kind of power and that was a while ago, plus 6mt vs 5mt. Handling: TL<WRX The TL is definately going to need some suspension upgrades before I'll be really happy with how it handles... Brakes: TL>WRX The dealership noticed that it didn't have actual Brembo brake pads like it's supposed to, and the rotors were a little warped, so I waited two extra hours while the put a brand new set of Brembo's on it. I personally think the braking is more impressive than the acceleration. FWD<AWD Already miss it... Cool techno gadgets/Comfort/Styling/Room/Sex Appeal: TL>WRX I'm not bashing subies one bit, but just saying what I like more about the TL, hence the reasons for buying it. That, and the fact that I couldn't pass it up for the price. I hope you guys down't disown me for leaving Subaru. More to come in a bit, with pics!
Get class and awdonuts: 05 Ltd. LGT w/ 5MT in stock at Tonka Suby. If I didn't have my current car I would buy this vehicle on the spot. Rare find...clean car...sans modz.
Black one with 30k miles or so? It's priced $6k over what I got the TL for and apparently not negotiable. Sweet car though.
