Older Acura TLs

tomjava

No brainer, TL is a better choice. Unless you drive and compare both cars on the race track, TL has similar performance and faster than the used 530.

Good Luck,

paulg54

Hi Boardmembers,
I drove the TL 6MT yesterday after deciding on the G35 6MT and was amazed, Wow!! I don't know why I should be amazed with the TL since my mother has a 2000 TL and I drive an 02 Honda EX V6. I guess I was looking for RWD for excitement. I'm now leaning more toward the TL. I do have a problem choosing colors being SO visually oriented that I have to see the car to see if it looks good. Moms TL and my EX are gold with parchment interior, yet I saw the gold/parchment 04 TL, and it just doesn't do much for me. What color tends to be the "operative" color? What are others buying? Are the darker colors more desirable? Thanks

ihaberman

A dealer in Chicago told me that the Anthracite seems to be the best seller, followed by silver (most popular color on any car). I'm torn b/w those two and the black. The black seems to stand out the most for me...possibly b/c it's a pearl color. My color choices are based on the ebony interior however, as I'm not a big fan of the faux wood -- there's too many colors/tones competing for attention in the interior with it.

gregory28

Deciding on a color is such a personal decision. I've read that silver is THE most popular color for automobiles in the US for the past 4 years. I think the exterior looks great and along with the desert mist are the easiest exteriors to maintain.

My favorite exterior is black, but it's the most difficult to maintain.

I like the faux wood and think it looks great with the parchment interior. I bought a deep pearl green '04 with a parchment interior. I like the more traditional appearance. I do think it's a good idea to check out the color combos in person. The dpg color that's on the Acura website looks very different than the car I own- almost black at night and dark green in the sunlight. The parchment is the most difficult interior to keep clean. I just don't like the camel- it's a bit orangy in color.

IMO, the quartz/ebony interiors give the car a bit of a more contemporary look due to the carbon fiber inserts.

My advice is go to a dealer that has a large inventory so you can compare them side by side.

king_george

i've been looking for a 2004 TL and have been offered a thousand dollars off & $2,200.00 for the aero-kit installed. So it come to about 36.3 grand for the TL with navi & aerokit. I told the dealer to call me as soon as the color combo i like comes in!

dulnev

I drove the 530. Great car! But did you drive the 2004 TL? If you had, you wouldn't make such brainless statements as you did. I think you might've driven a TL of one of the previous generations and are extrapolating from that experience. It's hard for me to believe that such an avid admirer of BMWs would ever take the trouble to test drive a TL

pg48477

I would go with TL, It has better acceleration better braking and about the same handling.
habitat1, I don't know if you driven TL, it handles way better than Maxima.

paulg54

Thanks for the insights on color combos. We only have 1 dealer in the state of Miss. This also makes it hard to negotiate a good price. They only had a Desert Mist w/Parchment, Abyss Blue w/Quartz (6 spd. I drove), and a Silver w/Ebony. The blue had the spoiler for 564. extra and looked good on the TL. I'd like to see the Anthracite w/Quartz or Ebony. I agree the Camel looks a little orange in all the photos I've seen. I envy some of you who have dealers near each other. I'll have to check on N.O. and they have been known down there to add a couple of grand to Honda/Acura cars in short supply. Has anyone had any experience in the New Orleans area?

torontotl

From what I've seen there are really good colours to choose from. We don't get the Green in Canada but from what I've seen it is a really nice colour. I have the Abyss Blue and I've received sooo many compliments on the colour and the car itself too. I love the ebony interior although I did love the parchment interior with the faux wood too, but my last TL had the parchment and I wanted a change. I know this doesn't help you choose a colour but as many have said in the past, colour is a really personal thing and what others choose shouldn't affect you. Get what you like, I don't really think you can go wrong.

paulg54

Thanks Torontotl.
The Abyss Blue was the TL I drove yesterday. It is what got me thinking about darker colors. It really looked great on the TL w/spoiler. I have always chosen light colors for their easy care, but I kept looking at the blue and thinking how good it looked on this car. I guess I'll try to find out what N.O. dealers have and take the 200 mile ride. After driving the TL, I don't think i want to wait for the dealer here to get all the colors. It's amazing how fast the TL turned my head away from the G35.

akal50

I think the best exterior colors for the TL are black, blue, red, silver, and white. But it's such a great looking car that it looks good in all the colors. Black is the hardest to keep clean plus it gets real hot in the summer. Silver is the easiest which is why it's the most popular. One thing to consider however is that Honda uses cheap paint. Chips, scratches, and dings are common and in some of the more recent models, the paint peels off the bumper. I have a gold 03 Accord and even though I never have to clean it or worry about streaks, spots, or dust, I do see the paint peeling off the bumper. This can't be hidden with touch-up paint either.

As for the interiors, I like parchment the best. I love having wood accents, even if they are fake. The camel interior looks too orangish. The best looking combo is parchment on black. A close second is parchment on red. The grey could've looked good, but I find it a bit too dark and miss the dark wood accents of the previous TL. Acura should do what Audi does and put light wood on light colors and dark wood on dark colors. If they did and lightened up the grey, I'd get the blue with grey interior.

jaydoll

Regarding color, I own the Abyss blue/camel and love it. It's dark but has lots of metalic in it. Looks great in sunlight. aka150, the camel doesn't look orange and dark woods don't look good in cars with any interior color.

automophile

According to posts on the wax forum here, the low-end Zymol products are made by Turtle Wax. If you want the REAL Zymol, it is quite expensive. However, the Zaino products are far superior, you should consider this for your new car.

Please go to the wax forum and the Zaino forum here for some great information.

msf2

Do you go through Zaino process, and is it time consuming? How often do you put it on your cars?

rwalker07

just took the plunge and purchased a white TL with quartz interior. Got the rear spoiler, not so much because I wanted it, but the other white TL had the lighter interior (parchment, I believe) and with two kids and my coffee problem figured it would be better in a darker color.

The car was tinted and they threw in a sunroof visor. The car looks spectacular. I was surprised how much better the car looks in person than in the magazines.

I have a midnite blue Saab 9-5 that is my favorite color but it is impossible to keep clean, thus the white.

I believe the car will be very quick, but I want to break it in right and will not test it for a while. Initial feelings are that I love it.

Thanks to all on this board who have helped in my decision..

jjohnson00

While shopping N.O., you may as well check out Acura of Baton Rouge. I shopped both and ordered an '04 TL in B.R. The selection is not as great, but I found the people in B.R. to be more helpful and I felt they were more trustworthy. Because of my profession, I have developed fairly sensitive radar for the sleaze factor. I too have heard the rumors re. the dealership in N.O. In fact, I bought an Integra there several years ago and, based on what I know now, it is clear they took full advantage of my ignorance about interest rates.

msf2

Enjoy the car!! Question: Did they tint the glass at the dealer? Keep us posted on the break in process.

rushman

Had my 04 TL back for the Front underbody Area kit not fitting correctly (Have had 3 installed)This time a Acura Field Rep was at the dealer and told me this is a problem all over the US, they are trying to fix it and will call me when they get it right, it's about 1/16" off on left front corner. He was very good about it, and when I cmaplained about the paint chipping on the hood it offered to repaint it at no cost....I am very impressed with Acura servicer, had a Infiniti before, but this is better....

carlp2530

Am interested in 04 TL, but am concerned about the premium fuel requirement..anyone have any experience/knowledge if using regular or midgrade fuel will harm the engine..Dealer sez will impact "performance" if other than premium is used. Does that mean the engine will knock or what?

jlowery

I wanted to buy a new Acura Tl, but noticed the other day that Acura of Memphis was putting little metal decals (glued on?) with black letters advertising "Acura of Memphis" on the back underneath the silver Acura label.
I thought this was really tacky and took away from the beauty of the rear.

bodble2

Yea, I hate those too, especially the cheap sticker kind. You could probably request ahead of time for them to leave it off.

automophile

Hope you are having a great Holiday!

Here is the latest pic of my baby - de-badged, full tint, and of course, the Zaino magic shine!

Eat Hearty!

debis04tl

rwalker.... glad to hear the white is nice. That was my choice too. Parchment appears to be the only interior locally. They tell me thst my car will be here next week..I am also interested to know where your windows were tinted. Has anyone noticed that the real spoiler does not have a stop liglt in it?? I am told by the dealer that because it is mounted high in the rear window it is not needed. Fine for them to say. Also for the decal problem, just tell them you don"t want to advertise for them unless they want to cover your monthly payment until the car is paid for. That should do it. If you end up taking it off yourself a little hair dryer heat and/or water and vinigar will help..carefull!!. OK.. my car is on the way, my Zaino is on the way, my aero kit and visors are in, what could possibily go wrong??

1violinist

Premium fuel requirement/recommendation is a bit undefined and sometimes controversial. Here's a good article from the AAA that would shed some light on the issue:

http://www.aaa-calif.com/westways/0302/overdrive_1.asp

bodble2

Are we missing a whole thread here?

paulg54

Thanks for info about Baton Rouge. I'm not sure how far it is from the Jackson, MS area but if they have cars and want to deal, it may be worth the drive. Which TL did you buy? The dealer hear wanted me to take the Abyss Blue not wanting to order another 6 spd. He said it would take 2 months to order a car. I thought they were allocated cars based on sales. It is so hard to find a manual trans anything in this town. I had to go to N.O. to test drive an IS 300. Does anyone know whether TL's can be ordered? I don't really want them to drive or transport a car in from another dealer and charge me for driving MY car.

clpurnell

I would buy a used XJ jag for the 35k you saved. Get it certified and drive your dream. I will probably do something similar when my lease on one of my current cars is up.

jjohnson00

Jackson is closer to B.R. than it is to N.O. Straight down I55 to Hammond and west on I12 40 miles to B.R. (2 1/2 to 3 hours). Yes, you can order the TL. That is exactly what I did - Anthracite/Ebony/6M. It is close to two months from the date of order until delivery if the car is built for you. In my case, that was fine as I don't need the car until January anyway. Less than a week after I placed my order, the salesman called back to tell me he could get one right away without saying anything about charging for transportation. I declined for the reason stated above. Last time I checked, Acura of B.R. had a Black/Ebony/6M (w/o Nav.) on the lot. If you want me to, I can provide the name of my salesperson and manager by e-mail.

rwalker07

The car was tinted, but it was outsourced to a local place -- in my case Nevada tint. It looks great.

The rear spoiler does not have a light on it.

It is very strange looking in the rear mirror and seeing the cross bar of the spoiler (first spoiler I've every had). The back window is small enough to begin with.

I had a Tahoe with cargo doors that was much worse when it came to rear vision, however.

I just wanted to add that I was all set to purchase a 2003 GMC Denali (white also) when I checked that board and discovered all of the problems. Plus 11 to 13 miles per gallon and I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Glad I got the Acura (my first Honda product).

rwalker07

I'm trying to keep the RPM's below 3000, but this car really wants to go. It has a very heavy gas pedal. It'll be worth the wait, however.

The dealer told me to go ahead and drive it, just no emergency stops (I hope not), or excessive acceleration. I'm just going to take it easy for about 1000 miles (if I can).

I can already tell it is substantially faster than my 2002 Saab 9-5 (linear model), only 185 hp turbo.

pg48477

In last edition of motor week TL 6MT scored 0-60 in 6.3 sec. I though it should be much faster, in I also read somewhere that it should be around 5.7. If I can recall correctly in one of the test drives( Care and Driver) of 2002 TLS it posted 6.2, this test drive took place before they made changes in trany for 2003.
Just wants to know what you think about this.

nmanowitz

sfroy mentioned: "The sunglass holder is the rubber pocket also found in the flip out door pockets - these too are removable and should have been included (both driver & passenger)." What does this look like? I don't think I got mine...

Also, does anybody have a good web site to purchase '04 accessories for the TL?

habitat1

I don't want to turn this into a TL vs. Maxima debate, but your emotional attachment for the TL is clearly clouding your objectivity and judgement.

As an owner of a Honda S2000 and Isuzu Trooper, I think I have some claim to knowing both extremes of the "handling spectrum". I've also owned an Acura Integra and a Legend GS 6-speed, and consider myself a fan of Honda/Acura.

I have NOT driven the 2004 TL, so I will make no comments upon it. However, I have driven a 2001 TL quite a bit and a 2002 TL-S on several occassions. I have 146k miles on a 1995 Maxima SE. IMO, the Maxima handles better, with less body roll, and easier transitions due in part to it's 300-400+ lb lighter weight. The wheels and tires are better on the Maxima and I feel I have more control with a 5-speed manual, but those are nominal considerations. The whole issue of the Maxima not having independent rear suspension is moot unless you are driving twisty roads filled with bumps at high speed. In fact, the multi-link rear axle setup is given credit for reducing lean and body roll. I will concede a quieter and smoother ride to the TL, but not better handling.

All of the above is IMO, and I'm sure you have your own. But I have never seen any ratings by C&D, R&T, Motor Trend or others that put the pre-2004 TL ahead of the Maxima SE in terms of objective handling tests. The ones I have seen put the Maxima ahead of the TL in both slalom speed and lateral g's. If you have any ratings or direct comparisons that show otherwise, please post.

Perhaps the handling of the 2004 versions of the FWD TL vs. Maxima SE is still up for debate. I intend to drive both in 6-speed format as soon as time permits. But to compare any TL or Maxima to the steering and handling of the RWD 5-series is just fantasy.

bryann

try http://www.handa-accessories.com/ i bought some things for my honda there really cheap. obviously looking into the TL since i am lurking around here. good info from here. thanks.

pg48477

I own both 2002 TLS and 2000 Maxima SE with 17' rims. TLS in my opinion has a much better handling and alot off share my openion.
I also had 1996 Maxima and it handle even worse than 2000 Max. I did not have enof time in 2004 TL but it should handle even better than 2002TLS.

Karen_S

Just a warning that this topic will be merged with the Sedans Acura TL discussion on Monday (12/1/03). If you have subscribed specifically to this discussion only, you will need to subscribe to the Sedans discussion.

Any questions/concerns, please direct them to me in email.

Thanks!

gregory28

They are in the door storage areas. If you open the driver's side it will be on the extreme left side- a rectangular container. The passenger's one is on the extreme right side.

automophile

Yes, I do the "entire" Zaino process. It takes much less time than I used to spend machine waxing my cars. To do the TL with 3 coats of Zaino, PLUS detailing the interior, wheels and tires, and scotchguarding the carpets between coats took me only 2 hours (after washing). To re-Z the car takes only 15-20 minutes on, 10 off. You only need to do it twice a year. You should come to the Zaino forum, there is a lot of good information there and hundreds of happy users.

uncledavid

I think you'll find that the handa-accessories site doesn't have much for the TL right now. You can get most of the accessories at hondacuraworld.com, however. If you don't see an accessory you want, just e-mail them. They're open to group buys and I've found them to be very reliable.

carnaught

at the local auto show and was impressed. The (fake) wood unlike that of the MDX looks like real wood, and the interior overall looked rich with excellent fit and finish. Considering this car's innovations and amenities, Acura's good resale and its look suggesting 5 Series BMW, I feel this is one of the year's best buys. I was so impressed, I'm contemplating replacing my G35 with it.

As for magictim's decision, I'd vote for the TL.

paulg54

I just read the Motor Trend COTY report in the Jan. issue. Under the picture of the TL, MT lists the What's hot, What's not, and Bottom Line. Quote, "Can't wait for the Type-S" Is there a Type-S waiting in the wings??

They also said the brakes stopped the longest of the 26 cars. (141 ft from 60) Anybody who owns a TL experiencing any long stopping problems?

paulg54

Thanks for the directions and time. I wouldn't mind getting the name of the salesman to make a contact there in BR. How do you do this by email? Also, what does it mean when KarenS says the discussion is moving to sedans?

I've seen the white/parchment, desert mist/parchment , and blue/quartz. I'd like to see the rest before I make a decision. January or Feb. is fine with me.

ptrekker

>>I think you might've driven a TL of one of the previous generations and are extrapolating from that experience.

Right 2003. The 2004 is Butt-ugly. Looks like a caddy.

bodble2

You must mean that the tires are round, just like the Caddy's. You need glasses.

pg48477

2004 TL stops at 115

hunter001

I found the 2004 TL butt ugly too. I am the former owner of a 2000 TL w/Nav. From all other angles, the exterior of the 2004 TL looks fabulous, except for the flat, slabby rear-end. The TSX's rear looks sharp/edgy and I would have loved it if they equipped the TL with the rear-end of the TSX.

My wife loves the rear of the new TL, however, which goes to say that it is purely a personal preference.

I have no complaints at all about the interior of the TL, which is very spiffy.

Later...AH

s852

The 2004 price of the Jag has been greatly reduced and previously optional equipment on the 2003s is now standard for 2004, so the price difference isn't as great compared to a 2004 TL as it used to be.
The X type is quite small and cramped and the only thing nicer than the TL about the interior is that is has nice real wood trim. The leather in the X-Type Jag is not "that great" even compared to a TL. The exterior styling of the Jag is quite nice though and AWD is good if you live in a snowy area.
You also better live and/or work very close a Jaguar dealer or it may likely be a nightmare dealing with warranty repairs.

carguy58

the 03 TL better than the 04 model in exterior looks but the overall package in the 04 model looks alot better than the 03. Of course there is a 4,000 dollar price difference between the 03 TL and 04 TL so that might explain why the 04 is a way better package than the 03 is. I like the front end of the TL. The back end kinda says I want to be an American CAr which isn't a bad thing but I don't like the looks of American Cars really. I don't think the TL looks like a Caddy. The first time I saw the 04 TL it looked like a Mitsu/Pontiac in the back. I would still buy the 04 TL because the overall package outweights the con of the exterior looks.

carguy58

To me reliability is kinda questionable. Consumer Reports never rated them that good. I wonder how J.D. Powers rates Jaguar.

shenkar

Not to worry. There are no bad choices among modern automobiles. They all perform well, so it's a matter of making a choice that best suits your needs, whether real or perceived.

Even previously questionable choices, like Hyundai or Suzuki are all mainstream performers now. These are not your 80's cars...which is great for us.

BTW, Powers rates the Jag over the Benz or the Bimmers.