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Acura MDX (pre-2007)
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Here is the Acura '02 pricing:
Touring&Navi MDX
Acura will ONLY be offering the Navi with Touring, so it will be AT LEAST $39,800 (if no increase). Most folks are predicting about a 5% increase, to $41+k. Specutlation for now...
Personally I wonder how "hemmed in" Acura corporate feels -- although the Pilot is very close to the MDX, the Acura sales seem to have been unaffected by the more affordable sibling. Surprising the announced pricing on Volvo's XC90 is VERY competitive to Pilot & MDX. Of course the other new offerings (Cayenne/Toureg & X5 LWB) are MUCH more, leaving plenty of room on the upside.
In a few weeks the speculation will be replaced by fact -- I don't understand how folks can make buying decisions until Edmunds gets the official word
tidester
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i'm looking into purchasing a '03 soon. how's the color redrock?
Whether or not it's worth waiting for will come down to how extensive a navi database you think you may want.
However, it has been confirmed here that the navi is now (for 2003) only available for the Touring, and not the Base.
Also reading the details, it appears that buying after or on Jan 1, 2003 is a better good deal.
If the MDX is $40K, they will tax that $10K at 3%? That's like $300 that I can spend on accessories. Is that what it is?
http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/display/0,,i1%3D50%26genericId%3D80204,00.html
As far as the new Navi system, Jamie S. has previously posted that 2003 MDXs with Navi will not start shipping till November. All reviews I've seen on the new Navi system have been very impressive.
I'm waiting for Midnight Blue touring with new Navi.
They raised the base amount to $40K.
Many are repos. Some are damage recovery. Some are demostrators. All these things mean that the quoted values are far off the mark.
If the Honda dealer you are working with is able to give you top dollar (becuase they are affiliated with an Acura sotre that could take in your MDX and sell it as Factory Certified)you should get MUCH more than $28K
If they show no intrest, you should sell it privately, especially if it is in excellent condition, with reasonable miles and accurate service records.
Finally the KBB used retail number MAY be influenced by a large number of Touring and/or Navi models changing hands. These options are very desriable on the Used MDXs and help to command top dollar. Plain "premium" MDXs tend to sell retail much less quickly, and for considerably less than original invoice price...
A brand new (and improved) base model only costs about $36,000...and a Honda Pilot costs about $32,000.
my kids are 4, 3, and 2.
i have to say the ody is much more practical, but that is only because my kids are so young. once my youngest is fully toilet trained I think I will completely switch to the mdx for all my driving. If I had only had one child , I would consider just staying with the mdx since the wife can ride in the back.
But you are going to like the convenience of the ody. I don't know how many kids you have, but if you have more than 2 you have to carry around a lot of stuff. with the ody you have a deep well back there that can easily hold your double stroller and still leave you tons of room for your Costco|Sam's Club shopping. It's nice not to have to load and unload that stuff everytime you go out shopping.
The sliding doors is another great convenience with young kids. you can open them from far away so that by the time you get there, they are open. you can push the shopping cart or stroller parallel to the doors since the door is not in the way. then it's very easy to lift the kids out and put them inside.
You can walk from the front to the back. If your child begins crying while you are driving, your wife can walk to the back and check up on them.
You are going to miss the luxuriousness of the mdx and the trip computer. I think the mdx accelerates a little better and I really love the brakes on the mdx compared to the ody. it's also quieter than the ody. The ody is quiet, but the mdx even more. radio in the mdx is better, but not by much in my opinion. I also like the way the mdx handles. feels more responsive than the ody. I also test drove the pilot, and that felt just like the ody
It's almost as dangerous as unbuckling a child from the safety seat while driving.
She does rebuckle herself and she doesn't unbuckle the child. Sometimes babies just want their mommy next to them, or they want to be petted.
Now that the kids are older she doesn't have to do it as often. But even if I have to pull over when someone needs attending (our youngest gets carsick) it still easy for her to just walk to the back.
I am looking forward to the convenience of the MDX. You said you think the MDX is quieter? After having driven the Odyssey on the test drive, I think I disagree. I've always thought the MDX had too much wind and road noise for my liking. But I have a 2001, so maybe they made it better in 2002. At any rate, the Odyssey does ride more smoothly than the MDX.
So what does everyone think? 2001 Base MDX with 22,000 miles on it - excellent condition. How much should I get from the Honda dealer on the trade. They did mention wanting to check with the local Acura dealer to see if they were interested. Don't know if that helps or hurts me.
Good luck.
Cars.com has about 50 2001 advertised. All but 8 are listed for $34,000 or more. Not sure how many are touring or include navi because you have to go to detail to be sure, and of course, these are asking prices.
$34,000 seems high, but $30,000 for a 2001 may be reasonable for some, if the alternative is paying $37,000 or more for new and waiting weeks or months on a list.
i was content with the pilot, but after 6 weeks without a vin number I decided to test drive an MDX just to try it out. It turned into an impulse buy because I loved the way it drove. I should have test driven an RSX, but I loved the navigation system on my ody so I wanted the same one.
I have to say that I think the 2002 mdx is a little quieter than the 2002 ody. I also think it's a bit more smoother ride. But everyone has different subjective experiences. The brakes do stand out in my opinion.
The X5 I disliked because of the motor noise and I thought the radio was rather mediocore. also it has a cd based navigation system. it was too much money too. nice looking though.
i now kind of wish i would have gone for the touring since it has the better sound system. now that i am used to the radio, I want better sound. time to have a sub put in.
-Boosted horsepower of 3.5 liter V6 from 240 to 260
-All-new five-speed automatic transmission that features a sequential sport shift mode
-Drive-by-wire throttle system
-Computer-controlled vehicle stability system
-A more rigid body structure
-Improvements to suspension settings and steering that should translate into a softer ride and more precise handling
-Rain-sensing windshield wipers
-An improved satellite navigation system including a rearview camera when backing up
-An optional rear-seat DVD entertainment system
-Changes to the design of the alloy wheels
-Rear mud guards
-Three new color choices, Midnight Blue Pearl, Sage Brush Pearl and Sandstone Metallic
Quite impressive, and sounds like an even more awesome vehicle than 2001 & 2002. I bet Acura dealers will be smiling all the way to the bank for years to come...!
slocko- I bet there are a lot of others who will be saying the same thing! It really seems as though they are listening to the consumer, making changes desired for 2002 and now making so many more for 2003. I'll venture to say that the more rigid body structure and revised suspension tuning are to combat continuing comments on interior road noise. The others are just the typical new model year updates, albeit quite a few!
I bought my 2002 Acura MDX at Ryan's Open Road Acura in East Brunswick, NJ (2 grand over list)...had it for 2 weeks and brought it in for a bad rattle. The dealer had the car for a month (22 business days) and could not fix the rattle and the nav screen also blacked out intermittently.
After a final repair attempt to fix the rattle and nav system by Honda Motor corp (under lemon law) the rattle was finally fixed but the nav system still blacks out. They also installed side mouldings with white overspray (the car is black). I am filing a lemon lawsuit this week as both the dealer and Acura have outwardly refused to give me a new vehicle even though the lemon laws were clearly violated in black and white. Law says 20 cumulative business days for any problems. I had 22. Manufacturer gets final repair attempt. They did and only fixed the rattle but not the nav problem. I no longer need to bring the car back for repeated attempts according to the NJ lemon law. So...rather than satisfy a customer that has been put through the ringer they are going to force me to take them to court in order to get my money back and damages.
I am going to avoid Ryan's Open Road Acura forever (along with any Acura/Honda) and be aware that if you are unlucky to have a problem with your MDX or possibly any Acura that Honda Motor Corp may not always stand behind their product even when the law CLEARLY requires that they do so as in my case where a replacement vehicle is both ethically and legally warranted. Fortunately in this case the judge will have the ability to force them to refund my purchase price and stamp the title a lemon plus pay my lawyers for the joy of making them do all this....this customer is lost forever. Let's see...they lose a customer plus the retail value of the lemon stamped MDX will be 25-30 grand maybe plus a couple grand to my attorneys versus taking the car back and selling it for 40 grand and putting me in a new one to make me happy. In the end justice will prevail and I wanted my story to be heard. From some of what I've read recently online I'm not alone either in my experiences with this company. I don't believe many of their cars experience problems but what really matters is how a company steps up to the plate when problems do occur. Acura did not step up in my case so the judge will do it for me.
BTW, with the new 5-speed SS, any chance they would get rid of the useless gated pattern?
The dealer definetely needs some improvement in customer service.
1) Neglected to tell me that they required a certified check for the downpayment. I have bought 3 new cars over my lifetime and have never been asked for that before for a downpayment. I threatened to use a Peoplefirst check and skip their financing if they didn't accept my personal check. They agreed in a hurry.
2) Limited my downpayment on my credit card to 2k and then refused to accept American Express checks.
3) Never called me so I could pick up my plates. I was driving around for a week with an expired tag before I noticed. Called them and they said, Oh yeah I have your tags right here.
4) On my way home after I picked up my new vehicle I noticed that the car only had half a tank of gas. Imediately called them and they said to come in the next day and they would give me a gas voucher. Went in the next day my salesperson ended up giving me 20 bucks out of his pocket because they didn't have the gas voucher.
Individually those things could be considered one time mistakes, but collectively I think they a point to a sloppy operation.
Still lots of deals happening on '02 MDX at or above MSRP!
Might be hard to believe, but it is reality.
Unfortunately I do feel that the improvements to the '03s will make the 01-02 a bit less desirable, but that will take the better part of a year to be accuractely reflected in used sales.
If the dealer won't give you the numbers, you ABSOLUTELY should go sell it yourself! There is no reason to accept the lowball offer. Heck, even FINDING a used MDX is an accomplishment!
The 01's & 02's may be less desireable now...But when the 03's are on a 3 month wait and are selling for $1000 or more over a higher MSRP the market will level out.
My 'O2 is great!