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The 2000 RL's coming off lease are a great car for around $20k. I am pondering getting another one. I bought my current '00 new and have had 44k of great performance.
I've put on 54K miles since 10/00 and the car still runs smoothly. I'm not trading it when I get another car ('04 TL; truck; or whatever) - keeping it around as a spare set of wheels.
Do you think this is a good deal?
One thing that i am concerned about is - It was bought by the dealer in auction and the dealer does not have its repairs or maintenance history. They did the usual certification related inspection and servicing. The dealer also promptly came down to my asking price and that made me start thinking about the reliability of buying such auctioned car. Do you think it is a risk? Why would the car be auctioned? It was leased originally. I am not familiar with this auction stuff for cars. Carfax is clean, but could there be any other loopholes? How to be certain about its history?
I found out that many dealers buy cars from auction, then certify then through inspection and servicing and then sell it with profit. My first question then is why would the car be auctioned at low price if it is in good condition? Any help?
THe deal is good, but only if the car was kept good and there were no major failures or accidents. The auction thing gives me insecure feelings. I would appreciate all the inputs here.
You can find out its warranty history from an Acura dealer. Contact the service manager and give them the VIN. They can tell if any serious work was done.
In general, RL's like these coming off lease with around 30k miles are cream puffs.
Yours is certified so you have powertrain warranty to 100k which should cover you pretty good. I think $21 for an RL with Nav is fair.
I think it sounds like a good deal. There's no guarantee about the car, obviously, but you can ask the service mgr. to look up the warranty history on the car (as Mr. Mason suggested) and you've got a 100000 mile warranty. Not much more to ask about. JW
Even though Mazda values sank like a rock, it wasn't my problem. The car was in good shape, with 42K miles (the lease allowed 50K). If a dealer got it low enough to turn a profit on its re-sale, that was his good luck.
"Whenever you talk to the experts about Acura, the first words out of their mouths are RWD and 8 cylinder.
Speculation has been rampant that the next RL would be a RWD 8 cylinder.
The Spies say that couldn't be further than the truth.
We've learned that Acura will not only go against conventional wisdom and NOT make a RWD, 8 cylinder car, but create a new revolution with the first 300HP, 6-cylinder HYBRID engine!!!!
Wow!
Imagine no performance compromise AND 40MPG!
Forget the Prius, this will be the car to own if these rumors are true...
The car will be shown to dealers at their meeting in August and be available in the October/Novemeber timeframe.
Also, look for an even better design interpretation than the new TL. We're told the new RL is WAY more attractive.
We can't wait!
By the way, the American car companies are planning their killer strategy by waiting to have a car like this for ten years, so they can TOTALLY lose this market to the Japanese! "
P.S. - Honda/Acura has no concept about torque.
Toyota, for example, is using an HEV V6 in the Lexus RX and Highlander to provide V8 power. Honda is using an HEV V6, which will crank out more power than the 240 horsies already found under the Accord's hood. And because electric motors crank out gobs of torque, they serve well for your purposes.
I doubt very much that these performance-tuned hybrids will get the 40 mpg that Jchan mentioned, but they will serve a dual purpose.
Look forward to seeing the concept at the New York auto show. I'm glad they are sticking to a V6 rather than caving in and listening to critics that know little to nothing about cars.
(1) The complicated hybrid powertrain would require dealer maintenance. I don't think any independent mechanic would touch that car with a 60 foot pole.
(2) Any savings at the gas pump would more than be offset by higher price tag of hybrid cars.
(3) When it is time to change the battery pack, the price of a new one could cause sticker shock. For the Toyota Prius it is about $2000. For a car like the RL it could be $5000+ as someone pointed out.
Therefore, IMO a normally aspirated V8 would actually be cheaper to own in the long run.
However, as a person who hates to stop for gas, I would enjoy the convenience of being able to drive for longer periods of time without filling up. There is, also, the environmental aspect of the vehicle, which has a strong pull for some folks.
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not every electric motor has strong torque curves at lower RPM, however DC (direct current) electric motors do have amazingly good torque at lower rpm and since the electric system in a car is DC (even though the alternator produces AC) the electric motors used in hybrids show excellent torque. So it's all good in the end. (this is why electric locomotive powered trains use DC motors and not AC motors).
Look at this scenario. Lets say the next RL comes with a 3500 cc engine with 300 hp, with its latest iteration of ivtec and everything i expect its torque curve to start in the 2500-3000 rpm range. But during this first 800 (idle)-2500 rpm range, the electric motors (assumed to give 100 lb-ft) are churning on the rear wheels. So even if the gas engine in the front is only pushing like lets say 150 lb-ft, you got a total of 250 lb-ft of torque gunning out, with a little forward bias... and if you really scream the accelerator past 2500 rpm, you could get the entire torque spectrum, about 230-240 odd in the front and 100 in the back. that's a ton load of torque to pull this car (and not push)... but given how close to neutral the TL and TSX are, the RL could really pull off a neutrality. And then you have the fact that you have a engine that's ready to hit 5-6K rpm easy due to the nature of the honda engines and in theory this could lend itself to a wonderfully screamable assemblage.... just in theory so far.
motown:
i would like to point out, that firstly, in most cases, first owners of luxury cars dont take their cars to non-dealers to fix and secondly, the maintenace history of the hybirds on the road is nothing bad compared to regular cars from same car makers (toyo, honda)... so i would not worry about the 60 foot poles as yet.
just my 2 cents...
ksso
sometimes you are the windshield
sometimes you are the bug...
Honestly, there are too many variables for us to speculate without more information.
DC electric motors do provide lots of torque at rpm 1 and they can typically rev over a very wide range. However, they lose torque almost immediately. For example, I believe the Prius makes something close to 250 lb-ft at 1 rpm, but less than 100 by the time the engine reaches idle speed.
Also, if the electrics drive the rear wheels only, will they have a separate transmission, or just rev freely? With a free revving design, the electric would spin pretty fast at higher speeds and not provide much torque, at all.
If the RL goes with Honda's more traditional IMA approach (the electric motors work through the engine's transmission), then we get more torque at the start of each gear. It just loses the direct connection to the rear wheels.
Bottom line. It's fun to speculate, but we don't know much.
and yes, very true, DC motors lose torque faster as RPM grows, but, if you sustain the RPM independently and gear it seperately then you have a multitude of possibilities, hmmm but then the cost will go through my roof, so maybe the best option might be to get the traction through the engine/transmission IMA layout... i'm sure those guys worked these things out, IF they are going this route...
ksso
ksso
But, after several thousand years of waiting, my patience is thinner than the thinnest rotors on any brakeless car i've driven...
I'll just assume their concept could not be converted into a manufacturable car and just trade my type s for a new type s and go on with my life...
ksso
thank you, no.
ksso
M
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The E320 bases at $48,170.00, and with:
322 Appearance Package details $3,880.00
Curve Sensing Bi-Xenon Headlamps
5 Spoke 17" Wheel
Sculpted Lower Bodywork (Note the RL doesn't offer anything like this, standard or optional)
323 Heating Package details $900.00
Heated Steering Wheel & Heated Front Seats
326 Premium Package details $3,650.00
· Rear Side-Windows Roller Blinds
· Active Ventilated Seats/Front
· Glass Sunroof
· Driving Dynamic Seat-left
· Driving Dynamic Seat-right
· COMAND System w/DVD Navi
· Power Rear-Window Sunshade
· Premium Sound System
· Factory Installed CD Changer
(Some other things Acura doesn't offer either standard or optional)
I came up with a bascially loaded MSRP of $57,270.00, which is a $9100.00 difference. Hardly 16K, and such an E320 has much more than the current RL.
Thats one of the differences between a Mercedes, BMW or Audi and a Acura. The German cars don't have to trade on that leather/sunroof/CD hype. There are two ways to look at this, either you want those things or you don't. BMW, MB and Audi give you a choice, Acura doesn't. This also means your RL is just like the other 8K that were sold last year, the only possible differences are either it has a nav or not, and the color.
M
I hope it's more of a true drivers car as opposed to the current sleeper. It sounds like this new upcoming model will be all the buzz, the current RL is so forgotten by the press and public.
I meant anything is better than the current RL! Easy pal...