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Comments
Thanks in advance.
tail
Go to www.mgbeatsbmw.co.uk to see an independent study showing 8 of 10 drivers preferred the new MG ZT to the 318.
With the downgrade in looks, added complexity of the I-drive and the poor feel to the new drive-by-wire system, BMW may be losing it!
Well, I believe you that the screen is clear, but the point was it could, and should, be even clearer and sharper.
This is a pretty good price for this car. The invoice is $28,500; so you'getting it $2,500 "below invoice". Well, if your dealer has a number of 03 TL's setting on his lot, you may try to offer him $25,000 (He's making plenty of money on the 04 TL's anyway!) Good luck!
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=6&article_- - id=830
If you're talking about the 17" performance summer tires - Bridgestone Potenza RE030 - they have not been rated favorably (see close-up photo of this tire on a 2004 TL with Bremo brakes):
http://photos.imageevent.com/provench/acuratl/IMG_1524R.jpg
A much better choice of performance tires would have been the Bridgestone Potenza RE750 which, according to TireRack's survey results (below), have been rated amoung the best, plus they're better priced!
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/uhp.jsp
My suggestion: Go spend some time with the NAV system in the TL. I think you'll find it is the most readible display of ANY existing nav system.
Some colleagues of mine got the info from Acura that TL w/Manual tranny is a "limited production vehicle". Dealers will be getting ONE CAR per month, and high-volume dealers will be getting FIVE CARS per month. Considering there are 236 Acura dealers in the US, still the supply of 6MT cars will be much less than demand, which would give dealers a chance to up the price. People who put a deposit and were given a "production date/delivery date" keep getting postponed by Acura!
I like the stick-shift, but I can live with the Auto w/sequential sport shift!
Either way, I wish you luck with your purchase. It seems like you are giving this important purchase a lot of hard thought.
I like Black/Quartz, but still hesitant about the high maintenance of black, especially living in So. Cal -- What do you think?
Just go out any afternoon and put you hand on a black car and a white car. The difference is incredible. SO - while you are out in the sun, the hot skin of your car is heating up everything inside, and it takes a great deal of work for your A/C to cool off that large mass. It's not just the air that has to get cool.
My current Solara is white, and even with the charcoal interior, the A/C is seldom running more than 2 bars on the indicator, even when it is 100+ outside. Of course I have tinted the windows also with a good heat resistant film.
I really want the anthracite TL, but will probably end up with the much more common silver, simply because of the heat issue!
One more factor to consider is the safety issue. Dark cars are invisible at night, and the side lighting only helps this a little. Many fire trucks are changing to bright yellow for this reason - they cannot be seen at night.
IF you are going to end up with black, the only polish that will do it justice and give you great protection is Zaino.
I'll most likely buy a TL toward the end of the model year, and I wish it came in Meteor Silver as well. It seems like the perfect exterior color to me. Nice and light, doesn't show dirt or swirls, never looks dirty, but also very sharp looking. I have people come up to me in parking lots all the time to ask me about it.
The quartz interior is like a dark gray/light blue. It is also really ideal. It isn't so dark that it gets hot, but it doesn't show scuffs or dirt either.
If I was buying a TL today, I'd probably get it in white, with the quartz interior. I've bought my last dark colored car, because they just aren't practical in a place as sunny as Los Angeles.
msf2: I've seen the Redondo Red/Parchment; beautiful! The exterior is like "light red wine", and goes very well with the bright interior. Very sharp and sporty!
uncledavid: Meteor Silver is an attractive color, especially with Quartz interior. I wish it was available on TL! I'm getting more open towards Satin Silver. I have to check it out once again, this time more carefully! :-)
Redondo Red
Deep Green
Diamond White (I see a lot more old Type S TL's in White)
Everyone tells me the silver color is the easiest to maintain and that's why it has been the most popular color for the last 4 years in the US. IMO the silver with the black is much nicer than the silver /quartz; it's a bit drab together.
The white/parchment is classic look together.
The blue and green are both colors I really liked. You need to see the camel interior prior to purchasing; I think it's a love or hate interior color.
The gold is a color that's easy to maintain. I just don't like it at all.
Black/parchment looks the nicest IMO, but I'm not willing to spend the time that's needed to keep it looking great.
The anthracite is a nice dark gray.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=6&article_- id=830
On another issue-I read on one of these boards that Acura service after purchase leaves alot to be desired. This is especially true if you don't buy the car at a dealer where you wish to get service. I find that hard to believe because my Honda experience after purchase has been very good. This could be an issue for me because there is a very good chance I may buy a car (Accord or TL) in another city. Since Acura is Honda I would expect the same type of service. Can someone shed some light on their experience?? Thanks!
The bass is more complicated. You can add a subwoofer, but the system will probably sound “boomy”. The frequency range where the main speakers and the subwoofer intersect will be louder than the rest of the system. To get around this problem you need a crossover between the processor and the amp. The crossover will send high and midrange frequencies to the main speakers and bass to the subwoofer. I don’t know if crossovers are available for cars, and how to install them.
Also, if you are going to replace speakers, you have to replace all of them. All speakers have to have same tweeters and midrange drivers to keep the “acoustic balance”.
It's a fact the a dealer makes more money on servicing your car than the sale itself. So, any dealer would be happy to provide service even if you didn't buy your car there. I bought my 01 Camry from a certain dealer but their service was terrible. I switched to another dealer, and they were happy to get a paying customer off a competitor! I always like to establish a good relation with the service manager.
mdhauke: do you REALLY want to spend a lot of money and mess up with this new system?
torontotl-after the response by 1violinist I just might have to hop the fast-ferry service that starts up here in Rochester next May 2004 and get my service acroos Lake Ontario at your dealer in Toronto!!
Favorable exchange rate...what the heck!!
This class of car no longer impresses people because there are so many around. Don't get me wrong, I like Jaguars too but I think your reasons for getting one are slightly misguided. So, unless you’re able to afford a $75,000+ car that will really impress, get yourself a car that will reward you with an exhilarating, sophisticated and reliable driving experience.
What do you folks think of all the car reviews? I left a message myself with links to some car reviews. My feeling is that they're a good starting point and will give you specs which are objective. It's helpful to know the 2004 TL's trunk is smaller than the 2003's for example. I'm always interested in the "0-60" time. Except for Consumer Reports, I'm quite skeptical with the automobile reviewers. I've always felt they're too close to the car manufacturers. The writers are given new cars to drive around, probably taken out to lunch and invited to celebration parties for a new model. The magazine or newspaper ownership has salespeople soliciting the same car manufacturers for advertising dollars. What do you folks think?
Like you, I trust CR more than any other source. ConsumerGuide is another reasonable source and, of course, Edmunds.
My wife's TSX is also dark gray (a little darker than the Anthracite) and she says it is no problem because the A/C is so good, it cools the car right off.
If find that you want to add more bottom, just try changing out the existing subwoofer driver for a better one with higher efficiency. You can then get higher output with the same amp. The standard speakers in ANY car are seldom top quality because of cost issues.
But - listen for yourself, first. This system is very accurate - it is not BOOMY like many cheap sound systems. Many people think a big boomy sound means good sound.
I work hard for my money and I certainly wouldn't want to waste it on a lemon. That's why the last three cars I've owned (Civic, Accord, and Acura TL) have served me extremely well. Can you guess what my next car is going to be?
http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/new/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/- 37492
M
Dano
1. It is a Chrysler, which is not built anywhere near as well as an Acura.
2. Chrysler dealers in general are awful...you will most likely not get the level of service you get at an Acura dealer.
3. The 300M will be replaced within the year by an all-new RWD car.
Just my opinion, but I would never recommend any Chrysler product, especially not over a car like an Acura.
This is somewhat off-topic, but one of Chrysler's biggest fears is that Honda will be able to produce more Odysseys. If/when capacity for that minivan increases, Chrysler will lose their lead in the mininvan market. Why? Because the Honda-built product is that much better than the Chrysler and most consumers know it.
The 03 TL has had 2 recalls already, where I have to take it in and have parts replaced on it. About 1 month after we bought the 03 it had a recall on the water pump, there was a bolt that might losen and if that happens the timing belt comes off and your engine may get trashed. That had to be replaced. Boy the dealership was booked solid getting all that work done. Now today, October 27th I get in the mail another recall -OH JOY. Now its the timing belt tension may lose oil and the belt might losen. The fun never ends. Now its only a matter of time before the transmission on this one goes out like what happened in our 99.
Even the service manager at our delearship said he is embarrassed by the crap Acura is putting out. Life has been hell for most of those acura service folks as these things continue to roll in for recalls and transmission work. Acura wont recall the tranny, they claim its a rare occurance, and if it goes out under warranty they give you a REBUILT tranny that probably came out of another poor customers TL.
Todays recall affects: 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2002-2003 3.2 CL, and 2002 MDX. Dont let yourself become one of those people that gets one of these recalls in the mail. One thing that really sucks for us is that we are buying this TL and not leasing it. Someday we are going to have to try and sell this POS.
'cause of the brainwashing. If something failed just once on an Acura, most people would probably shrug it off as a fluke. After all Honda/Acura is a golden standard of reliability. Or so the myth goes.
Back in 99, 300M was way better than a TL. TL did not even have memory seats back then. And BOTH driver and passenger seats are 8-way power (my 2002 TL-S has a 4-way power passenger seat).
As the time went by Acura improved TL and caught up with 300M feature wise. Unfortunately Chrysler did not choose to add more features to 300M.
I still miss my 300M. Despite its large size, 300M was designed to handle very well. It was not designed to be a drag strip racer and had relatively modest 0-60 performance (although after 6,000 miles it got much peppier). But at highway speeds, very few sedans could hang with it. Also 300M has an unbelievable carrying capacity - I used to fit minivan-worth of stuff into it (and still enjoy the trip). The trunk alone could swallow five people.
Now the 300M Special is a huge improvement.
As a matter of fact I just went to Chrysler Route 2003 test drive event and took a Crossfire and 300M Special around the cones. I think I liked 300M Special more than the smaller RWD Crossfire. Also they had a little drag strip - floor the gas pedal and accelerate hard, then floor the brake pedal and stop as hard as you can - 300M Special felt really good.
I have fun with my TL-S but it is spoiled by not knowing when the TL-S' tranny is going to break again.