Buying the wife a new used car Lexus or Acura (1 Viewer)

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It would be nice, I would like either one. (RWD -VS- FWD) (Sport VS Luxury).
Right now im leaning toward the Lexus because of the tranny thing plus im a Toyota lover, but the Acura gets a little better gas mileage, but that does not bear much weight here on this board, most of us are used to having mileage in the low teens.
 
Which one has been properly maintained? That would be my choice.
 
That generation TL, particularly the type-s has a known issue with the transmission. It basically eats itself on a regular basis. I purchased a brand new 2002 TL type-s and the tranny went out in less than 30,000 miles. To my surprise I was anything but alone. These cars had owners that were on their 3rd and 4th trannies. Acura was covering them under warranty but I would NEVER touch one that would be out of warranty shortly. I didn't even want the car after the tranny went out the first time. We had it repaired under warranty and in less than 5,000 miles it was beginning to shudder again. We traded it on the 100 and God what a smart move.

Go over to acuraworld.com and look for whether or not acura/honda ever fixed this issue. I couldn't believe with the percentage of failures these cars were seeing that a recall was never issued. It was an enjoyable car but was honestly no more refined than a Camry. If I were gonna get an Acura sedan it'd be the RL.
 
tabraha said:
That generation TL, particularly the type-s has a known issue with the transmission. It basically eats itself on a regular basis. I purchased a brand new 2002 TL type-s and the tranny went out in less than 30,000 miles. To my surprise I was anything but alone. These cars had owners that were on their 3rd and 4th trannies. Acura was covering them under warranty but I would NEVER touch one that would be out of warranty shortly. I didn't even want the car after the tranny went out the first time. We had it repaired under warranty and in less than 5,000 miles it was beginning to shudder again. We traded it on the 100 and God what a smart move.

Go over to acuraworld.com and look for whether or not acura/honda ever fixed this issue. I couldn't believe with the percentage of failures these cars were seeing that a recall was never issued. It was an enjoyable car but was honestly no more refined than a Camry. If I were gonna get an Acura sedan it'd be the RL.
Click to expand...

This sounds familiar.

Here is a tranny thread from Acurazine:

http://cl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169856

:D
 
I'd go with the lexus or a newer tl if you can afford it, or an older tl. My wife has a 96 and it has been fantastic. Had a leaky exhaust manifold this spring and to my surprise they extended the warranty on the exhaust to 150k and that includes everything from the engine down and the o2 sensors. The dealer service has been flawless. No questions asked, just hand me keys to an 06 tl and said come back in a couple days. Also one time between 75k and 150k mi. they will do a free full tune up including wires, plugs and other ignition components.

Ours is a 2.5 tl Inline 20valve 5cyl auto. Supposedly on a dyno the wheel HP is almost identical to the 3.2 v6 although the factory ratings seperate them by about 25hp. It is much more refined than my honda accord. leather, climate control, great crisp clear audio. Quieter and smoother power delivery and much better torque. The trannies in the first gen were much better. It gets 26-30mpg depending on driving conditions and is nice and quiet on the highway, which my accord noticeably louder.

I've driven a new tl a couple times and a TSX. Nice cars, but there were a few issues I didn't like. It's about like an fjcruiser for rear visibility. Essentially a mirror only rear view. I'd love to have one though, quick, sporty and still has 4 doors. Plus less ego emisions than a cts or bmw.
 
To date, the Acura I bought new was the best CAR I have ever owned. It was weirdly flawless, and in the 8 years I owned it, I replaced only the oil and 1 timing belt at 90k miles. Even the battery was original when I sold it. They do make great cars. Mine was not in the series with the tranny problems and I never had any issues at all. It was smooth, fast, handled great and got terriffic mileage. I should have kept it.

With that said, I think the GS300s look great, and with the rear drive platform it would be my choice.
 
Going on aesthetics, the GS300 was and still is one of, if not the, best looking sports sedans ever.
 
I have owned the lexus and it is great but you cant get out of you driveway in the snow with one. The Acura is fwd and would be a big concern if I lived in Co. I have owned several Acura's and if the money is even then I would drive a lexus, just not in the snow or Ice.
 
REKCUT said:
I have owned the lexus and it is great but you cant get out of you driveway in the snow with one. The Acura is fwd and would be a big concern if I lived in Co. I have owned several Acura's and if the money is even then I would drive a lexus, just not in the snow or Ice.
Click to expand...

That is a tire problem not a car problem. Snow tires make all the difference in the world.
 
Can't comment specifically on the GS, but my wife has been driving a 98 ES for over 5 years and loves it. Has a nice luxury feel to it that she likes. Other than a problem with the remote trunk release (pinched wire), it's needed nothing other than routine maintenance. Currently has about 95k on it. Good gas mileage (28-30 hwy) and very quick for a 3.0 v6.
 
Bob_Garrett said:
Can't comment specifically on the GS, but my wife has been driving a 98 ES for over 5 years and loves it. Has a nice luxury feel to it that she likes. Other than a problem with the remote trunk release (pinched wire), it's needed nothing other than routine maintenance. Currently has about 95k on it. Good gas mileage (28-30 hwy) and very quick for a 3.0 v6.
Click to expand...


I second the ES...you can buy parts from CDAN if you ever need to.
 
fwiw, I really like the RL and Accord, but I just bought a Lincoln LS (hard to turn down a 50k vehicle for 32k out the door, 0 interest, they b givinig them away) because I will not buy from American Honda.

I needed a grown up sedan for my work or I'd never consider a four door granpa mobile.btw
 
If it's $32k out the door, it's a $32k car, american cars are just marked way up to make people think they are getting a better value when they pay much less, still a 32k car is probably a good car and the Lincoln LS look pretty nice.
 
The one I got has every option which jacks the price over 47k

http://www.lincoln.com/lincolnls/home.asp

Lincoln LS MSRP starts at $39,945*.

It runs and drives unbelieveably and is so quiet my Son did not believe I was calling from a car as I accelerated up the onramp pulling out of Galpin (which was surprisingly a good experience, they bought me lunch while I waited for them to detail it)

I am talking tax, license, etc & I put 7k down, have a 435.00 payment and will own it in 60 months (unless it sucks and I trade it in first) very hard to believe imho.

I drove the Mercedes C350, BMW 330 and Avalon and for the money could not pass this up.
 
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Lexus all the way buddy. I had one, beautiful car. Pretty much flawless really. They are so quiet you can find yourself doing ridiculous speed and not even realizing. Although it's claimed the GS4 gets the same fuel economy. But that inline 6 is smooth and all the bugs are long gone.
 
a fully loaded acura is going to be about the same as a lower lexus. Go with the lex.
 
trucruiser said:
True about the tranny problems.
However Acura has issued a recall on them, they replace the part that is the root cause of the tranny failure and bump out the tranny warrany to 100,000 miles. The part has been replaced already.
Click to expand...

I would run away from the Acura . My wife has the TL Type S and our first tranny went at 40k. I'm expecting #2 to die. I've read a lot about the tranny problems on line. Some people are on their 3rd and 4th tranny. Acura is going to be hit with a huge class action lawsuit soon regarding the tranny's as the replacement ones fail frequently too.

When I buy a Honda or Acura I expect to put 200k miles easy. After 100k you'll be SOL with an '02 Acura TL.
 
I was thinking about this more. If I won a lottery prize, I'd be hard pressed to find a nicer car than a GS3. The GS4 would just get me more tickets, but then would I be worried about that? So on second thought, I'd again say the GS3. I've driven the Acura you are considering also. Another good thing about Toyota/Lex is that the things last dam near forever. Honda is great but long term durability is nothing like Toyota (Lexus). Practically every part of the car is basically overbuilt.
 
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