EliteCM.net

Cliff Notes at the bottom...

So, I guess it's time I make my announcement..  I'm parting out my coupe and buying a new car.  I'm doing this for several reasons.. none of which I feel like discussing, so if you really care enough to know, just PM me or something.

I had my choices narrowed down to two cars..  One of which was an Infiniti G35 6MT coupe, and the other was a 3rd gen Acura TL with navigation and automatic trans.  I didn't have any preferences towards color really, but I was pretty sure I didn't want another black car (even though it's my favorite!).

So I started shopping around and checking out the internet sites (i.e. cars.com, vehix.com, dealership inventories, etc.)  Then through a co-worker, I found a beautiful g35 6mt that had some work done.. full suspension, rims, intake.. at a really good price with all the OEM parts.  I went and test drove it and loved it.

Now I had to make my final decision: stay in the sleek sports car phase of my life, or get something a bit more practical and luxurious then revisit my speed addiction later in life?  Well, I made my decision, and it's not the g35.  Maybe down the road a bit as a toy or something, but not as my primary method of transportation.  I based my decision on a lot of things that are going on in my life, such as a move coming up, new job starting soon, and practicality of the sedan.  Yes, my girlfriend had a say in it as well haha.  So Acura TL, here I come.

At this point, I'm now in the search for a 3rd gen TL with navi.  I have found a few in my area, and actually have an appointment tomorrow morning to look at/test drive an 05 white TL loaded (automatic).  It has about 72,000 miles on it which is a bit high but at the same time, it's an acura, I'm not terribly worried.  From my first impression (without getting really into it) it looked like quite a clean car.  I didn't get to pop the hood or check too closely on the interior today due to time restrictions, but I will sure as hell be doing that tomorrow.  I'm quite excited to take it out for a spin and see what she's really made of.

So I guess I have a few questions for the general public, if anyone has any input on the subject, what should I look for as far as services performed or any engine problems that may have occurred with this year?  I don't want to buy a car I need to put any work into.

When I finally find my TL, I won't really be doing any modifications.. maybe some 25-30% tint, and a slight drop with new rims (possibly TL-S) or the rims I have right now.  But the modding is one of my reasons for getting rid of the coupe, I've spent waaaay too much money on it for someone my age, so it's gotta end.

Cliff Notes:
    -Parting out and selling my car
    -Decided on either G35 or 3rd Gen TL
    -Narrowed down to TL for practicality and other reasons
    -Found some in my area
    -Going for a test drive tomorrow morning
    -After TL purchase, suspension, tint, and rims will be only modifications
    -Getting out of the modding game.

I love the TL. Good luck finding one!

Check the feel of the tranny, it should shift smoothly, if not walk away. Also the fluid should be nice and a dark red, if the AT fuid is black, walk away.

+1 to what Paul said. The TLs have the same issue with the auto trannies as the V6 Accords do. Good luck in your hunt.

I'm sad to read this man.... Chances are the mod bug will bite again but, all the reasons for your decision are the right ones. I would say if you buy a TL to get the 6mt to avoid tranny issues.

Thats a tough decision G35 or TL, both are cars I wouldn't mind seeing when I open my garage! I def feel ya on the practicality of the sedan, having that extra room is really nice! GL on the hunt the White TL sounds sexy but I would def have to agree with Mike go for the 6mt.

GL man.... modding is a money pit...so hard to know when to stop
i know my savings account is lacking where it "should be"

PM sent

Good luck bro.

Sorry to hear you're getting rid of the Accord.  Hopefully you stay with the Honda family though.  What exactly are you parting out from your car?

thanks guys, so I finished up at the dealership..  They offered me 8k for my coupe, once I swap it to stock. which would put me about 2k in negative equity.  not too bad.. and it's actually more than i was expecting to get for my trade in.  The car is in good shape, only some minor paint chips on the front end and interior is clean.

They were quite willing to work with me on the numbers, and came at me with several different approaches.. brought the manager out, said that he went over his bosses head to knock 1000 off the list price to put it at 17950ish? can't remember.  But the bottom line was the payments would be another $100 more than I'm paying now.  I got approved for the loan.. then i spoke with my dad. there's my mistake. lol.  he's really not happy i'm trying to buy a new car in the first place.  so I told them i needed the weekend to work through some stuff, talk with my dad because he mentioned he may actually buy my CM off me, which would be wondrous!  And so that's where I'm at right now.. use the weekend to relax and spend time with my gf, and discuss the car situation with my dad.

as far as parts, i've gotten a few people already PMing me about everything, so when I finally get things pulled off, i'll make a seperate thread in the for sale section to let you know what's available and what's not.

Yeah you gotta remember if you take $2k less for your car you gotta add that to your $17950 loan.  That'd be nice if your dad would but if from you, I'm sure he'd give you what you owe on it.  Congratz bro

oh yea, I know.  I'm not terribly happy about it. that's why I'm looking for other options.  I did have a friend who thought she wanted to buy my car, so I have to talk to her about it this weekend too.  it's going to be a busy weekend.. lol I'll be ripping out my audio equipment this weekend..

$18K for a 05 TL with 75K miles, are they giving you vaselene with that or are the giving to you dry.........

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchres ... 4510740972 (http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchresults.jsp?num_records=25&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&search_type=both&distance=100&address=20176&marketZipError=false&style_flag=1&make=ACURA&model=TL_MODELSCLASS_SERIES&make2=&start_year=2004&end_year=2006&min_price=&max_price=16000&seller_type=b&transmission=&engine=&drive=&doors=&fuel=&max_mileage=&color=&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&keywords_display=&sort_type=priceASC&body_code=0&certified=&advanced=y&highlightFirstMakeModel=&showZipError=n&default_sort=priceASC&awsp=false&systime=&scarid=265106188&rdm=1254510740972)

why the hell couldn't I find anything around that price up here where I live?? and no, it's definitely dry.. quite dry indeed.. although, they did offer me a free oil change! woooo!! lol. hence my reasons for still looking, that's the first one I've gone to check out.

Check out: cars.com and carmax.com as well

also don't forget about craigslist ;)

I've been searching cars.com for the past few months.. within a 30mile range, best i came up with was the one i checked out this morning.  only reason I'm not looking further away is because I dont have time to go to dealerships far away..

I think I'd be willing to travel to save a few K.

Car shopping fucking blows hairy balls. You take two exact cars place them at different dealers and you'll have one at $17k and another at $13k...WTF??

You are 'reccommended' to run premium in Acura's....gotta keep future gas prices in the back of your head. Right now it's only like another $5 bucks to fill up now but remember when gas prices were shitty, premium was more than $1 over regular. That's another $15-$20 bucks on fill up. All depends on where your priorities are at I guess.

Also look at repair costs, if something breaks it's likely to cost more than a Honda part. Gotta pay for that Acura name.

yea I hear ya, I already put atleast midgrade in my coupe so gas i'm not terribly worried about.  any repairs are usually costly, but I've got a few hookups I can probably source parts from.  I'm trying to find a car that's in good enough shape that nothing will break for atleast a little while lol.

but yea, I can't believe the price difference between what paul just showed me and what I've seen up here.. incredible! damn dealerships! lol

mike, I am definitely WILLING to travel.. I just don't have the time. my only real free time I'd have to go would be monday morning or friday morning before I go into work..  I'm out of town over the weekends.  so I can't really travel over an hour or even 45min to a dealership to check something out.

yea $18K is pretty steep.  if nothing else, the numbers for these other cars tell you what you SHOULD be paying.  it's up to you to actually make that deal happen.  read: http://www.negotiationdynamics.com/Usedcar.asp (http://www.negotiationdynamics.com/Usedcar.asp)

damn justin, I wish you had sent me that negotiation link prior to me going in this morning!  they actually did one of the "bad negotiating things" and held my keys after the appraisal.  I didn't even realize it until I was trying to leave. hmm, now i'm definitely going somewhere else..

G35 is small inside and rides like crap with stock suspension. My friend has a 6mt and I use to walk him on the highway from a roll before I got the j36. Why not try to find a 6mt accord with nav I think you will be much happier with that. I was between the G35 and the accord and ended up buying the 6mt accord with nav. The car is bigger inside and holds it resale value better.