"Stupidru" (Schm1an)
05/11/2015 at 09:27 • Filed to: None
2
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"Stupidru" (Schm1an)
05/11/2015 at 09:27 • Filed to: None | 2
| 12 |
If you haven’t read !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! by Andrew Collins, please do. It’s actually a praise for the 3G TL, but in some cases it comes off that he’s trashing the car.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Here’s why I think the TL is the best car I have owned (and still do own)
I bought the car in November for $7k, well below the going market value for a 6MT TL that didn’t look like someone parked it in a Rocky Mountain campground with a cooler full of steaks for a week (you know... the bears... they like steaks). Every TL I came across either had the horribly unreliable automatic (boo-hiss!) or the manual, but had rips in the seats, cracks in the dash, smashed in bumpers,250k+ or neon green wheels. Finding a manual with the navigation in my price range was like finding a 3-eyed toad. I sent out a few emails on craigslist & cars.com, went to see a few, but ultimately nobody wanted to accept $7500 for a TL that had less than 150k miles on it. Finally, one email came back with a glimpse of hope- one buyer had backed out and left the seller empty handed and frustrated. And he had a broken leg, so he wanted his 6MT TL gone. He said if I could come get it by the weekend, it was mine for $7k. My new car was a green 2004 TL, but it had the manual which was all I really cared about.
Now on to what I was really talking about: why this car is actually very good and why you should buy one.
-It’s comfy. The driver’s seat is nicely bolstered, has a good amount of cushion that sucks you in & won’t make you hurt after a few hours. The heaters work quickly. The back seats are immensely more comfortable for those times you have old people in the back seat, or you’re too drunk to drive your own car home.
-It’s quick: It has just shy of 270hp. Yes, it’s a pig. No, that doesn’t mean it’s slow.
-It handles better than Andrew Collins says it does: Because he drives Cayman GTS’ for a living. Of course anything else is going to ‘suck’.
-It doesn’t break: Granted I’ve only put 15k miles on it since I bought it, but I’ve only had to do an oil change and change the rear brakes. The previous owner only replaced the clutch, water pump, and timing belt- all standard wear items. And after 125k miles this car has held up incredibly well.
-It has Brembo brakes: cool factor went way up
-It has VTEC: YO!
-It’s quiet: I finally have a car where the rolling resistance of the tires won’t deafen you inside the cabin. You can hear the engine at higher RPMs, and it sounds good decent too! If you’re tired after a long day and just want to get home in some peace and quiet, just roll up all the windows and everything outside becomes a mere whisper.
-It shifts nice: It’s a Honda manual trans. It’s light-weight but shifts are very crisp.
-Parts are cheap: It’s a Honda Accord dressed up to be something else.
-It flies under the radar: I’ve gone 20mph over the limit past a cop and he never looked twice at me. In either of my 2 Subarus I would’ve been pulled over almost immediately.
-It gets decent gas mileage: In winter I got 25mpg and now that it’s May and the snow is finally starting to melt in Wisconsin, I’m getting 30+ mpg, and I don’t drive like my 75 year old grandma would, if she could drive a manual trans.
-It has dings and dents, and my life is better because of it: I used to obsess about paint chips and tiny dents on my cars after hail storms or that old guy who backed into me in the grocery store parking lot. Simply put, I don’t care anymore. The car has miles on it, it’s 11 years old, and there are probably 5 more TLs within eyeshot of yours at any given time. It’s not a rare or special car by any means.
I absolutely love my car and I plan on keeping it until the engine dies, which could be 350k-400k knowing how Hondas are made.
Questions/Comments/Concerns?
Comments are below
Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
> Stupidru
05/11/2015 at 09:51 |
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The entire time I read Andrews article I didn’t once think he was trashing it
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> Stupidru
05/11/2015 at 13:26 |
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I see your car as the continuation of the line of my beloved ‘88 Acura Legend. I would buy that car again if I could get it new from the factory...
Such a shame that Acura offers no car with a manual transmission anymore.
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Stupidru
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
05/11/2015 at 13:37 |
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Exactly this. If Acura offered this car new today, I would take a very hard look at it. Unfortunately the car that I want (4 door, comfy, reliable, good economy, surprising power, under the radar, 6MT) is a dying breed
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> Stupidru
05/11/2015 at 13:57 |
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I got 5.25 out of 7. Not too bad...
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Stupidru
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
05/11/2015 at 15:36 |
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3 door and 5MT?
Hyundai Veloster?
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> Stupidru
05/11/2015 at 15:40 |
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4 door - check
comfy - check
reliable - 3/4
good economy - 0/4
surprising power - check
under the radar - 2/4
manual - check
E90 M3
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Stupidru
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
05/11/2015 at 16:53 |
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Very nice! I’m lucky enough to have someone down the street from me own one. Every day when I get home from work and I let the dog out I can hear him zoom past.
How many miles, and how much of a hassle (or not) has it been for you?
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> Stupidru
05/11/2015 at 17:32 |
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Thanks - it really is a joy every time I drive it. And when I walk up to it, I still get that “damn, that is my car” feeling. I hadn’t planned on spending quite as much as I did when I bought it, but when I realized that I could stretch my budget a little and get into one of my dream cars, I had to give it a shot. The other car I was considering was a newer G37 6MT sedan - a very nice car - but the sounds and feels of the M3 at that first test drive were enough to convince me to get something truly special.
Mine’s an ‘08, and I bought it in 2012 with just under 40k miles and a few months of remaining warranty. Came in handy - I caught the AC evaporator before the warranty expired, and had them take care of some cosmetic issues with the interior as well. I did buy a third party extended warranty for peace of mind, but I’ve only had to use it to cover replacement of a couple flat tires. Only other non-maintenance cost has been a sensor.
I’m 37 now, married with three kids, and I will say that I’m glad I waited until I could truly afford a car like this to buy it. We ended up paying it off three years early, a great feeling. It is considerably more expensive to run than a “normal” car, but for me, worth the price of admission. I’ve had it out to the track several times, and it’s a great performer, and a group of friends and I take biannual “backroadtrips” and it’s so much fun to drive for close to 1000 miles over a weekend. And if you ignore the fuel mileage, it’s great as a daily driver, too - ha!
At this point, I’m hoping to keep this car in my “stable” for many years to come. Nothing else for sale today (with four doors) is drawing my interest away from this car, and I love the idea of letting my kids drive it some day. We’ll see. At this point, I’ll just continue to enjoy it. Only one more hour until I get to drive her again - maybe I’ll take the long way home...
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/whatever-it-is…
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Stupidru
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
05/11/2015 at 19:46 |
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Cheers! I’ll be in your shoes someday (damn student loans are the cost of a new M3 every month). *Knocks on Wood* It sounds like the Bimmer has been pretty standard in terms of reliability and I hope that you keep us updated on its milestones
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> Stupidru
05/11/2015 at 19:51 |
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Thanks. I hope to one day report it’s passing 200k and still running well! You'll have yours one day, for sure.
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Stupidru
> davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
05/12/2015 at 08:30 |
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In a few months I’ll have a new M3 running around the living room as well ;) Just have to bide my time, pay my dues, climb the ladder, and eventually I’ll be able to afford one.
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davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> Stupidru
05/12/2015 at 08:36 |
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Yup - and it will be that much sweeter when you do!