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After a couple of weeks of test driving lots of different cars and SUV's we finally went with an 03 Acura TL with 11k miles on the clock. Got it for a pretty good price from a private party. Looked at Lexus, New and used Accura, Volvo s60, Infiniti, Nissan, Honda and Toyota. Tried to drive a VW passat last night but salesman was a jerk and the interior left me cold. Wifes favorite was the Lexus es300, though I thought the price was a bit steep, even for a demo car. The next favorite on her list was the Avalon, we both liked the ride but neiter liked the interior, especially considering the cost of the car. That and you can't find any used, year old models with low miles. I liked the 4 runner, but she did not want to get back into an suv. She also drove the Camry Solara convertable, which was very nice, but when you factor in the price (close to 30 and they dont dicker much), it just didnt make sense.
The new 04 TL has been redesigned, quite a nice pocket rocket with the 270 hp motor (std) and sport suspension. Interior is very nice, but it is not a smooth riding car (much more engine and road noise then the 03) and cost is up past 30g's. When she first drove the 03 TL, she thought there was too much road and engine noise, but after driving all the other vehicles, she kinda mellowed to it especially considering how nice the interior is and all the features that Acura puts in as standard (Leather, Power seats, seat heaters, 6cd changer, sunroof). The car should have the reliability of a Honda which gives me peace of mind since she drives around in it all day for her job and it is very well built and comfortable. Still has 39K of bumper to bumper left which beats the warranty std on Toyota, Honda and Nissan. And of course, now I get the s90 full time so I can park the pickup truck most of the week.
The best recommendation I can give anybody else looking is to do your research on the net (I like Edmunds the best) before you start looking around. Money is always an issue and knowing how much you want to pay and what a good price is gives you the advantage. We ran the gamut of sales types, and I was always more impressed by those that knew the vehicle (many times I knew more about the car than they did) and those that knew if you were researching on the net, you probably knew what you were going to pay for it. I was willing to buy new if we could not find something a year old with low miles, but luckilly we did. That has to save around 5k over new and that makes a big difference to me. All in all, I'm glad we found her a car and can get back to more normal activities.
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97 S90 with 175K miles still going strong
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