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Sedans Luxury Performance Sedans
10007 messages, Last post on Dec 01, 2009 at 7:40 AM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: justbass (Oct 22, 2007 9:04 am) ...my wife and I live in Taxachusetts  I am getting the feeling that cars are being built as disposables these days. I don't know what happened to Lexus's reliability other than they realized they make a lot more money servicing them than selling them. |
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Replying to: og_oggilby (Oct 22, 2007 9:49 am) Also the GS hybrid was rated as the most reliable car of all in this group! Go figure! The RL was also rated very high in reliability. Dealerships can vary widely by city but my experience has been that Lexus is tops with Acura not far behind. Infinity I would have to rate poor. All new cars are a bad investment. A good late model CPO from Lexus would be better. Maybe the LS? You save a ton on depreciation, get virtually a new car warranty and they still treat you like a king. 
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Replying to: og_oggilby (Oct 22, 2007 9:49 am)
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Replying to: houdini1 (Oct 22, 2007 1:49 pm) Out of curiosity, do you have any personal experience with Infiniti (not Infinity)?
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Replying to: carnaught (Oct 22, 2007 3:32 pm) As far as dealers, yes, I have visited the Infiniti store here a few times while shopping and I always seem to get someone who knows very little about the cars, etc. or someone who just insists that you buy the car NOW and puts on the hard sell. Remember that this is just my experience and things like this are very subjective. |
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Replying to: og_oggilby (Oct 22, 2007 6:28 am) The RL is a very flexible vehicle. You can drive it smoothly for most driving and you can toss it in the twisties with the SHAWD. The grip is amazing, never a tire squeal. The car has a smoothness and relaxed feeling that many who desire performance do not appreciate. I would call the RL a sporty touring lux-tech sedan. It is stable, safe, solid, wonderfully built, and confident when I want to get on it. Only you can make your decision. The RL has grown on me in the last year that I am more excited driving it now than I was when I traded my 05TL for it. The TL was edgey, but not refined and US assembly was not on par with the RL. I wanted a more sophisticated, refined ride. If you require the best of any one thing, the RL may not suit your needs as it is simply great at many things. And yes, it is a low seller, and underappreciated, but you should get what you want. I, personally have no less enjoyment of this car because it does not meet the standards of others or the masses (most of who paid much more for a not much more scoot. I only chimed in to offer my opinion as we shared similar attributes for a new car (from your original post). Many here do not appreciate the RL, which is fine (the didn't write the check), but don't decide for what others want, get what you want. There are enough sour grapes around here to open a vineyard. Whatever you get, I hope it pleases you. |
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Replying to: og_oggilby (Oct 21, 2007 8:37 am) If it is a BMW, you can even "buy" the required maintenance from BMW that will extend the 50,000 maintenace. You will have yourself a vehicle that will be somewhat lower in initial cost and will have ALL costs for perhaps 100,000 be -- to you, out of pocket, that is -- $0. This "bought and paid for" insurance does not increase the reliability nor decrease the desirability of such a car. This approach simply mitigates your monetary expenses. Our BMW and Audi experience would tend to trak with your expectations: these cars (and I am certain not ONLY these cars) are breathtakingly expensive to maintain and repair outside of the mfgr's programs. But, with all due respect to the reputation of some of the other cars (those, perhaps from Japan), they too are expensive to maintain and repair -- despite some anecdotal evidence. CR currently has downgraded the Lexus G's, in fact. Even the Audi A6 retains a "recommended" status, as if that means much (CR is great at picking dishwashers however.) The point is, the LPS class of cars discussed and disected daily here are probably more alike than they are different. Each brings personality traits to the party -- and you have to decide which ones suit you best. The Lexus, TO ME, is the one I would pay the least amount for -- for it is too serene in the performance department. The Infiniti is the Japanese BMW and the Acura is the Japanese Audi (sorta, and only sorta since it is, fundamentally a FWD car, the FWD bias is so strong, whereas the Audi, even at present is a 50-50 biased ride.) The Cadillac, with that new V6 DI is, presently, heavily discounted and already comes with a 100,000 powertrain warranty -- and the Acura, as noted, has received very favorable reviews despite lackluster sales (it looks like a plump Accord to many of us.) Perhaps the Cadillac is worth a harder look, for value alone -- and it can be equipped with both technology/performance bits and AWD. Perhaps, despite its Accord leanings, the Acura RL also is worthy of your consideration for the value prop alone. If money were not in one's way, it is hard to resist the 535x. But for performance, luxury and fun an A6 4.2 SLine if one can be found, would be a great ride -- and about 15 minutes per year can also be a great value. Bang for the buck -- ???? Well, again the new CTS 3.6DI AWD with the FE2 suspension and the lux package is "almost a BMW 5 series" -- at least if you evaluate cars largely by their wheelbase and width. |
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Replying to: og_oggilby (Oct 21, 2007 8:37 am) 
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Replying to: markcincinnati (Oct 22, 2007 5:33 pm) I look forward to the decision you make for yourself....It`s been a long time...Although I enjoy my Audi, the wife`s bmw 535xi would be my choice for a really long term ownership experience....The interior is not so great, but also not terrable...There is a longevity with them that I think Mr. og would benefit from....I would also doubt that the car would break after a lot of miles, unless abused and neglected.....If you or I had to choose a car for (say ten years) and live where it snows alot, there is no doubt in my mind that the bmw would still be a fun car to get into every day....The only real downside would possibly be the taxes he would pay( I have no idea)....Sounded to me like he wanted to buy a new car.... I have always respected your opinion, so I am sure Mr.og will benefit from your thoughts Tony |
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Replying to: vavavavolvo (Oct 22, 2007 6:46 am) The problem is a 16 year old Legend and a new RL are very different cars. Old Legends, properly maintained, were easily as reliable as an LS400. Even the first generation RL was basically bulletproof. A real snoozebox bore-machine, but certainly reliable. The new one however, is not. Ratings for the '05s and '06s were mediocre at best, no better than BMW or Audi. To Acura's credit, they have improved to above average this year, but the Acura way used to be perfection from day one, not "we'll try to have all of the problems fixed by model year number 3." One of the mags, I believe it may have been C&D, had a long term tester RL that had eight unscheduled dealer visits for electrical problems in a period of a few months. In early Acura history, that kind of thing would be unheard of. Not anymore. Ever since that transmission disaster with the TL and CL, Acura quality has gone way down hill. I would bet that after year 10, let alone 17, the RL's electrical systems would require repairs costing $3K+ |
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