After some research, I decided that I’d like to buy a 2009 Acura RL. I’d prefer one that is Acura-certified. I’m also looking for one that has less than 40,000 miles on it.
I’ve searched numerous websites, including AutoTrader and cars.com and e-Bay. It seems to me that dealers have huge amounts of inventory of TL’s and MDX’s, but very few RL’s. Is there a reason for this?
Is there anything about the RL that I should be aware of? I mostly drive alone, except when my kids are with me. So I guess I’d like to make sure there’s ample room so that they’re comfortable in the back seat.
Any thoughts or advice will be greatly appreciated.
Dealers don’t have them used because they sold very few of them new. They are objectively pretty nice cars with decent reliability, but sort of mis-positioned in the market place and poorly marketed/priced. They were significantly cheaper than the Germans but lacked any kind of sporting pretension.
As a used vehicle I’d say it’s a good choice if you can find one. They came from the factory pretty much fully loaded - I think the only option was a tech package with the nav and radar cruise control or something like that, but the problem with used cars like this is that since they didn’t sell very many new, you might have a tough time finding a good used one.
After doing some more research, it seems like there are other used, certified luxury sedans also available in the $30,000 price range. I saw some BMW’s that looked nice.
So I’d love to also hear other car recommendations as well. I’ve searched the web, and it seems you can find the whole spectrum of opinions on every car. The SDMB members are generally more objective on opinion questions like mine.
Where do you live? I think the RL might be primarily a Canadian market car, but I’m not entirely certain about that. The TL is Acura’s flagship car in the US. I would highly recommend the TL, but I’m too unfamiliar with the RL to offer a comparison.
I live in New Jersey. I believe the RL is supposed to be the flagship car, as opposed to the TL. I think Throatwarbler Mangrove’s point was that they didn’t sell enough of them. I suppose this might be due to not having enough differentiation versus the TL relative to the higher price.
You want a comfy, large-ish car for $30k. I assume you want at least mediocre reliability so I shall not discuss Audis or Jaguars for now.
2010+ Buick Lacrosse
Pros: Well priced, nice interior, people seem to like how they look. I personally don’t but I don’t like FWD cars with large overhangs in general. This car particularly has been generally regarded as the pick of the litter in this segment. The chassis is brand new and the crash safety is absolutely top notch. Fuel economy is pretty good too. Often bought and driven by old people who take care of their cars and don’t beat them to death. Depending on the year you could even have one with a 4 cylinder engine, if you like fuel economy a lot.
Cons: No sporting pretentions. The first year model had some minor electrical glitches, nothing serious.
08-09 BMW 5 series
Pros: They sell in huge numbers so it should be easy to find used. Can get a manual transmission if you like that sort of thing. Car is lighter than most others due to heavy use of aluminum in the body and has the most sporting pretentions. Reliability is OK as long as you stick to the base model 525i/528i which is what you are getting for this price point. Of all the German cars BMW is probably the best for reliability but they’re not Toyota/Honda by a long shot. Pretty good fuel economy.
Cons: The base 230hp engine isn’t very powerful compared to others. Reliability will still probably be iffy compared to non-German cars. The 08-09 are the tail-end of a body style that debuted in 2003 and this shows in crash testing - side impact scores are relatively poor. I think they’re ugly.
09+ Acura TL
Pros: It’s basically a Honda Accord. Mostly reliable, drives great, might ride a bit firm. Can be had with a manual. These were pretty decent sellers as you have found out so you’ve got lots of choice.
Cons: It’s basically a Honda Accord. Styling of the 09+ body style is…polarizing. I think they look OK. 09+ Infiniti M35
Pros: Like a Japanese 5 series. Pretty reliable. Powerful engine.
Cons: People seem to dislike the interior. Poor fuel economy. Like the Acura RL not a very big seller so it might be hard to find on the used market.
08+ Lexus ES350
Don’t bother. It’s basically a Toyota Camry and while there’s nothing wrong with that, the resale value for these is ludicrously high. You can get a 5 series for about the same price and should. There’s nothing particularly good about it either. The Chassis dates back to 2006 and is due to be replaced. It’s pretty nice looking though.
08+ Lexus GS350
Pros: Looks pretty nice inside and out. Reliability is good AFAIK (there’s not really much info out there on this, for some reason).
Cons: Probably at the upper end of your price point. Small trunk, the entire car is kind of small compared to the TL or Buick.
09+ Hyundai Genesis
Pros: Drives well, well equipped.
Cons: Style is rather non-descript. Mediocre reliability (from the limited info available). Also if you buy used, you don’t get Hyundai’s extra long warranty, instead it reverts back to a more regular 4 year/60k mile warranty ( I forget the exact number). 2009 was the first model year I think and they are also not big sellers, so like some of the others, actually finding one might be tough.
09+ Lincoln MKS
Pros: Basically a Ford Taurus, which means it’s quite large and roomy, with good trunk space, and excellent crash safety ratings probably due to its Volvo underpinnings. Depending on year you can also get it with Ford SYNC, which I understand is the state of the art in telephone integration. Very reasonably priced on the used market.
Cons: Mediocre reliability. No sporting pretentions. Strange looking.
I think for $30k you could just get into a 2011 Chrysler 300, which would be my choice, although you would be dealing with a “new” car instead of a used one (i.e. it won’t be as well equipped as the 08-09s you’ll find used).
Thanks. One thing I didn’t mention is that during the school year, I make monthly trips between NJ and Toronto, to visit my kids. The weather can often be brutal, and my kids take the round trip with me during Christmas and spring break. Since the RL comes standard with All Wheel Drive, I chose it first.
Your list is very helpful. Aside from the Acura TL, The only models I like in terms of aesthetics are the BMW 5 series and the Lexus GS. Since the Lexus is smaller and generally more expensive, I think my choices are the GL, a souped-up TL or the BMW.
I wouldn’t say a TL is basically an Accord. The Type S is over 300 horsepower. The suspension is stiffer for a more sporty feel in the TL and the interior is much more luxurious.
As for the body style, I think the TL looks fantastic from the side. I’m not crazy about that grille, though. But, if one could be had for a reasonable price, it would be my choice for a luxury car.
I have found the BMW X5 to be uncomfortable for long rides. It’s otherwise great. I know that’s an SUV, but I haven’t driven a BMW sedan in a long time.
Buick is definitely making some nice cars now a days. I like the look of the new Regal Turbo, but haven’t driven one. It is a 4cyl. turbo, so may not meet the requirements of the OP.
OK, so I’ve located a Used, non-Certified '09 RL that I’m thinking about buying. It just came off a lease and has 34.5k miles on it. I test drove it and it seems to run fine. It’s the only '09 Acura RL at a Honda dealership. Carfax is clean, although there are no maintenance records listed (which I have seen for other leased RL’s).
Th original warranty still has 10 months and 15k miles on it. Plus there are longer warranties for drivetrain, emissions, and corrosion.
I guess I’m a bit concerned on why it’s at a Honda, and not Acura, dealership. Should I be concerned about this, or anything else?
Ideally the way it works is that when a car comes back from a lease, the (Acura) dealership that originated the lease would have first dibs on it for their CPO inventory if they thought it was a good bet, and if they didn’t they would send it off to the auctions. So if it was for a more common model like a TL or MDX I might prefer to get a lease return from an Acura dealer. For an RL? Eh, an Acura dealer might not want it even if there’s nothing wrong with it - it’s a large luxury car that isn’t hugely popular or a fast seller, there are probably easier ways to make money.
If you’ve test driven the other choicesand are set on the RL, and this particular one generally checks out i.e. no puddles of leaking fluids or obvious accident repairs, it’s probably fine.
Thanks, I like that it’s not very common on the road, combined with the AWD and reliability/ longevity of a Honda engine. Plus, it has a great tech package.