Deciding: 04 Max vs 04 Acura TL

Jeff wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

IMO, I'd lean more towars the Honda.

1. The '04 Max is a "new" car - It is the first on a new plaform and the first to be build in a new assembly plant here in the US. It is bound to have first year glitches. I'm suprised they even call it the Maxima.

1. I'm not sure I'm correct, but I think the TL is essentialy a rebrand of the Legend. Since Honda has been making the Legend/TL for many years, it is definatly not, "new" in the sense of the '04 Maxima.

2. At that price point, you may want to look into the Nissan/Infiniti G35 or Q45 sedan. You would definately get more preferential treatement thant a Maxima owner would. (That's comparing to a Max not comparing to an Acura/Honda.)

1. Um, I forget what four was.

2. You're essentially renting the car, so after your rental/lease contract is up, you can turn it in. I doubt either car will have serious tranny issues within two years. (Isn't that the usual lease term?)

I hope that helps. I own a '98 Maxima (my third nissan) and have almost zero problems with it. (Except for that fact that it has an entirely new rear end due to some moron in a toyota truck.) My friend and co-worker next to me has a '89 Integra, which also has almost zero problems.

AFAIK, the only good VW's are the '60's and '70's models, like my friends's '73 Superbeetle.

HTH

I'd personally go with a TL-S over a sixth generation Maxima if you need FWD. But a RWD or AWD G35 is pretty sweet. :-)

Jeff wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I have a 1996 Max and rented a 2004 for a week while the 1996 was in the shop. The 2004 has too many little buttons on the dash. It drives you nuts changing stations or the computer display. Acura does a far better job with this stuff. My wife's MDX makes sense. The torque steer in the 2004 is unholy and the rear window is too small to see out of. I could not wait to get back into my 1996. Nissan missed the mark on this car, unfortunately. I wanted to like the car, I really did, but I would recommend the TL over the Maxima. But, if I had my choice it would be a G35.

The Acura RL is the successor to the Legend, not the TL. The TL was a very, very bland car when it came out in the mid-90's. The second gen got some personality, and the '04 has the biggest dose of all. Now the word is that Acura's own designers think that they crossed the line, and made the car too much about performance.

No trunk room in the TL. Sit in the back seat and your knees will try to touch your chin. The car is ugly from the back, and cheap looking from the side. It is much less attractive on the open road than in the showroom for some reason. But, it's still good-looking from the front. Price what a new set of tires will cost you for a TL, it is steep. Mechanically I would trust a TL at least as much as the new Maxima, however. My solution would be to try to scrounge up an '03 TL if you want an Acura.

The Max is ugly in its own way. And looks smaller than it really is, which usually isn't considered a good thing. The interior is goofy looking.

I guess this explains why I haven't bought either of these, although I approached both with high hopes.

I liked the look of the Solara, except the seat backs are completely unsupportive. And the gas pedal is too far to the left. (You'd think it was rear wheel drive with a transmission hump causing this.)

How about a nice ES330? Aside from a bulbous-eyed fish looking front, it is a very nice car.

G35? The transmission doesn't know how to act when you gently come off the throttle after punching it; the engine jerks you around and makes absurd noises. And the car is long enough but too narrow for my taste.

And that's what it's all about, in the end.

There is nothing out there that makes me want to part with $30K. So I hope my fellow drivers won't total my I30t anytime soon.

JM

Wow I hear you with all these criticisms, I even tried a used Lincoln LS V-8, rode way too harsh, tranny did weird stuff with sudden gas-pedal letoff. Rocket on rails tho. I'm keeping the old box for now. Looked at a Camry SE with new 3.3L V-6 and 5-speed auto., but never got to drive it 'cause it sold. Maybe in black, full options. Too bad so ugly, but black should hide some of that.

snipped-for-privacy@attglobal.net (JM) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

Oh, thanks, I remembered one of them was the rebranded car.

I kind of feel the same way. After my wife's accident in '02 I really wanted to dump our '98 for a new car. I actually am very happy with it these days and can't see why I'd want to drop many thousands on something that may or may not suit my tastes.

There is about a $30k difference in price between a G35 and a Q45 ($31k vs. $62k).

I have a 2000 TL and a '97 I30t (derived from Maxima SE). The TL is solid and feels heavy, but is very comfortable to drive. The "t" is the ride of choice then looking for something fun to drive. Neither have had any serious problems, though there have been more repairs earlier in life to the Acura than to the Nissan.

I think you have to drive them both and see what you like. Since you are leasing, you should be aware that Nissans generally have lower resale values than Acuras. Make sure the terms of the lease account for that so you don't get stuck at the end.

The joke was, RL = Renamed Legend!

JM

The joke was, RL = Renamed Legend!

JM

I'm in the exact same position and even though the Max has a few more bells and whistles, I have decided on the TL because:

1. I had a 87 Accord that ran great with only oil changes and spark plug wire changes for the last 150k of it's 250k miles. It had been rear ended with about 240k miles and the auto body shop said keep the insurance money and drive it until it dies, which I did.

1. The Max interior feels cheap, and what were they thinking with the motorcycle gauges, the plastic fake aluminum wall, and pumpkin dash lighting scheme. The TL in contrast, has that waaay cool blue that greets you when entering. Call me geeky, vain or whatever, but I like that a lot.

2. I can't see buying a car whose looks have to grow on me. I kind of like the Maxima and could use the room, but sometimes I see one and it looks like the trunk slants down towards the rear window. I agree with the other poster in that the back of the TL isn't all that great, but I'll take it over that goofy looking Max grille any day.

1. Resale value.

2. My wife and I went to a dealership here and they sold both cars. (Norris Acura West and Norris Nissan). We test drove both and the Maxima engine had a gritty feel to it. You can feel the vibration in the steering wheel when accelerating. I felt it when I drove my friends '04 Max so I know it's there. I'm surprized I haven't heard it mentioned anywhere.

1. My wife preferred the Maxima. Reason alone.

On the Maxima's side, I do like the split fold down rear seats, power tilt/telescope wheel w/heat, loud sound system, sunroof control, roomy interior, 18" wheels and, yes, the looks have grown on me (except for that ugly grille that looks just like the Sentra).

Just my $0.02 Nu