Greetings all! If you read the title of the thread and clicked anyway, then you know I just wrote a damn book! :laugh:
I had a 2011 Honda Accord Coupe V6 6MT, which was my 1st Honda and I loved it to death. It had crazy torque and power, the J35 is so damn buttery smooth, and I got it built for me and drove it home fresh off the truck. I loved that car to death, but real life slapped me in the face last month and I realized a new-car payment is food off the table. I was lucky and Carmax gave me $1700 above payoff (every stealership I dealt with would have left me upside down).
I really loved the way Hondas drive and shift, so I knew I wanted an Acura for a replacement. I didn't particularly want a TL because of the size and even worse gas mileage... plus any decent 2007/08 Type S wasn't going to be in my budget at all. I would have gone for an Infiniti G35 sedan, but anything newer than 2004 just cost too much, and 6-speeds are super hard to find. So the hunt began for a TSX!
All the candidates I found were in Northern Virginia, which was a good 3 hour drive, so I took a day off to wheel and deal. After a looong day of driving and trifling with car salesmen, I drove home October 1st in a black 2006 TSX non-nav 6MT.
This car was IMMACULATELY kept. I looked beneath for signs of harsh winters, and it looked great. I was sold the instant I popped the hood. I have seen cars with half the mileage with engine bays that didn't look as clean and new as this one with 99k. The Carfax was 3 or 4 pages long, not with problems, but OCD maintenance items. It was $11k + TTL, but I didn't haggle one bit. That was a fair price, not a great price, but not a bend-over price by a long shot. The meticulous care taken by the previous owner was easily worth thousands. Plus I banked the $1700 check from Carmax, so I wasn't out anything.
2 weeks later, and I couldn't be happier! I keep having to tell myself that it's a 6 year old car with 100k miles on it! It has such finesse... you can really tell it was made to sell in Europe, where they value handling and refinement.
Things I love: MPG. Quietness. Extra 200+ dollars in the bank every month. MUCH better leather quality than the Accord. Sad that the seats in a 2006 Euro Honda put the seats in a 2011 American Honda to absolute shame. Previous owner had the Acura 500CCA battery installed (I didn't even know it existed, after all the horror stories I've read from the 430CCA units), so I hope to not be left stranded this winter.
Things I hate: damn stereo can't be upgraded in any normal fashion. Right now I'm suffering with a DICE ipod adapter, but I'll eventually get the MP3 kit and put a deck in down below.
I had the documented 2006 seat squeak, but I found and read the TSB and fixed it myself with $4 worth of felt pad from Walamrt. The factory speakers sounded like ass, so I spent this weekend replacing the 6x9's, front door speakers, and tweeters. Much improved... will be even better when I get time to put my amps in.
I'm up past midnight typing this sh1t and I have to be at work in 6 hours. Can't wait to get more involved here!
THE END
I had a 2011 Honda Accord Coupe V6 6MT, which was my 1st Honda and I loved it to death. It had crazy torque and power, the J35 is so damn buttery smooth, and I got it built for me and drove it home fresh off the truck. I loved that car to death, but real life slapped me in the face last month and I realized a new-car payment is food off the table. I was lucky and Carmax gave me $1700 above payoff (every stealership I dealt with would have left me upside down).
I really loved the way Hondas drive and shift, so I knew I wanted an Acura for a replacement. I didn't particularly want a TL because of the size and even worse gas mileage... plus any decent 2007/08 Type S wasn't going to be in my budget at all. I would have gone for an Infiniti G35 sedan, but anything newer than 2004 just cost too much, and 6-speeds are super hard to find. So the hunt began for a TSX!
All the candidates I found were in Northern Virginia, which was a good 3 hour drive, so I took a day off to wheel and deal. After a looong day of driving and trifling with car salesmen, I drove home October 1st in a black 2006 TSX non-nav 6MT.
This car was IMMACULATELY kept. I looked beneath for signs of harsh winters, and it looked great. I was sold the instant I popped the hood. I have seen cars with half the mileage with engine bays that didn't look as clean and new as this one with 99k. The Carfax was 3 or 4 pages long, not with problems, but OCD maintenance items. It was $11k + TTL, but I didn't haggle one bit. That was a fair price, not a great price, but not a bend-over price by a long shot. The meticulous care taken by the previous owner was easily worth thousands. Plus I banked the $1700 check from Carmax, so I wasn't out anything.
2 weeks later, and I couldn't be happier! I keep having to tell myself that it's a 6 year old car with 100k miles on it! It has such finesse... you can really tell it was made to sell in Europe, where they value handling and refinement.
Things I love: MPG. Quietness. Extra 200+ dollars in the bank every month. MUCH better leather quality than the Accord. Sad that the seats in a 2006 Euro Honda put the seats in a 2011 American Honda to absolute shame. Previous owner had the Acura 500CCA battery installed (I didn't even know it existed, after all the horror stories I've read from the 430CCA units), so I hope to not be left stranded this winter.
Things I hate: damn stereo can't be upgraded in any normal fashion. Right now I'm suffering with a DICE ipod adapter, but I'll eventually get the MP3 kit and put a deck in down below.
I had the documented 2006 seat squeak, but I found and read the TSB and fixed it myself with $4 worth of felt pad from Walamrt. The factory speakers sounded like ass, so I spent this weekend replacing the 6x9's, front door speakers, and tweeters. Much improved... will be even better when I get time to put my amps in.
I'm up past midnight typing this sh1t and I have to be at work in 6 hours. Can't wait to get more involved here!
THE END