I traded in my '04 STi for a '04 Acura TL.

[lstepnio]

I'm no longer a Impreza owner but we still have the '04 Forester to keep us in the Subaru family. I traded in the STi for a brand new '04 Acura TL last week. I'm going to miss the STi but the TL is a nice car in diffrent way.

[Zate]

wow.. any particular reason why? .. just curiouos is all to hear of your experience with the STi..

[TampaWRX]

What did they give you for the STi, considering the damage, etc? I'm assuming it showed up when they ran your VIN? A TL...hmmm...enjoy the car. :D

[lstepnio]

I traded the STi for two primary reasons. The first reason being the car was in an accident and I'm just way too anal to be happy with something less than perfect. I didn't really expect to be happy with the repairs in the first place but when I found that they didn't tighten the bolts on the seatbelts I was pretty much decided I didn't want the car as a daily driver. The second reason is that we just had a little baby boy and the STi even with the four doors wasn't the practicle supercar it was before the baby arrived.

I was easily able to get $24,500 for the trade + the tax saving on the trade = $25,000-25,500. I did disclose and put in writing that the vehicle was in accident (yes/no trade-in questionare) but I was verbally vauge on the details as the dealership didn't at all seem intrested in the details. I didn't even notice them look let alone inspect the vehicle. I certainly wasn't going to complain as I was as honest as the law requires so I'm not loosing any sleep over the transaction. I did also get a pretty good deal on the TL.

I also looked at the G35 sedan which had a stronger engine compared to TL and had some impressive handling. I honestly just couldn't get over the build quality on the G35 and overall cheapness of the interior. I wanted to like the G35 and if I didn't just go from the STi the engine and handling might of been enough to blind me from the build quality and cheapness.

I think I'm going to be happy with the TL for a while and my wife certainly loves the car compared to my STi. The build quality, materials and features on the TL really can't be beat for the price from what I looked at. The car has all sorts of neat gimmicky features including bluetooth, DVD-A (5.1 surround), XM, HIDs, memory seats and the list goes on. The handling on the TL is about what you expect from a larger FWD platform which is nothing to write home about. The TL 3.2l VTEC engine is butter smooth with good power and the attached 6MT is wondeful. The 6MT adds Brembo brakes and a LSD.

I'm still going to miss my STI.

[Zate]

hehe..if they didnt look at it too closely.. we shoulda put my 1.8/auto and diffs in it.. LOL..

[mofugga]

buy it from crown acura?

[plas]

Congrats, I'm surprised you bought an Acura, too. I figured you for a Legacy guy, like Opie...

I've had my TSX for a couple months now, and agree the Acura build quality is great.

[Chris LS]

Originally posted by lstepnio
The car has all sorts of neat gimmicky features including bluetooth, DVD-A (5.1 surround), XM, HIDs, memory seats and the list goes on.

Thats nice that the car actually has bluetooth, do you have to pay for that? Anyways, congrats on the purchase.

[lstepnio]

Originally posted by plas
Congrats, I'm surprised you bought an Acura, too. I figured you for a Legacy guy, like Opie...

I've had my TSX for a couple months now, and agree the Acura build quality is great.

The original plan was actually to purchase a Legacy GT. I test drove the Legacy and I was suprised on how disapointed I found myself with the handling. The engine is great in the Legacy GT but really nothing else on the car jumped out at me as the "buy me now!". I just found the TL to be a better value and a overall much better car compared to the Legacy GT despite FWD vs AWD. I just don't see the real advantage of AWD in a non-performance vehicle in warmer climates.

The poor side impact rating and questionable side-curtain airbags on the Legacy didn't help things for Subaru either.

I've owned a '02 RSX(wife) and a '00 V6 Accord Coupe so I had no hesitations purchasing another Honda product.

[lstepnio]

Originally posted by Chris LS
Thats nice that the car actually has bluetooth, do you have to pay for that? Anyways, congrats on the purchase.

You just need a cellphone that is bluetooth enabled. There aren't any additional fees associated with using bluetooth aside from most of the newer bluetooth phones being a bit on the expensive side.