Well I just purchased my sixth new car in 25 years. However it was the fifteenth that I have ever purchased and the experience ranks about a 6 of 10.
It is the EX-L V-6 w/Nav Sedan for the wife. It's green. She traded a 2000 Lexus GS300 w/130K.
I went to a dealer around the corner and spent all afternoon making a deal and being told that he could get one in the color and trim level I wanted. Well, not so much. None to trade to another dealer with and none coming in until the end of December.
After calling 4 dealers, I found this one. Sales experience was great. No markup or tricks. Easy.
It goes down hill from there.
A week later we still don't have the backup camera. I picked up the car yesterday after getting the protection package put on and some lackey had reprogrammed every preset on the radio. Now, those of you who have one know that it is no small task to go through the XM programming pamphlet and find all the stations that You would like to listen too. So you can imagine the frustration I felt when I got in my vehicle, that the dealer had for two days, to find that every preset had been set to an Adult, Urban, or Rock station. Even the FM presets! No telling now loud they had it either.
Sales manager tried to explain that the technicians had to pull the ground on the battery in order to install the Interior Illumination accessory. I called his bluff.
"Lets go talk to the tech", I said. "OK", and off he went. Guess what? Tech says he did not pull the ground on the battery. Excuses start flying. Eventually they apologized. That is all I really wanted; and that they would take care of it so that it doesn't happen again.

I miss the Lexus service already!

How was your experience?

In general, driving a Honda is great....dealer interaction, whether buying or repairing, typically not so great....IMHO

Luckily I haven't had to deal with Honda service yet. Acura's however has been stellar.

Honda has a service dept? Only kidding, anything has usually been done quickly and well.

I have an Acura and have had them in the past before buying my Honda. Their service department has been great.

I have my Accord routine maintenance done there as well. Besides, they give me a loaner whenever I get my car serviced and it's fun to flog an Acura for a day

:banana:

service is allot better than on my VW or Ford i had. I still don't use the dealer much though, i like doing the work myself.:thmsup:

I have an Acura and have had them in the past before buying my Honda. Their service department has been great.

I have my Accord routine maintenance done there as well. Besides, they give me a loaner whenever I get my car serviced and it's fun to flog an Acura for a day

:banana:

Did you get a deal on the TL rims?? :lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

Nope

Bought them on the Acura TL forum.

http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/

Lots of interesting stuff on there for sale

Well I just purchased my sixth new car in 25 years. However it was the fifteenth that I have ever purchased and the experience ranks about a 6 of 10.
It is the EX-L V-6 w/Nav Sedan for the wife. It's green. She traded a 2000 Lexus GS300 w/130K.
I went to a dealer around the corner and spent all afternoon making a deal and being told that he could get one in the color and trim level I wanted. Well, not so much. None to trade to another dealer with and none coming in until the end of December.
After calling 4 dealers, I found this one. Sales experience was great. No markup or tricks. Easy.
It goes down hill from there.
A week later we still don't have the backup camera. I picked up the car yesterday after getting the protection package put on and some lackey had reprogrammed every preset on the radio. Now, those of you who have one know that it is no small task to go through the XM programming pamphlet and find all the stations that You would like to listen too. So you can imagine the frustration I felt when I got in my vehicle, that the dealer had for two days, to find that every preset had been set to an Adult, Urban, or Rock station. Even the FM presets! No telling now loud they had it either.
Sales manager tried to explain that the technicians had to pull the ground on the battery in order to install the Interior Illumination accessory. I called his bluff.
"Lets go talk to the tech", I said. "OK", and off he went. Guess what? Tech says he did not pull the ground on the battery. Excuses start flying. Eventually they apologized. That is all I really wanted; and that they would take care of it so that it doesn't happen again.

I miss the Lexus service already!

How was your experience?


Ohh how was the interior illumination?!? I'm having that installed right now as I'm typing this. I'm going to pick up my car in about 40 minutes. I'm a little nervous about this because the dealer said that they have never installed the kit before, and this is their first time. I really wouldn't mind my radio being reprogrammed or what not, as I haven't really messed with the presets.

But my 08 Accord buying experiences have been pretty negative. One dealership forced me out of buying the car because I did not want to finance through them; another lied a few times about when the car was coming; and finally the the dealership I bought the car from seems pretty shady. I don't know what it is up, but something is fishy. hah.

What's funny to me about this post (since this is my first import) is how folks always bash GM/Ford/Chrysler for poor dealer sales/service and always bring up how marvelous folks are treated at "fill-in-the-blank" import dealerships.

The grass is always greener I suspect and if the truth be told, all manufacture's and dealers have their good and bad moments. It's not as black and white as some folks will lead you to believe.

Ohh how was the interior illumination?!? I'm having that installed right now as I'm typing this. I'm going to pick up my car in about 40 minutes. I'm a little nervous about this because the dealer said that they have never installed the kit before, and this is their first time. I really wouldn't mind my radio being reprogrammed or what not, as I haven't really messed with the presets.

But my 08 Accord buying experiences have been pretty negative. One dealership forced me out of buying the car because I did not want to finance through them; another lied a few times about when the car was coming; and finally the the dealership I bought the car from seems pretty shady. I don't know what it is up, but something is fishy. hah.

Very blue in color. You won't get any documentation on it. It is on if the parking lights or headlights are on. You can turn them off completely with the switch they add next to the Vehicle Stability switch.

What's funny to me about this post (since this is my first import) is how folks always bash GM/Ford/Chrysler for poor dealer sales/service and always bring up how marvelous folks are treated at "fill-in-the-blank" import dealerships.

The grass is always greener I suspect and if the truth be told, all manufacture's and dealers have their good and bad moments. It's not as black and white as some folks will lead you to believe.

It really is dealer dependent. You won't get the same service from every McDonalds you walk into either. But, in general, customer service (how you get treated vice the quality of repairs) tends to be better the higher the price point of your "Model" of vehicle. Example. You will generally be treated better by the dealers service department if you have the cheapest Porsche Boxster than you would a Chevy Corvette. There are examples that will make this statement false. Just my observation.

Bbrowncods,

How do you like '08 V6 EX-L sedan w/ navi in terms of:

- VCM transparency (seamlessness)?
- NAVI 100% voice activated? (eg. say to NAVI: go 1234 First st, san jose... and NAVI will understand your instruction).
- Transmission shifting up & down seamlessly?
- Road. wind noise
- Acceleration, pasing, merging on freeways?
- MPG
- Handling sharp curves, narrow roads
- VSA (Vehicle stability Assistance)

I am going buy same trim line. Enjoy . Merry Xmas & Happy New Year to you and your family. Thanks.

Bbrowncods,

How do you like '08 V6 EX-L sedan w/ navi in terms of:

- VCM transparency (seamlessness)?I can tell it is happening because I am aware of the feature and am looking for signs that it is occurring, but it is seamless and you may not even notice it if you didn't know it was there. My wife has no clue and can't feel it.
- NAVI 100% voice activated? (eg. say to NAVI: go 1234 First st, san jose... and NAVI will understand your instruction)This will take some getting used to. Voice commands are not always understood by the system usually because I said it wrong. The Navi will sometimes interpret, and execute the command incorrectly. Again, usually my fault by saying a wrong command. It is getting better as I learn the correct command and speak clearly and with pronunciation. I will say that at this point I really like the hand operated controls and can work those more precisely and quickly..
- Transmission shifting up & down seamlessly?No issues. I love the smoothness and the shift points are perfect. I came from driving a Lexus GS and that car was incredible. This is at least as good.
- Road. wind noiseNot quite as refined as the GS, but very good . No complaints on noise. ANC might be helping in this area.
- Acceleration, passing, merging on freeways?Stand by! The V-6 has incredible power. Put it in D3 and GO!
- MPGHaven't gone a full tank yet. But the computer has been keeping the AVG and it is at 19 MPG and increasing (This is since being built as I haven't reset it, and it has the same mileage as the odometer.)
- Handling sharp curves, narrow roadsVery fun to drive. Seats hold you in place and you feel sure and in control. If I didn't know better and someone told me I was driving a sedan, I would say they were lying!
- VSA (Vehicle stability Assistance)I am not sure you would feel this unless it got loose from you, like in ice, gravel, or trying to spin the tires. I am confident it would do its job.

I am going buy same trim line. Enjoy . Merry Xmas & Happy New Year to you and your family. Thanks.
Overall I have no complaints other than I wish the door trim was softer. I rest my arm on the door window sill when driving.
Merry Christmas to you also!!:thmsup: