New Car Shopping

Well now that I have new tires on my car it must be time to trade it in. I know that sounds really stupid and it truly is, but unfortunately for some reason after I put new tires on my car I am bitten by the new car bug. It has happened before.

Yesterday I went out with the intention of just taking a look at a few new cars as an educational exercise. I wanted to look at the Acura RL, Acura TL and Toyota Avalon. I currently own an Acura RL and have been extremely happy with it. Acura had held the price of the RL constant through nine model years. They changed the body style for the 2005 model year and raised the price. The RL is a big car, and I thought the TL or the Avalon might be better suited to my needs and not put such a big dent in my pocketbook.

I went to Classic Acura and told the salesman I just wanted to learn about the new cars and not discuss cost on my first visit. He was a crafty soul and guided me to the Acura RL’s before looking at the TL’s. I landed in the cockpit of a techie’s delight. I cannot begin to describe the goodies that are loaded into that car. It has a voice activated system that really works. It responded flawlessly to every voice command that I gave it. I had it map a route to Lebanon Road and FM 423 in Frisco, Texas, where the new Del Webb community is being built. All I had to do was choose the intersection, enter Leb, it came up with suggestions that included Lebanon Road at the top of the list. Then I entered FM and it suggested FM 423. When I selected O.K., it calculated the route from the Acura dealership to the destination.

It has Onstar, XM radio, Bose speakers. It has a special compartment to hold a Bluetooth enabled cell phone with a way to thread a cable through out of sight so the phone can charge. The Bluetooth allows the phone to be used through the car’s speakers. The car does not have a cigarette lighter nor does it have ashtrays. There is a power plug. Ashtrays and the lighter are a very high-price optional accessory. I hate smoking and found that very amusing.

I then took the car for a short test drive. It rode and handled in a manner very similar to my car. The steering wheel is the same size and felt the same as my car. Most of the controls and general layout are the same as my car so I felt very comfortable driving it. However, there are so many new gizmos that it was mind boggling. There is a power screen on the rear window that can be raised with the touch of a button if the sun is shinning in on the display screen. There are manual screens for the rear side windows. The rearview mirror tints to a darker shade when it senses bright head lights. The head supports for the rear seat can be lowered by the driver with a button touch when there are no rear seat passengers.

Classic Acura has only received one 2006 RL. It has two new options that the 2005 model did not have. It has a collision avoidance system. The car shoots a radar beam out through the Acura logo on the front of the car. If it senses that it is getting too close to the car in front, it starts braking automatically. Lexus and Mercedes have had this system for a few years, but it is new to Acura. The second new option is that it has run flat tires and special wheels. They say you can run for 120 miles on a flat tire. The car does not have a spare tire and has a slightly larger trunk. The tires are made by Michelin. I asked if the tires are more expensive when you have to replace them. They said a little and also said you could expect to get the usual 40,000 miles from them.

I then said I wanted to see the available colors. I found a color I liked. They had two, 2005 models in that color with taupe leather interior like my car. I have always heard that you can get a good deal at the end of the model year. I looked at the Texas safety inspection stickers on the cars and saw that both cars had July dates on the stickers. Alarm bells went off in my head. July was five months ago. That is a long time for cars to be sitting around. An even bigger concern is that if the cars had been here since July they went through Hurricane Rita. At first the salesman tried to tell me that they had got the cars through swaps with other dealers. That was not true because the window sticker clearly showed Classic Acura in Beaumont as the destination. Then the salesman told me that before the hurricane all of their inventory was moved to the St. Elizabeth Hospital parking garage, and none of the cars were damaged. He said they were required by law to reveal any damage. They had several other 2005 models that had been delivered after the storm, but all were in dark colors that do not appeal to me.

I then asked if he could tell me what 2006 models were in route to them with the collision avoidance system and run flat wheels. He looked at a printout that showed only three 2006 models destined for them. They were all in the dark colors and did not have the new technology package. Another salesman joined the discussion and told me that only ten percent of the 2006 RL’s would have the technology package. I then looked at the TL’s. The Acura TL is a very nice car with a much lower sticker price, but it is not an RL.

They gave me a brochure on the RL’s, and I went home. I did not go to a Toyota dealer. I have found the car I want, but I think the wise thing to do is to wait a few months until Classic Acura has received more 2006 models. It would probably be better to wait and see if I actually go through with the move to Frisco Lakes and buy from a nearby dealer; but on the other hand, it would be nice to have a safe new car to use for several road trips to Dallas; and the navigation system would definitely be useful. I think Classic Acura’s business is depressed because of the hurricane. People in this area have concerns other than buying fancy luxury cars.