For quite some time, my parents had been starting to think about a new midsize lux sedan. Their 2000 Acura RL has been great; it's simply time for a new vehicle, as this is the longest they have ever kept a vehicle.

Last week I had been anxiously awaiting the debut of the 2009 Acura RL. Having been a fan of the RL, though not completely sold on it, I thought the debut at the Chicago Autoshow would seal the deal. The RL was missing some of features of the other midsizers and needed an updated rear end to make it a bit less anonymous.

Unfortunately, Acura changed the exterior design of the 2009 RL for the worse. The front end now has a discordant grille with Accord headlights. And while the rear end has been pleasantly updated (for the most part), it looks overdone. The added interior features inside are not enough to redeem this car, and because of it, I believe they will lose many Acura faithful--as my family was.

On the flipside, this change has made it lot easier to decide on the GS350 AWD. After a quick drive through the Lexus lot today, it seems to be that a GS350 AWD will fit the bill perfectly. We had been looking at the GS along side the RL (along with the M, and A6), but the GS seems to be the best fit.

Now, it is simply a question of what color. Any form of silver is out of the question, as both of their vehicles are silver right now. Starfire Pearl appears to be the best option, but my father is concerned about the clear-bra yellowing relative to the car's paint. Him and I both vote for the Verdigris Metallic, but my mom is not sold on this color (as it will be her primary car). Dark colors are pretty much out of the question, as their simply too difficult to keep them clean.

Next question is: my parents live in the Portland, OR area. Having been looking at pricing in various areas of the country, it appears that pricing in the bay area (where he works) is considerably cheaper. Would it be best to travel down there and pick up the car or should he simply suck it up and buy the car at our local dealership for convenience and the added benefits associated with buying the car from the local dealer (where the car will be serviced, etc.)?

Anyway, I apologize for the long wnded post. Let me know what you think.

 

Convenience sure. Added benefits? Not so much.

 

Go for the best pricing. Local dealer will still treat you like gold for the service profit.

 

I think I remember u from the Acura forums, glad to see you here.

Yeah, the RL refresh has gotten universal approvement from all auto forums that it is AWFUL.

As for pricing, yeah, Cali will give you the best deals, huge dealers, huge supply. Your local dealer will be okay, though I must admit I am one to promote buying from your local dealer, to establish a good relationship with them. Maybe show the pricing at other dealers and see if they will match?

Good luck. I haven't heard much about yellow peel on the Starfire pearl, Lexus really seems to have outdone itself with that color.

 

I am not sure where Acura is going with their new front end design. The front end was too plain in the old RL and its way too too much bing, they need to come up with some thing thats in between. Both the MDX and the RL have those ugly front end. Its one of those design that either you hate it or you love it kind of thing, no in betweens. Yet both cars have nice looking rear ends.

 

Oh yeah--you likely remember me from Acurazine. I've been around those parts for awhile.

As for dealership relationship--what do you think the added specific benefits are? Further, how big of a part of it is the dealership itself? I know that our Lexus dealer is excellent here (from experience, along with their Elite of Lexus awards). Can anyone recommend the best dealer in the San Jose area (if he does not use CarsDirect)? Pretty sure he's gonna use CarsDirect--does anyone have experience with this?

Finally, yellowing--are you saying the clear bra does not show noticeable yellowing? Having had clear bra put on a number of their vehicles, my dad's is under the impression that the bra will yellow on a white vehicle (in contrast). Anyone had this experience here?

Thanks for the help (and sharing the disappointment with the RL). I have been surprised to see the mutual respect here on Club Lexus for the RL.

 

I like the 2009 RL refresh except for the MDX-like front upper Grille. This is just for me because any change to the current BORING RL is not necessary more beautiful but less boring.

Starfire Pearl is nice and the golden Almond Metallic is also good if you like gold color. I think both colors will be hard to get dirty compares to dark colors. As for the clear-bra, I don't believe that it will fade and a reputable installer/company should provide you a life time warranty against color fading.

 

I wonder did Acura hiring that designer that design those ugly Subrau front ends after Subrau fired him

 

I'll assume you are talking Lexus of Portland as its the only Lexus shop in town. They were very fair with me on my 06 IS350. I got it less that MSRP, two years ago now...I picked it up Feb 06...I mention this because I got a discount off of MSRP from the auto show discount they were running back then..I assume you could get the same now as the PDX auto show was a couple of weeks ago..

Go talk with Kaz..he's a nice guy an a straight shooter

 

Question is: will they match Bay Area pricing? I know my dad will just as soon go pick it up in San Jose and drive it back. Anyway, we'll find out soon enough.

Thanks for the help!

 

I can't image they wouldn't if its a reasonable price..plus gas plus time. I know you can get a Lexus through a broker via Riverside Lexus (I think)..but when you are spending the kind of money we are talking about its really not that significant a difference...at least in my opinion