As I head into my 70’s, my 2009 Acura TL might just be my last personal car. And it’s been great to own and drive.
Recently, I have been wondering if Hilda and I still need two cars. I get these thoughts every year at insurance renewal. I really don’t drive that much anymore, just a few times a week. Mainly visits to friends and Home Depot.
This got me thinking about how much I have enjoyed this wonderful car. Most of my driving history has been with mid-sized “ordinary” cars, including 18 years of Ford Taurus. While I had short stints with an Audi 100 and 5000, German cars were expensive to maintain. So, about 16 years ago, I decided to go Japanese upscale.
At the time, I was doing a lot of highway driving. A friend suggested I try Acura. I bought a used, low-mileage Certified 2003 Acura TL Type S. My objectives were reliability, luxury and especially stability control. My experiences with the TL and the local Silverhill Acura dealer were so good, I took the plunge for a brand-new 2009 Acura TL SH-AWD. Never looked back.
It’s been 13 years and 150,000 kilometers and my car still drives like its brand new. Amazing. And I am probably only half-way through its lifetime.
Let’s review my repair costs. Oh, wait! I haven’t had any. Just regular maintenance. My total cost of ownership over 13 years has run about $240 a month plus gas and insurance.
My 2009 Acura TL Performance
I find the SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive) exceeds expectations, especially in Canadian winters. Highway gas consumption is about 8.0 liters per 100 kilometers, or about 29 mpg. Not great but good enough. Seats are very comfy. Lots of V6 power. I really could not ask for a lot more in a car.
So, I think I will just enjoy this car until it expires, if it ever does. Stepping into an upscale sedan was a good decision. Eventually, I will just share Hilda’s RAV4, if she lets me!
(By the way, our long term experiences with Honda and Toyota have been great. Interestingly, our TL and RAV4 were both made in the USA.)
John, we’ve mostly only owned Japanese made vehicles. Most recently 2 back to back Subaru Forresters. Great vehicles, but needed more room for our 3 year old granddaughter’s car seat. We now have a Toyota Highlander hybrid. Fabulous vehicle and about 5L/100 km. I can handle that!
My experience with my 2020 Subaru Forrester has been dismal; the worst vehicle I’ve ever owned (I about your age John). The worst flaw is with the tailgate door, which opens with the fob. The first day I had the vehicle, I received a call from my neighbor to tell me the tailgate door was open; hummm. I closed it from the fob, and all was well until I took the dog out, yup, that door was open again. To make a long story short, it only takes ONE push of the button on the fob to open the door! If the fob is on my belt or in my pocket, doing dishes & lean against the counter, the door opens. If I bend down to put on my shoes, same thing. I contacted Subaru factory, there’s no way to change it, just one push opens it. If I’m careful and accelerate slowly, I may be fortunate to get 24 mpg. Got more time, I can go on & on. I still own my 2006 Honda Civic, which has been in 2 major accidents. It has 100k miles, drives like the day I bought it, and I get 30+ mpg. In 16 years, 3 mufflers & an AC compressor!
The last “American” car I owned was a 1978 Ford Explorer which I nicknamed “EXPLODER” 75000 miles (121K Km) then the engine froze with oil in the crankcase! If I hadn’t been in a wheelchair recovering from an accident (not auto related) I may have had the engine replaced, but bought a 2004 Toyota Highlander which I ran until 2019 and 225000 miles. The interior was getting a bit shabby so I traded it for a 2019 Subaru made in Indiana. COVID hit and trade in values skyrocketed so I traded it in for a 2022 Subaru Outback. No problems, but let’s see if I can hit 360K Km! I just turned 79 so this will most likely be my last vehicle. 73, Greg W2BEE