accura owner

[Chaoster]

Those of you that own an Acura. Does the maintenance cost more than say a Honda or Toyota? Don't want to buy a car that will cost more in the long run. TIA.

 

[wvjules]

Those of you that own an Acura. Does the maintenance cost more than say a Honda or Toyota? Don't want to buy a car that will cost more in the long run. TIA.

I don't have one but my BF does. He has a 2006 with over 125,000 miles on it. The cost of maintaining it hasn't cost any more than any other car.

 

[KarenAylwood]

DH had one from 2006 until just last month. He sold it when we bought an SUV, for only $8000 less than he paid in 2006. He had almost no maintenance needed on it, although his tires were more expensive because they were larger & sportier than mine (or whatever you car people would call them).

Acura is made by the same people as Honda (like Lexus and Toyota). Both are very reliable car manufacturers. I can't comment on the price of replacement equipment just because we never had to replace anything on the car.

 

[aea71]

We currently have an 08 MDX and find that it's been comparable in cost to all other vehicles we've owned. Oil changes are monitored for you and with about 12K in miles each year we typically only change the oil twice per year. Tires have been the biggest expense so far unfortunately due to unrepairable screws in the sidewalls. However, we still have 2 original tires on the vehicle with 41K miles.

 

[wgqual]

Have a 06 with only 60K and no issues. Just tires and oil. Now it does take premium gas but that's the only difference between Honda and Acura. Love my Tl

 

[Dugette]

sorry, double post

 

[Dugette]

I've only had Acuras and I'm currently on my 5th one (all purchased used). I had 4 Integras that I drove to high mileage (all over 100k, one over 200k) and I currently have an '02 TL with 180k on it.

In general, very minimal maintenance/repairs are needed. These are reliable built-to-last cars. I had my first Integras when I was young and poor, therefore spending as little as possible on upkeep. There are the random issues here and there, but I think I've spent less on all my Integras combined than my husband spent on his Saturn he owned for the last 11 years.

A couple specific notes, though:

1.) I think most Acuras (at least the ones I've had) have major maintenance at 105k to replace the timing belt/water pump. This is expensive, but much cheaper than having a timing belt break and destroy the engine. This is one thing I've always been sure to do. If you are buying used, check the mileage versus the maintenance schedule.

2.) Avoid TLs from about 2000-2004. They are known for transmission failures. I chanced it and did extensive research and still had to spend several thousand to replace the transmission in my current TL. Other than that, I love it and have had minimal expense (just some suspension work, but nothing unusual for a high-mileage car).

Oh, also to follow up on a prior comment, they do recommend Premium fuel, but are designed to compensate for regular, if you need to use it. I use Premium unless there is none available (out of town small gas stations), so a bit more money on gas. But not bad.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

As previously mentioned Acuras are essentially just gussied up Hondas, and as such most of what you can say about Hondas applies to Acura as well. Most of the major parts (engines, transmissions, etc) are shared with both brands. It's just the little stuff (like switches & some electronics) that would be different. And body/interior parts obviously, but there's not much to "go wrong" with those.

 

[bearzabout]

We own two Acuras and love them, but have had a lot of trouble with Acura dealerships.

My 1992 looks and runs like new. It has been easily repaired at a local mechanics shop with little going wrong with it in 20 years. Our 2002 MDX has a problem that not even the dealerships can fix. They damage something else to get our money in their fruitless attempts to fix the problem.

Acura parts are more expensive. We buy Honda parts when we can. Since Acura is just a fancy Honda, I'd stick with Honda or Toyota.

The previous poster had another good point. We rented a Toyota Camry that got about 35 miles per gallon and ran on regular gas. We put premium in our Acuras. The 20 cent per gallon difference really adds up over the life of the car.

Make sure to check ratings for whichever car you buy for the specific model year you are interested in. I see many Acura Legends on the road from the early 90s, but seldom see ones from the late 90s. They can vary a lot year to year. They fixed the problem with our 2002 MDX for the 2004 model.

Our next cars will not be Acuras.