2009 Acura TL vs 2010 Maxima

robphelan

Diamond Member
Aug 28, 2003
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We need an around town sedan that will fit a car seat + 1 booster seat in the back.

For about the same price(24.5k), I'm looking at a 2009 TL (CPO 40k miles)and 2010 Maxima(20k miles).

I would really, really like blue tooth streaming, but you need the Tech package / Navigation package and that drives up the price to about 27+k. I've read you can buy a BT adapter that plugs into the 2.5mm jack to get around this.

I drove each and it SEEMED like the the maxima was bigger, but when I research interior cabin size, the TL edges it out a bit.

can anyone with these vehicles comment on size?

I would prefer the TL b/c it just seemed more solid like my old BMW 540. But each was fun to drive.
 
Sep 7, 2009
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for that much you can buy good new car...


No new 25k car will have even 1/2 the features or quality these have. Not worth it, and poor advice.



Personally between just those two... I would get the TL.


That being said, I would look at m35 as well. They drive much better than a maxima and may be closer to what you're looking for.
 

RavenSEAL

Diamond Member
Jan 4, 2010
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I'm a sucker for the Maxima, test drove one the other day and it's was a decently smooth ride and the car has some kick, aggressive looks and the interior was good. On the other hand, the Acura TL is also a really smooth ride but with a lot more comfy & elegant interior.

Overall, both are solid cars and are big sedans, just pick your poison. The Maxima feel a lot bigger on the exterior but you can't really go wrong with either, I do however expect the Acura repairs to be a bit more expensive.
 
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postmortemIA

Diamond Member
Jul 11, 2006
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No new 25k car will have even 1/2 the features or quality these have. Not worth it, and poor advice.



Personally between just those two... I would get the TL.


That being said, I would look at m35 as well. They drive much better than a maxima and may be closer to what you're looking for.
Ummm you can get Accord with everything but navigation for that much, and it is not exactly half of quality or half of features of TL.
Even if TL is better quality, new Accord will outlast used TL.

Now, perhaps such car has no appeal to OP, but for $24.5K you can get pretty good new car.
 

Dr. Detroit

Diamond Member
Sep 25, 2004
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TL is so ugly that I would exclude it immediately just for how ghastly it looks.

TL also has a tiny trunk at only 13.1 CuFt - with kids, that is small.

Maxima is 14.2 CuFt

Genesis is 16 cu ft - a car you should look at
 

halik

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
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Ummm you can get Accord with everything but navigation for that much, and it is not exactly half of quality or half of features of TL.
Even if TL is better quality, new Accord will outlast used TL.

Now, perhaps such car has no appeal to OP, but for $24.5K you can get pretty good new car.

You should really google the concept of depreciation curve.
 

michal1980

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2003
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drive both first.

I really didn't like the maxim. Felt big / heavy, with tons of torque steer, and the dash was made from plastics cheaper then toyota uses in the corrola
 

robphelan

Diamond Member
Aug 28, 2003
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the accord's interior >7cu ft less than the TL/Maxima, IIRC.

I test drove another 2009 TL - the kids fit well in the back. I was surprised to see how much room there was back there. As I mentioned, it just seemed smaller than the Max - that may all be in my head, though.

I have 3 2009 I'm looking at - 2 locally, 1 in DFW. But i think i have a good price on a Tech version so i'm going for that one... non-CPO though.
 

merlion

Senior member
May 2, 2003
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I had an '09 TL for three years on lease, and loved it. Absolutely bulletproof. Someone earlier mentioned the trunk being small, but my daughter played travel softball, and we carried all kinds of stuff with no issues. Coolers, bat bags, suitcases, etc. Sometimes taking two kids stuff to tournaments.

Ride quality was good, and the interior very comfortable on long hauls. I routinely took the car on business trips of 500+ miles, and was never fatigued after 8 hours of seat time.

I had a Maxima for a rental for a week at Disney World, and although a good car, not close to the TL in my opinion.

At the end of the lease I would have loved to have kept the TL, but had been laid off one month prior. I turned it back in reluctantly. Now, I have a new job starting in two weeks! Had I known that, I would have kept it for sure.
 

ss284

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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I have a base 4g tl. A2DP Bluetooth streaming works just fine (forward/skip/pause).
 

Dari

Lifer
Oct 25, 2002
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I just found this out night - the salesman didn't even know the non-tech could stream blue tooth audio.

When I bought my MDX the person telling me the features of the truck did not know certain technology-related features as well. Some things you need to find out for yourself.
 

djnsmith7

Platinum Member
Apr 13, 2004
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I have a lot to say, but because of my bias, based solely on my QX4 experience, I'll say this...be careful buying a Nissan or Infiniti. My QX4 was in the shop all the time. Thousands & thousands spent on that POS. I'll never buy either brand again. Get the TL & don't look back.
 

robphelan

Diamond Member
Aug 28, 2003
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Well, I wound up with the 2009 TL w/Tech package. 39k miles.

They were asking 26.9 and I got a price of 25.3 +ttl - Although it seems high, I feel this was a pretty good price considering all the TLs for sale locally and in DFW.

I'm very happy with the car - white ext, charcoal grey int. now, i have to figure out how all the bells and whistles work - gives me something to do at the office, i guess.
 

robphelan

Diamond Member
Aug 28, 2003
4,084
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ack... they took it off autotrader already. i'll clean it up and take some soon.