| MDXofLG |
I signed up on this forum a few weeks ago. My wife and I just purchased a silver 2001 MDX Touring and we, so far, love it. It only had 49K miles when we picked it up at a local dealer a few weeks ago and appears to have been well taken care of. It has had one previous owner and lived the first 4 years of its life in Florida (we live in Los Gatos near San Jose in California). Our other vehicle is a 1999 Dodge Ram SLT Quad Cab V8 w/ a 5 speed manual (special ordered that way) So here is a slightly long first post with a little about us, and our initial impressions of the MDX.
First some background. I am a salesman for a company that installs automotive repair/service equipment. We install lube systems, exhaust extraction systems, vehicle lifts etc. as well as repair tire mount/dismount machines, tire balancers, A/C recycle machines, and almost all of the stuff that technicians and mechanics use in there shop. My wife works at the local AAA in the DMV department. I have always been a “gearhead” completing most of the classes at the DeAnza College Auto Tech. I do most repairs and maintenance on my vehicles and all of the electronic (audio, video etc.) myself. My wife also gets her hand greasy and can do a brake job as well as the next guy…eee….aaa…gal??????
I purposely waited a few weeks to send out my first post to search all the things I wanted answers to and to get a ‘feel’ for how this forum flows. Most questions have been answered. A few remain. I read a lot of posts on certain items and found that there is a lot of useful information on here. Of course there is a lot of useless garbage on here as well, but that is the nature of a public forum. I have learned to filter the info as I read it. So far I have added a subwoofer (10” Kicker CompVR mounted in remote box), Rockford Fosgate amp, and the XM commander (I will post picks of the mounting of this when I get some) from our previous vehicle.
Our last car was a 2001 Mitsubishi Diamante LS. It was black pearl (green highlights) with gray leather interior, deleted and/or blacked out trim and tinted windows. We loved the car. It was powerful, elegant, unique, and handled well. However Mitsubishi’s are not the most economical vehicles to work on. The impending maintenance and repairs ($$$$$$) coupled with our growing 12 year old daughter has us looking for a more useful and spacious vehicle with lots of access to parts as needed.
We took our first long trip over the weekend to Fortuna (south of Eureka, CA) to visit my parents. We usually make this trip once a month to visit them (its about 300 miles one-way). We loaded up and immediately liked the fact that we did not have to ‘cram’ our stuff in to a trunk. We had the suitcases as normal but also had a cooler and a few other items we normally do not tank with us. On our way we stopped at my grandfathers house in Sebastopol (near Santa Rosa, CA) to take him (he will be 90 in April) on the trip with the three of us. Again, there was plenty of room with his suitcase and medium box that was a gift for my mother.
On the road I heard silence. Not that the stereo didn’t work but silence from my 12 year old. She was not complaining that she was cramped or that she was ‘squished’ (that is the technical term) in the back seat. Also, my wife was able to recline in the back seat and relax.
I loved the fact that the transmission will hold a lower gear when going downhill. This was very cool indeed. The cruse control is great at holding the speed with little variance at all. And although it doesn’t handle as well as our old Diamante, we were all impressed as to how well it did handle for a vehicle of this size. The MDX seems very ‘sure’ of what is being asked of it.
And here is the most impressive thing. There was a hailstorm on Saturday afternoon that covered my parents’ driveway with ice and slush (2-3”). Their driveway is pretty steep and about 100 yards long. When I got to the bottom of the hill I left it in D5 and from a stand still ‘nailed’ the throttle. It didn’t even think about breaking traction. It just accelerated (with authority) on up and was strait as an arrow. That is what sold me on this car..eee..aaaa….truck…aaaa….suv…..what ever it is. My wife is a good driver, however I don’t want to worry about her making it home safely. The MDX just took on of those worries off my mind.
This is the fourth Honda/Acura product that my family has owned. I am sure that we will enjoy it for a few years to come. Well for now…that is all. If you got this far then I hope that you were not too bored.
Eric |
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| ByeByeChrysler |
| Congrats on your new ride, and Welcome :7: |
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| hammermdx |
| Congrats and welcome to the family!!!!!:7: |
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| teton |
Congratulations on your MDX.
quote:
Originally posted by MDXofLG
It was powerful, elegant, unique, and handled well. However Mitsubishi’s are not the most economical vehicles to work on. The impending maintenance and repairs ($$$$$$)
How do you expect the MDX to cost less for maintenance by the way? |
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| MDXofLG |
Well, the maintenance parts IMO were hard to find and seemed on the expensive side. In reality I don't expect the Acura parts to be much cheaper if at all. I do expect to find them easier. It seemed like every time I needed a part (even common parts) for the Diamante it needed to be ordered.
And the Diamante was having HVAC issues again. The system failed twice during warranty. The traction control was having an intermittent problem that could not be traced. The dealer solution was to start 'substiteching' parts. That is to say they wanted to starts replacing parts until it "fixed" itself. I would have to replace a stud and lug nut almost each time I did a tire rotation (very poor design) The rear springs were sagging. And on...and on...and on....
And then again...we were really picking any reason or excuse to buy a new car. We also needed to get a larger vehicle for my daughter.
Eric |
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| Dr. Ken |
quote:
Originally posted by MDXofLG
And then again...we were really picking any reason or excuse to buy a new car. We also needed to get a larger vehicle for my daughter.
Eric
This is the best reason for getting a new MDX - you really wanted one. That is the main reason we picked it rather than the Pilot.
We also needed a bigger car for our grandkids. It has been filled many times, thus justifying our purchase. |
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| MDXofLG |
We were really just starting to look at mid sized SUV's in general. Our plan was to purchase in 3-6 months. We started looking at the Mitsubishi Endevor at first. It was a nice 'car'. But the AWD versions has a weird driveline pulse when you hit the pedal on a rolling run. Also, we were getting rid of the Diamante due to service issues at the dealership.....just didn't want to go down that road again.
We did drive the Nissan Pathfinder. I do have to say it was a nice truck. I was very suprised as to the lack of head room in that vehicle. I am 5'8" so I will never play for the NBA but I only had 1" of head clearance in the silly thing.
Drove the Saab and had a nice interior but drove like the GMC Envoy that it is. Looked at the Mercedes M Class but never drove it. That is were we stumbled on the MDX. They had a black one on the lot and just as we sat in it we were informed that it was just sold.
The next weekend we had found an Endevor that we wanted to look at and when at the dealership saw our MDX. We drove it and that was all that need to be done. A few hours of beating up the sales department and off we were...less one Diamante and plus a nice MDX.
Eric |
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| DaleB |
Congrats on your 'new' MDX, MDXofLG.
I am getting homesick now, all this talk about Los Gatos, DeAnza College, etc. etc.
Large MDX contention in the Bay Area.
I went to LG Acura a couple of times, mainly because I could walk to the Iron Skillet from there. In my pre-retirement days.
Sounds like between you and Super Tech (also in the bay area) we will get lots of info regarding maintenance and repair work. That's always helpful.
If you can spare a couple of hours you can browse back in the historical (or hysterical) files on the forum and find out about RobSJ, our infamous tech who worked at LGAcura...but hated Acuras..or most imports I believe. Some of us thought big deal, I just want to maintenance info..others were offended by his comments...it's funny now when I look back on it.
And the the NSX owner from the NSX forum who apparently got him fired. Lots of gossip, good info, and just plain fun over the years.
Welcome aboard! |
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| MDXofLG |
The Iron Skillet........We try not to go there too often. Not that we don't enjoy it. It's just that their 1/2lbs. cinnamon rolls tends to kill our diet. My daughter went to school with the owners kids.
I have alway lived in Los Gatos or on the border. Schooled hear (Alta Vista, Union Middle, Leigh High) Just can't seem to get my self moved from here.
I did read a few references to ROBSJ. Will have to take a search. Sounds like an interesting turn of events. I have probably met him with as much as I have been in that shop doing quotes or installations. I guess as long as I get a tech that knows what he is doing I really don't care what their feelings about the whole import/domestic thing. I also tend to find that NSX owners can be a little too up tight. Not all but some. Geez....when all is said and done...its just a car (and a nice one at that).
I have been doing business (in my profession) with LG Acura for years. They were a TSAN (Ted Stevens Auto Network) dealership until a little over a year ago. They were purchased by Penske UAG (Rodger Penske) along with Sunnyvale Acura, Capitol Honda, Marin Honda, and Clovis Honda down in your neck of the woods. They just purchased Stevens Creek Porsche and Anderson Behel Audi. We just finished the new Porsche shop for them.
TSAN kept Marin Acura and University Acura (again in Clovis) for his children. Thank you for the salutations. We should have some fun on this site indeed.
Eric |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by MDXofLG
I did read a few references to ROBSJ. Will have to take a search. Sounds like an interesting turn of events. I have probably met him with as much as I have been in that shop doing quotes or installations. I guess as long as I get a tech that knows what he is doing I really don't care what their feelings about the whole import/domestic thing. I also tend to find that NSX owners can be a little too up tight. Not all but some. Geez....when all is said and done...its just a car (and a nice one at that).
You summed it up nicely! |
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| SuperTech |
quote:
Originally posted by MDXofLG
TSAN kept Marin Acura and University Acura (again in Clovis) for his children.
A new RL is nice...but If I were his kid, I wouldn't mind taking a new 2007 Mercedes S65 if Ted still has Modesto European under his name. |
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| MDXofLG |
I think you are right SuperTech He does have a Mercedes dealer in the Central Valley still. Good call.
Eric |
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