kid spartan

I'll just start off by saying a little bit about myself. I'm 17 years old and I live about an hour outside of Philadelphia. I've been a gearhead my whole life. Pretty much anything with 4 wheels and an engine has a great appeal to me. I started planning on what car I wanted back when I was 15... I was thinking about e36 bmws, audi a4s, and other expensive cars. I soon enough realized that this wasn't going to happen.


Recently I got a job at mcdonalds but my dad said that I'm ready to inherit his car: a 2001 RL. He bought a new car so this one is all mine. Now as a testosterone bursting teenager, a big, slow luxury car did not initially appeal to me. But after spending some time with it, and after driving other cars, I really began to appreciate how special this thing is. The smooth and quiet ride, the space inside, everything. At first I thought it was also an exceptionally ugly car, but again, it really grew on me. I like to refer to it as having timeless styling. Naturally, as a kid of the internet age, I gravitated to reading things online about the car. Came across this forum and have been lurking for a couple weeks now. Now about the car:

Past: My dad bought this car used from an Acura dealer back in 04. The car was a leaser and it had around 30-35k on it. The car is the gold color, with a tan interior. he drives 90 miles a day on work days, and he took it on several road trips, so this thing has really been beat on. The interior is in rough shape, the plastic-wood trimming is cracked in a few places. There's also some small rust spots developing. A deer hit him a couple years ago which put a nice dent in the front right quarter panel. The one good thing is that he takes good care of it mechanically. He's been meticulous with the service so the drivetrain is probably good for many many more miles. But other stuff about the car isn't as good. The ABS currently isn't working, and the VSA light is on. I'll have to look into these.

Present: It's currently knocking on the door of 180k. I replaced the fog lights a couple days ago, they've been burnt out for years but pops never used them so they never got replaced. Strangely one of the rubber weather seals was missing....


Future: I'm looking to perhaps do a rim change at some point. The rims now are curbed and scratched in multiple places and it doesn't look too good. I'm not looking to go all baller here so I'll probably just keep it the same size. I believe the stock size is 16". Nothing too flashy or expensive. Maybe something like this. I'm also thinking of doing the popular instrument cluster LED change.



If you've read this far, thanks see you around.



Pics tomorrow!

Lefteye

Welcome! For someone who is 17 years old, you write very well.

phins2rt

Welcome spartan! I know if I was giving my son a car (he drives the 01 RL BTW) I would make damn sure everything worked on it (especially ABS/VSA) and there were no dash lights on. I would get those checked ASAP just to be on the safe side.

Sounds like you have a great car that should last you your formidable years. Good luck!

kid spartan

Thanks guys. I joined here to hopefully learn a few things and meet some like minded people.








^^^ yuck!

tmnhs81

Congrats! And welcome to the forum. Stick around and read on, great info stored in here. Car looks good too, just need some love.

And +1 to the writing part. Really impressed.

phins2rt

I think I have that exact same rust spot! Rear driver's side?

kid spartan

Thanks. It definitely needs some TLC, and that's what itll get.

yep, it must just be a weak spot on the paint. I've looked at other RLs and none of them had it, but none of them were an 01. If you're referring to the same car that you mentioned before, then it could just be an issue for that model year.

Jimmay

No I have it in the same spot. It seems like a Honda issue as ive seen alot of Honada vehicles with rust on the quarters. Its probably with the way they mount the bumper. Maybe it rubs the paint away on the inside and then rusts.

vas25tl

The quarter panel is a very common rust spot for Honda/Acura. Thankfully my RL is still good to go, can't say the same about my mom's MDX though.

ellover009

Hey man congrats. I have rust in the left rear near the tire arch and the trunk, i have a 97 model thou. Stll looks good for an old car, i wanted to keep it forever but unfortunatelly i have outgrown the car height wise, owned it for 7yrs. I hear the 99+ model has more leg room so thats a thought but i live in the northern states and am tempted to go with something thats awd, or more space like an suv or mayve higher ground clearance to make it less likely to get stuck in snow.

SeamusNH

Good luck with the car. What a Dad you have... When my kids started driving, I bought them a used Subaru Forester... I have three daughters so they probably wouldn't have cared as long as the radio still worked...

SeamusNH

BTW, did you download the free tech manual. I found it very helpful:
http://pdftown.com/Honda-Acura-35RL-Manual.html

You'll also find sites such as acuraoemparts.com helpful for pricing parts and figuring out which parts fit which year RLs...