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Ouch... my wallet.
12 years ago
Eh, kind of a random journal, but i needed to vent a bit. After selling the Legend, i ended up picking up a new toy (a 6 speed Acura TL with Navigation), and after a little over a year of ownership its been great. However, while needing FAR FAR less maintenance then the Legend ever did, there comes a time when things WILL have to be replaced; and finally i have to crack open the old wallet to do so. So why am i venting if its just normal maintenance? WELL due to my need to have the rare 6 speed manual, i ended up shooting myself in the foot without knowing it. Why? The 6 speed versions of the TL come with certain parts and features that are UNIQUE to the manual transmission cars. For those non-gear heads in the room that don't know what i'm on about: rare versions of cars with different and model specific parts = expensive.
Now, the whole reason for this journal: Like most cars a brake job (pad and rotor replacement) is a normal maintenance procedure that occurs many times in the car's life. Usually, the costs of the parts are extremely reasonable and the job is easy to do yourself if you know your way around a socket set. On my TL however, this isn't the case. While it is not any harder to do the work myself, personally the setup is actually easier to work on, the cost of the parts to do so are over 2 to 3 times more expensive than your average vehicle. Why? Because 6 speed TLs ALL feature HUGE 4 piston Brembo brakes on the front wheels; something that distinguishes the manual TLs from the automatics as well as being a necessity for handling the increased performance of the manual trans version of the car. So, because they are Brembos, and made for high performance, and you can't get cheeper aftermarket replacements (only more expensive aftermarket improvement replacement parts) a trip to the dealer or an order directly from Acura's online parts store is a necessity. *sigh* so not only did i have to pay close to 3 times what a normal brake job parts cost adds up to, but now i have to wait for the frigging parts to ship before i can get wrenching.
I think thats what im most upset about. Normally, if i need something i just go to the parts store and grab it then go back to the heavenly peace and tranquillity of my garage to kick back and relax in one of the best ways i know how... tinkering on cars. Needless to say it becomes a huge buzz kill when you get all exited and ready to spend time working on your car and relaxing only to find out that that isn't an option until the parts arrive.... Fu@#! Therefore... defeated and no longer able to enjoy "garage time".... i have come here to vent. Well, i feel a little better at least. lol maybe i should go and break something else to i can go replace that instead? No, bad idea... it would probably end up being even more expensive. lol enjoy your weekend guys
-Swift
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Now, the whole reason for this journal: Like most cars a brake job (pad and rotor replacement) is a normal maintenance procedure that occurs many times in the car's life. Usually, the costs of the parts are extremely reasonable and the job is easy to do yourself if you know your way around a socket set. On my TL however, this isn't the case. While it is not any harder to do the work myself, personally the setup is actually easier to work on, the cost of the parts to do so are over 2 to 3 times more expensive than your average vehicle. Why? Because 6 speed TLs ALL feature HUGE 4 piston Brembo brakes on the front wheels; something that distinguishes the manual TLs from the automatics as well as being a necessity for handling the increased performance of the manual trans version of the car. So, because they are Brembos, and made for high performance, and you can't get cheeper aftermarket replacements (only more expensive aftermarket improvement replacement parts) a trip to the dealer or an order directly from Acura's online parts store is a necessity. *sigh* so not only did i have to pay close to 3 times what a normal brake job parts cost adds up to, but now i have to wait for the frigging parts to ship before i can get wrenching.
I think thats what im most upset about. Normally, if i need something i just go to the parts store and grab it then go back to the heavenly peace and tranquillity of my garage to kick back and relax in one of the best ways i know how... tinkering on cars. Needless to say it becomes a huge buzz kill when you get all exited and ready to spend time working on your car and relaxing only to find out that that isn't an option until the parts arrive.... Fu@#! Therefore... defeated and no longer able to enjoy "garage time".... i have come here to vent. Well, i feel a little better at least. lol maybe i should go and break something else to i can go replace that instead? No, bad idea... it would probably end up being even more expensive. lol enjoy your weekend guys
-Swift
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I'm needing brakes, too. Apparently most BMW rotors are quite soft, which equal less brake noise but the rotors get chewed up as fast as the pads do. Going to have to see what's out there and hope someone can help me do some of this work. Not having a garage or even a driveway sucks ass; on street parking FTMFL. :/
E38s are brutal on their suspensions, likely due to the sheer weight of the car(I think my '99 740iL clocked in at nearly 4200lb). Since my E34's significantly lighter it doesn't wear out the components as badly, but it does happen. My thrust arm bushings are completely shot and absolutely need to be replaced, and my rear shocks are original to the car and need to be changed out; I'm getting tire wear issues on the rears because of this. Despite all of this it handles pretty well; I'm looking forward to seeing what it'll do with fresh components and decent rubber on it.
Money sucks.