Faults:

Third brake light bulb (changed when performing an oil change for free).

General Comments:

Amazing money saver.

More than 100k, no issues at all.

Still runs like new!!

Faults:

Replaced the front brake rotors since they were warped when I bought the car. Not a big deal since I did the work myself.

Had to replace the front left wheel bearing in 2008.

In 2013 the A/C compressor had to be replaced, which was costly.

Rear engine seal has started to leak in 2014. Since it's a small leak, will just be checking the oil level more often. Probably not worth getting fixed right now.

Those are the unscheduled maintenance and repair items.

General Comments:

Other than that, it's a pretty cheap and reliable vehicle for commuting, compared to some of the other vehicles in this class and year. However, the seats are not very comfortable for longer trips.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car.

As for regular maintenance:

Oil changes every 5000 km.

Front brakes pads/rotors 147000km.

Universal exhaust joint installed after running over a piece of rebar on the highway.

Rust starting on the front passenger side of hood.

General Comments:

The Acura EL was purchased as a commuter car. It served its purpose really well. Never been stranded. The car was sold recently due to my growing family.

This car came with many great options. It did not have leather or heated seats, which is great, because throughout time, the leather would crack from the heat and become an eyesore.

The acceleration was decent because it's a manual, thankfully.

Interior space was adequate for four grown adults. Trunk space was generous.

Fuel mileage was great. 6.5L/100KM in the summer, around 7.5L/100KM in the winter. But with gas prices rising, filling up my tank cost around $57.00 CAN at $1.30/ L.

Faults:

As stated in previous entries these cars have problems with the power window motors as well as the key-less entry modules.

My power windows are working, but take a long time to open.

My key-less module stopped working at 125k.

Acura dealers are VERY expensive and I would not recommend any of them. Find yourself a reliable mechanic for your maintenance needs.

I still have not fixed the key-less as I can live without it and it is a dealer dependent service (with means $$$)

General Comments:

Overall this is a good little car that will satisfy most folks. If you have not already done so have a valve adjustment done. It was supposed to be done at 48k according to the manual, but a lot of people overlook this and the mileage suffers for it. After I did the valve adjustment my mileage went from 350kms per tank to 500kms per tank in mixed city and highway driving.

For the sporty driver this car will leave you wanting for more.

For the luxury minded driver, you will notice considerable road noise for a so called 'entry level' luxury car.

Having driven this car for 50k kms I will recommend it to anyone. I have peace of mind that it will not leave me stranded. At 170k the engine still drives like new which would leave me to believe that this car can go upto 500k without any problems.

A/C works great in summer without straining the engine much. Pickup is not effected too much with the A/C.

Suspension is a little still for my liking, but I was used to a Camry before this!

Resale value is great. Please check with your insurance before purchasing this vehicle as I learnt that this car is used by a lot of people who like to modify/race them. The insurance was twice as much as my camry. Please look out for any performance mods if you are purchasing such as car as this should bring up a red flag in your mind!

Hope this review helps!