At $4,250, Does This 2001 Acura MDX Touring Offer Three-Rows Worth Of Value?

While its mileage may be high, today’s Nice Price or No Dice MDX has been loved enough to have accumulated those miles under just one owner. Let’s see if it’s enough of a deal for a new owner to take on the mantle.

The Future of Acura’s Supercar Factory

A common tongue twister that the police should employ for sobriety tests is “She sells seashells by the seashore.” Who exactly “she” is never gets explained, nor is whether the shells in question are those little pukka bead style or the big ones with the pointy spikes that look so dramatic.

Whatever the size, should our shell-shiller seek to branch out from her seaside locale to points unknown, then yesterday’s 1948 Plymouth P-15 Businessman’s (or woman’s) coupe might just fit the bill. She’d have to sell lots of shells, though, to come up with the Plymouth’s $10,499 asking price. That proved too onerous a task for most of you, with the Businessman’s Coupe closing up shop to the tune of a 62% No Dice loss.

Let’s say that, having established her business acumen and setting up franchises of her shell-selling business, our heroine sets her sights on the second of the three stool legs (career, family, personal growth) of her life goals, and starts a family. Having already established her street smarts by way of buying cars after the new has worn off and depreciation has already taken its toll, she might find value in something like this 2001 Acura MDX Touring. It is, after all, a reasonably-sized crossover with three rows (admittedly, with the third being Smallville only), and as a Touring, it’s pretty posh.

Acura added the MDX to its lineup for the 2001 model year, and it has been a staple of the brand ever since, moving about somewhere around 50,000 units annually here in the States. That makes it fairly ubiquitous on the road, but it is probably a car that few of us consider. Maybe we should take a closer look and see what we’re missing.

The first-generation MDX shares underpants that are similar to the Honda Pilot, which itself is based on the company’s Global Mid-Size platform that originated with the American/Canadian market Accord and spawned the Odyssey minivan along with the Pilot. Of the multiple re-stylings the MDX has suffered… er, enjoyed over the years, none has managed to be as attractive or cohesive in design as this first take.

There is whimsy afoot here too — literally — in the form of the rear bumper step cap where the treads are actually interlocking stylized bare feet. This would go perfectly with a Hang Ten tee shirt. Add to that some upscale trim inside and this MDX could go tow-to-tire with the likes of the category leader, the Lexus RX, or any other fancy-pants crossover.

These wagons have proven to be reasonably stout when properly maintained, as well. They do generally suffer from the same transmission issues as other Hondas of the era, but not all are so afflicted. This one, in Dark Mahogany Pearl over a biscuit leather-upholstered interior has done a laudable 178,200 miles and is said to be in excellent shape even after racking up such an impressive number. The ad claims it to be a one-owner car, and to have had all its maintenance done by an Acura dealer. Most notable of the work touted in the ad is a replacement of the water pump and timing belt.

The engine on the receiving end of that work is Honda’s 3.5-liter SOHC VTEC V6. That’s good for 240 horsepower and 245 lb-ft of torque and feeds a five-speed automatic and part-time AWD system. The tires that put that power to the pavement look to have decent enough tread to get that work done.

Aesthetically, the miles and years are present, and the seller admits to there being some dings and tears in the car. Nothing appears too egregious save for a running board that looks to have had a bite taken out of it. The leather in the cabin seems wholly intact if a little crinkled and crazed from use. There’s also some puckering of the appliqué on the console meaning that could stand replacing.

As noted, this is a three-row crossover, however, that third row is tinier than in the sibling Pilot or the flexing Odyssey. It’s really just for kids who are too big for safety seats but are still small enough that they won’t complain about being stuffed into so cramped a space. The rest of the cabin is spacious enough and there are lots of conveniences to be had, including auto climate control, heated seats, and a reasonably big screen for the era in the center stack.

A clean title and unremarkable CarFax seal this MDX’s deal. Now we just have to get over the hurdle of its $4,250 price.

What do you think about this Acura and that asking? Does $4,250 seem like a fair deal considering everything we’re told in the ad? Or do the miles and the years add up to a much lower price tag?

You decide!

Washington DC Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

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