a good first car? does it have power..? hande good? is it worth 17,000?

Tough to know without details about the car itself.

They are not sports cars per se, they are more of a touring sedan. In that capacity, they are very nice. I've seen RL's in that year for closer to 12K-15K depending on mileage, and of course I'd never touch a used car without pulling a carfax or other report on it.

Good luck...Acura is a very nice vehicle.

The 3.5 rl is one of the safest cars, it is worth 17k. The car has plenty of power and handles very good considering that it is not a sports car it is made for luxury.

The only thing it has going for it is a good resale value. It's underpowered and does not handle very well.

If you are looking for Acura with power and good handling, then i would go with TL. But i would stay away from 2nd generation (1999-2003) with Sequential SportShift TL. I got 2005 TL and I'm very happy with my car. Only thing is that i wish had rear wheel drive.

If your budget is around $17,000, then i would take look at these cars.

2001-2003 Acura TSX - this one only comes in I-4 but its got pretty good power!
2002-2004 Honda Accord - this one has option for V6! almost like TL but not quite!!

i like Honda! what can i say!!

good luck! searching for first car!!