Mine rattled a little on very cold mornings, but that's gone now. Otherwise, it's been no trouble at all. The manual transmission in this thing is fantastic.
Like a lot of Honda products (save the earlier TL and others with auto transmission issues) I think this will be a very good used car buy for the foreseeable future, but with slow depreciation, expect to pay for it. That's why I don't think the TSX is a bad new car purchase. Yes, you will pay more for the early years compared to a used one, but that's true of every car. And I think the depreciation hit is less in the early years compared to a lot of similar vehicles.
It doesn't hurt that you get usual extras like leather seats (I like 'em), HomeLink garage door remote, and bluetooth hands-free included without paying $3000 for a "luxury package". I like how the TSX is bundled, and I wish more vehicle manufacturers would follow suit.
For me, the TSX strikes a great balance between size, content, performance, and fuel economy. If you are a more serious driver than I am, and you need RWD or AWD, buy a 3-series, an IS250, or an A4.
In fact, now that the IS250 is discounted, I think the TSX is a harder sell when new. The IS250 seems a little smaller to my eye, but even better looking. I doubt it would be any less reliable, on average. It will be interesting to see how much a used IS250 will go for when the first ones come off lease.
