hithesh

Need a cheap car. Came across a 2001 TL. Exterior and interior not well maintained. But I am completely floored by the smooth drive. I had no idea TL was this good/smooth to drive. I did have an RSX, but this is much nicer.
There are some issues though -
1. Paint peel off on the boot and one of the doors. How much would it cost to fix it?
2. Steering wheel wobble.
3. Strong steering wheel wobble and car rattles a bit when brakes are applied while driving on the freeway
4. Interior is badly maintained. Looks/smells like a kitchen. Lot of dirt. How much would it cost to clean?

Apologies if I am posting in the wrong forum.

hithesh

Forgot to mention- total miles is 135K

2012wagon

Maaco 199$
Needs new pads, rotor resurfaced
Kitchen clean up 100$


Bad TL Transmission=priceless


If you need a cheap car, buy a civic.

hithesh

The Civics are more expensive. And the civic seller's have attitude.
The civics,accords,camrys,corrollas aren't cheap anymore.

Bad TL transmission?

Maaco can fix the paint peel off for 199$. That's quite cheap.

Here's a pic of the peel off.

2012wagon

My old Accord had the same on the roof and trunk. I never fixed it. I wouldn't MAACO a car I personally own. But since you asked, that is the cheapest route, I am sure.

Skirmich

2Gs TLs are cheap to buy, Not cheap to maintain unless you neglect it.. Once the trans goes kaput bye bye goes cheap buy.

NUFF SAID.

musiclevelz5

How much is the guy wanting to sell the car for? It isnt too expensive to fix the brakes ($150 if you do it yourself) and you can clean the interior yourself with a vacuum and some leather cleaner.

You need to get a better idea of the shape of the transmission though. This is the weak part of the car. Find out when the trans was last rebuilt/replaced and if the current trans has been kept up on atf changes. Does the trans slip badly when going from 2nd to 3rd gear if driven fairly hard? Thats an indicator the trans will have problems in the near future.

hithesh

The tranny was replaced 5yrs ago. The seller said there was a recall for these TLs and the tranny was replaced at the dealer.
I didn't notice anything wrong with the car shifting - drove extensively on the Free way.
Other than wobble and rattling when braking, everything else seemed like normal.
Price is about 3000$

hithesh

I am debating between this and a 1999 infiniti G20 with 106k miles.

Which one has more resale value?
There's another TL with a broken passenger seat motor. How much would it cost to fix?
Sorry too many questions.

2012wagon

Buy the G20. At 3K resale won't matter. Youw ill get 2K out of these cars.

The 4 Cyl G20 is bulletproof and less maintenance hog than the TL with its tranny issues

01tl4tl

you may not be aware it needs the 105kmiles service NOW = replacement of timing belt and water pump (at shop 1000$ easy!) plus numerous extras it will need by now. Add the fluid flushes for trans, brakes, and power steering, and guessing you are not an experienced diy person = very expensive to pay others to work on your car

With steering or brake shake there are other possible part issues like control arm bushings, steering rack leakage (fluid probably never changed) or the other parts that wear out down there

Much as we all love our TL- buying another one,,,not really a good plan
UNLESS you can DIY and understand that any `cheap` used car needs 2000 dollars in repairs right away

the only good thing that car has is a `recent` trans- but without annual fluid changes- you don't know if it will last 50k or 150kmiles
A freeway drive tells you nothing about the trans actual issues

I would look at the other cars- find out their cost on timing belt or chain, all piston engine cars need it around 100,000 miles and few used cars will have it done.
Many people call the dealer for price and are told 1200-1500-1800 dollars!! for the job and decide to sell the car and get something they haven't already worn out every part

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

Unless your going to swap a 6MT in it, or a oddy tranny pass. I recommend doing research before just purchasing a car.

hithesh

Are you talking about 105K service on the G20 or the TL?

Yes, I am not a DIY person.

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

105k on the TL. If your not a DIY person be prepared to pay $700-$1100 dollars for the service. Unless you can find someone on Azine that live close by that can give you a hand.

hithesh

The TL already has 135k miles. which probably means more maintenance!
With so much maintenance/fixing up cost, what's a good price for the TL. $2000?

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

$0

I would pass on it and find something else.

When I had my TL-S, I was on the 2nd transmission IIRC and I sold it with 120k on the dash. It was always something I wondered about if it was going to go out or not.

Save yourself the trouble and research other cars besides the TL.

Why do you want the TL?

How much is your budget?

Skirmich

2K is a good price for a Base Model.. But a TL-S isn't that far up north in price either.
These cars have been black branded by the trans issues so they are relatively cheap for what you are getting.


Performance wise the TL will obliterate the G20 and Many many Late Year Model cars. That's IF you know the weakness of these cars and how to fix them properly.
If you don't want to spend more money on the car fixing the Trans Issue (Which is expensive to do so) you should skip it.
BUT for the Money? You wont get anywhere in the ball park of performance, 2K for 225hp? Not a Chance. 260hp for not that much more money? ...

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

But wait, wasn't the 99-01 transmission a tad bit better than the 02-03?

4spd vs 5spd right?

Skirmich

^ They are far more reliable but way to outdated to be a good buy.


IMO:
He's already getting a fairly inexpensive car.
SO:
Save up for the AV6 Swap which will add another 1.5K
=
He's getting a 3.5K Car which will be incredibly reliable and powerful enough for many.

Do the same math for the TL-S and you will end up with a car that far exceeds its end price point for what your getting.
TL-S = Full Time Traction Control + 4 ABS Channel + More Powah?? = Excellent Deal to look it up instead of a Base Model.


Reliability wise these cars are Pure Japanese Quality if you take out the Trans Issue. Once the trans issue is taken care of these engines will outlive its driver EASILY..

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

I loved my TL. I would probably still have it if it weren't for the tranny issues.

hithesh

I want the TL coz it's fits by budget and it was fun to drive.
My budget is 2500-3000$.
I need a car that's not gonna breakdown for the next six months or cost me $$ to fix. I am Ok with 100-200$ maintenance.

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

Well the TL might be something to steer away from, because like we said earlier. If the tranny goes might as well just buy a new car. You can do a ATF 3x3.

There are more cars out there in the price range.

You say not break down in 6 months, are you planning on buying another car in 6 months?

Does it have to be an automatic, have you looked into the 6th gen accord manual?

MarcDavidoff

If the car is $3k like I think you mentioned on an earlier post, that is too high. Maybe $2k Max with the pant issues and neglect. Typically if the interior and exterior look like crap, the maintenance on the mechanicals has also likely been neglected.

hithesh

My primary choice Infiniti G20 is gone now.
Took it to mechanic. After examination he said there's a delay in the gear shifting, which leads to tranny problem.
There were leaks too - major being rear main seal leak.
I guess leaks are common for a 100K+ vehicle. But he said rear main leak takes some work to fix and costs about $700.
I'm back to square one now. I was hoping the headache of meeting ppl, choosing cars would be over today. But it ain't.

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

That blows.

Good luck.

Guayaco90

Just Buy the TL you will be happy with it.I spend more then 3000 with the government taxes 3 months ago. 2003 TL base, mint interior and ok outside. I paid 1300$$ and then 1000$ Just in parts. (Complete Timing belt kit and water pump,power steering hose ,brakes pads ,rotors,calipers all around, motor oil and filter and a few bulbs. ) plus $650 in labour. I did the little things in the car searching this website (thanks everybody) Now I just need to replace the transmission fluid. I don't know if the transmission was replace because I didn't know about that problem. I'm the second owner, the transmission shift smoth...But I'm really happy with my TL,that it's also almost 280.000km. Sorry about my English. I'm new in Canada...