msleekitty

Hey Everyone,
This is my first post and I am looking for some advice. I am looking for a newer car and found a 1998 3.0 CL.

this is what the dealer lists:
Price $15599
Mileage 59610
Exterior Color Silver
Interior Color Black
Body Style Coupe Doors Two Door
Engine 6 Cylinder Gasoline
Trans. 4 Speed Automatic with Electronic Over-Drive
Drive Type 2 wheel drive

My question is: is this a reliable car? will I get another 100,00 out of it? I know that can depend on how the last owner maintained it but assuming it has had normal wear and tear. I have noticed people talking about the tranny…… is this a major issue and are there other problems I should look into? I will have this car for quite a while and need it to hold up for me. Everyone here seems to love their cars and I can see why. But I want to know what I am getting into. Thanks for your advice.

Jamz

Get it before someone else does
No tranny issues with mine at 45,000 miles.
I have all options and they are working great so far...(knock on wood)
Get one so you can be a part of our cool club

Tripn

Its definetly a reliable car, and you will be very pleased with buying a CL. Although the price seems a little high for a 98 a model. I would shop around for a better deal...but the Car rocks!!!

dustbuster4

Is it a "Premium" model (leather [heated] seats, etc)? If so, the price isn't too bad, but you could go lower.

I just hit 80,000 miles on my baby, with NO engine/transmission problems.

Acura/Honda has a tained history with their auto trannies, but all of my Honda products have gone over 150,000 miles!

Good Luck (and sharpen your bargaining skills)!

ATLcl98

Definitely pay less than almost 16k...I picked mine up for $15,500 with only 30k miles on it last year ('98 Premium also). I have a 5spd, but I don't think you should worry too much about the auto tranny...think about how many automatic Honda Accords (same v6 engine and tranny) there are on the road, and they aren't all going out, otherwise Honda would be in for a PR nightmare. Good to see someone doing some research before picking out a car!

Rips CL

Forget about that car....check this link out...

http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...threadid=72601

msleekitty

I am not looking to buy untill end of July or August but your car looks sweet. If you still have it then I will def. keep it in mind.
Thanks

hougee

yeah get a 1st gen CL... very nice car.. but 16K is alittle high...blue book is about 14K..

hg

Ricka220

You have to remember that a few hundred bucks here or there on a 4 year old car shouldn't sway you too much. If it's straight with absolutely no bondo and never been tampered with, it's a good deal. If the car had any bondo in it at all, it would be worth 2 to 3 thousand less as far as I'm concerned. In fact, since I live in Chicago where the winters eat up cars with salt, I wouldn't even buy a car with bondo. Plus Hondas are extremely reliable until hit, then all bets are off. So a cherry 98 CL going for 15,500 could be negotiated to 14,800 or less and would be a good buy.

So.......Check Check Check, and examine even closer before paying top dollar.

Just my 2 cents
Rick

Type S

yah..i am impressed by the low mileage....and the price is kind of reasonable..but it is negotiable,right...it is a reliable car...powerful and comfort..i suppose....

CLTECH

about the tranny.....unless you start throwing some serious power into it (turbo and NOS) your 3.0 tranny will hold up....however on my 2.3 tranny, as soon as i throw about 200+ hp onto it, it starts to wear down....that's where you're seeing all the tranny problems....but with the 3.0 tranny, you should do fine.....remember, when you go to the dealership, act like you really dont want the car (worst thing to do is to show that you've fallen in love with it). i know because i work at a car dealership, so i know all the tricks that salemen/women are going to try to look out for....

RhoXS

I purchased my 1998 3.0 new and have made no mods to it so the transmission handles no more power than the stock 3.0 engine. The transmission failed with less than 100K miles on it. Cost to rebuild it was $1400. I understand from the shop that did the rebuid that failures are not that uncommon among the CL and Accord models of that vintage.

In my opinion, catastrophic transmission failures should be very rare in a vehicle with the reliability that Honda products are supposed to have. Unless you are in a position to be able to deal with the contingency of rebuilding the transmission, I would suggest a vehicle with a better reputation.

The only other major failure was the primary oxygen sensor but that was also very expensive at over $300.00. The radio was replaced twice under warranty because the CD player sucks. The drivers window failed twice. The first window failure was under warranty but the second time (identical failure) I had to pick up half the cost ($160). The bond between the window and the regulator apparently fails and the window drops into the door. The local dealer told me that this is a very common problem.

Overall the car has been reliable but the transmission problem simply negated the lack of problems elsewhere.