MNdiscgolfer

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum and this is my first post. I have been an Acura/Honda owner for many years. I am in the market to buy an '07 RDX tech package Carbon Bronze Pearl with Taupe interior. The car is being sold by a private party, and comes with the remainder of a "Gold Seal" warranty, basically another 23,000 miles or 23 more months. I checked out the car and it drove beautifully, and is super clean with the exception of the typical armrest issue. I plan on taking it to my Acura tech for a closer inspection.

Oh yeah, here is my question... they asked 13,500 but I talked them down to 12,000 does this seem reasonable? I feel this is a fair price, a bit on the higher side, but I looked into the warranty, and it is pretty comprehensive and other RDXs are going for quite a bit more with similar miles, however they are being sold by dealerships.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or insights you all may have to offer. Cheers

Kaputnik

If the car checks out, 12k is a very good price. I would definitely recommend the pre-purchase inspection you mentioned. Try to get as much information as possible on the service history of the vehicle - you want to be sure its been well maintained. Any accidents?

I don't know anything about the "Gold Seal" warranty, but just a word of caution. Most, if not all auto warranties that are not directly through the manufacturer (Acura Care in this case), are not worth the paper they're printed on. I would probably not factor it in as part of the deal.

Jdrum1

Like Kaput said, 3rd party warranties are usually worthless.

Does it have service records?

How about a CarFax and an AutoCheck? Get both (once looked at a car with a clean Carfax, but Autocheck showed it as totaled).

MNdiscgolfer

Like Kaput said, 3rd party warranties are usually worthless.

Does it have service records?

How about a CarFax and an AutoCheck? Get both (once looked at a car with a clean Carfax, but Autocheck showed it as totaled).



It is a two owner vehicle, no accidents, and yes it has service records (always serviced at an Acura dealership). I guess one good thing about the warranty, is that it's void if serviced by a mechanic not ASE certified.

RDXRonin

Go for it!

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

DO your HOMEWORK!!! get it checked as the others stated!!! by acura if at all possible and a tech that has a clue about them. they are a bit of a unicorn. that being said the aftermarket has stepped up to the plate and with smart upgrades this will be a great sleeper!!

RDX10

Sounds like not too bad of a buy to me. Just check the service history and records. The previous owner told me my rdx had a minor rear bumper hit, but the carfax was perfectly clear. So don't trust carfax too much.

MNdiscgolfer

Here's a little update. I took the RDX into my local Acura Dealership. Here is what they found...

Front end tie rod is worn out. 263.00 to fix
Leaky rack and pinion assembly. 1465.00 to fix
Rear brake pads will need to be replaced in the near future. I'm not sure of the cost on this.


*All of you warranty haters (whom I would generally agree with)... The warranty that isn't worth the paper it's printed on, well, the rack and pinion and tie rod replacements are covered!! The owner of the vehicle said they will schedule the car to get fixed before we move any further on the purchase.

Any thoughts on if I can/should negotiate the price any further due to the tires needing to be replaced and the rear brake pads?

Also, during a conversation with the owner, he was saying that his wife drives the car the majority of the time, and has a lead foot. They have only had the car for a year. Should I be worried about driving habits, equating to problems with the car, even though they have owned the car for such a short period of time?

Lastly, what are some of the likely causes for the tie rod, and rack and pinion assembly to be replaced at this point in the car's life, or is this just normal wear and tear on the car?

Thanks again everyone for all of your insight and opinions, I really appreciate it!

Jdrum1

The rack and pinion is a common issue with early RDX's

The tie rod could be from something as simple as bad roads.

Brake pads are cheap and easy to replace if you'll DIY it.

I wouldn't worry about the wife's lead foot , these are tough little cars.


Have you priced tires? I got a set of Falken's for a great price (around $400), that I really like. Figure an alignment into the cost.

MNdiscgolfer

Thanks for the feedback. I just saw the Falkens for 400 for the set through discount tire.

The dealership quoted 999.00, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!! Even now I get a little chuckle.

RDX10

Sometimes it is better to have a car that has been lead footed vs a car that has been driven by an old little grandma. I have an asian old lady (maybe 75-80+) 3 houses down and she drives a 2008-2009 lexus rx, anyways, she literally leaves the neighbourhood without touching the gas pedal (THAT SLOW) and I have seen her driving around going no more than 50kms/hour. I am not sure her reasons for doing what she is doing, but she probably has so much carbon buildup on the inside of her engine, it is most likely a nightmare!

Jdrum1

Falken G4, iirc. They grip much better than the Michelin Latitude's (much more $$) that came on it (still had plenty of tread, but started to separate).

Tomtwtwtw

If the steering issue is anything like my brother's 2008 CR-V, just check and keep the fluid full and you'll never have any real issue with it. Honda made some leaky systems during that time, but it doesn't tend to get any worse. Better than dropping 1500 bucks. If you're willing to live with that, maybe use that issue to talk down the price.

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

tires just cost me 780.00 for 4 blizzack something or others in the OEM size 235/55-18 im going to be running a dedicated winter summer setup.

all seasons were 550.00(falken not again only lasted 1 year) ish last time i got them. id be happy that the rack got fixed along with the tie rod.

i'd say veryify the work was done then call up healtoe(suspension intercooler down pipe) and vit viper(injectors and flashpro+tune) and order a set of 800cc injectors and flashpro along with the RV-6 down pipe ETS intercooler and enjoy. might want the progress RSB and some brakes also.

MNdiscgolfer

So here's the latest update... I am the proud owner of an RDX! I ended up paying 12K for the vehicle, which I feel is a fair price. I love driving the car, and so does my wife (who took it to work the last week).

I have had to do a couple of things right off the bat.
1. I put a new set of tires on Continental Control Contact Sport AS. $150 per tire, which I am extremely satisfied with.

2. The front speakers were blown, so I replaced them.

3. I will be putting new brakes and rotors on next weekend. (Centric Premium discs and pads)

4. I will have to replace the arm rest soon, as it is starting to tear. The interior is Taupe, although I am pondering replacing it with black leather. I think the contrast would be sweet between the taupe seats and it will match the black on the shifter console.

5. I have an annoying rattle above the glove box and below the dash on that silver/gray piece in between them, which I'll fiddle with.

Acuramon

Congrats! Hope you post some pictures soon.

Jdrum1

I think I may have the same damn rattle!

Please report back if you figure it out.

Pacer

Congrats on the new ride! I have an '07 approaching 97k and still running pretty strong. It has similar issues on its horizon with tie rods / cv boots, but nothing else mechanical. Also had the speaker and armrest issues, and am now dealing with getting a new antenna as some jerk ripped my antenna right off the top of my car. I wish I had noticed it when it happened, because now I can't figure out where it happened/what day so I'm SOL on finding a culprit via cctv, etc. If you have any trouble with the a/c, look that up -- there is a tsb on it saying Acura will replace the compressor IIRC. But there may be some stipulations on it (mileage), so check it out soon.

Sounds like your warranty is good, I'd make those repairs one of the first things I get done, and at dealer if at all possible. Enjoy and welcome to owning a pretty distinctive, pretty badass SUV.