I have a 1999 TL with 170,000 miles that I have had since 2007 when I bought it from the original owner with 67,000 miles for $8,000 It has served me extremely well. I had to replace the tranny, but besides that, very reliable. When considering a new vehicle, I immediately think of Acura. I was considering a Forester, but the 2012 I test drove was too slow and didn't handle well- I think it would be too difficult to get use to a Forester coming from the TL.

Like my TL, this forum has served me well. So I would like to know what I should be looking for when purchasing a 2011 RDX with 70,000 miles, private owner listed at $11,000 (assuming I can get it for 10k). Link.

Thanks in advance,
D

 

I got my 2011 RDX after my 2003 TL was totalled. Nice upgrade. I paid 10k for it buying from a family member with ~53k miles on it. This was summer 2018. Car was serviced by the dealership right before the purchase too.

Your link seems to be broken, but unless everything is immaculate, you could (and should imo) probably ask for a better price.

 

Thanks for the reply.

Whoops- the link is https://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/c...276755260.html

Ugh, can't find the button to edit my original post; its been a while since I've been on here heh

 

70k miles is nothing, but it could also be a time bomb if maintenance wasn't kept up. Just look for records on all the scheduled items, and at that age it should have also had coolant and brake fluid done no matter the miles. If it's still on original coolant, set aside money for a new radiator just to be safe. As long as the car was taken care of right, you should have many years of reliable use left.

 

Silly question- but what is the best way to see the records? Some of the free VIN websites don't show everything. And who knows of the owner saved every receipt.

 

Never mind. I was able to get more detailed records through AutoCheck compared to the free VIN sites. https://www.ebay.com/itm/324489556424

I had noticed even through the free VIN sites that it has two owners- and just sold a couple months ago. So i asked the owner if anything is not working since it was just purchased and is now listed for sale, and he/she said it has never been sold.... so I am pretty confused about that.

Maybe it was a lease and it was purchased outright a couple months ago?

 

Well that's kind of the thing - a good owner will keep track of the maintenance. Some shops/dealers will send those records to places like CarFax, Autocheck, etc, but Acura also gives you a booklet to track the first 30 or so services, and baring that a simple notebook showing which items were addressed with each oil change. In the end it doesn't really matter, as long as it's recorded somewhere. I DIY most of my stuff, so the booklet has been very convenient. And yeah, that's going to potentially eliminate a good chunk of cars from consideration, but it reduces your odds of getting a bad car as well, especially when you're buying something with a lot of years and/or miles.