I have a blue/green with beige interior 1997 rl, I've owned it for 7 yrs so far, now up to around 147k, its starting to have some issues, but most of it is that they are all coming at the same time. Bad valve cover gasket, and the steering rack (rack n pinnion) is leaking quite a bit, the muffler and the piped attached to it is leaking. I recently got some of that steering fluid that stops leaks from Lucas, hopefully it can slow if down.

I've taken good care of it but I am wondering if I am better off putting the money towards a younger car.

I've found a nice white 1999 rl with 95k, owner says has records of service and has taken good care of it, recently did timing belt and new brakes. The guy is asking $5,900

Only things I see positive of change is I would gain 50k miles, get upgraded to hid lights, and side air bags.
On the negative side the interior of the 1999 is gray, I dunno why but I love the beige interior of the rl.

I would go for one of the 2nd gen rls but my job is not doing as well as it was doing in the past so I don't want to take big financial risks atm. It's also not in my budget, I like paying my cars off straight up cash, non of that financing for me.

So what do you guys think? suck it up and fix the 97 rl, get the 99 rl and deal with the grey interior, or try to buy time and save up for an infinity g35x? I've also considered and suv but I really can't find anything with decent gas mileage that could replace my rl without getting a lesser vehicle.

 

well ima put it this way. either way with a car thats out of warranty your going to be spending money on it. A newer car out of warranty will probably need money later on.

 

Get an '04 RL

 

what he said.

 

I ain't in new jersey, Im up here in MASS, one of the more expensive states to live in. Getting tempted to fix the old rl and slowly save up for a worthy update. I am going to avoid the 2005 model due to being the first one out and don't wanna deal with propeller shaft problems.

 

Hey I'm a former Masshole myself (Topsfield)

If you're going for the 2nd gen RL, get an '07+, it seems to get rid of most of the bugs.

 

all you would be paying for at this point is the difference in 50k miles and looks and HIDs, and more importantly the side airbags... not much else is really different from the early first gen, and the later first gen.

i have a personal preference to the looks of the 99 and up myself, so you know what my choice would be. you might want to think about how much your going to have to spend fixing the issues in your current car vs what you would have to do to the 99.

another thing that would sway me to the 99 is the fact he has already done the timing belt which is at least a $600.00 job, and he has also done the brakes...

 

Yeah, going to a '99 isn't worth it. The '04 once again (ahem) would be worth it, lots of improvements vs. a '99

 

If you've maintained your '97 well (esp oil & trans fluid changes), then I'd say fix the current issues and save the balance of the $5900 for use later.

 

Forgot to mention that I've got 194k mi on my 98 RL and it runs great.

 

True, our '97 TL is nearing 200k and still running great.

 

Our 96 TL is nearing 260K and runs great