Firstly, props to the folks who do this site.

I had been shopping for a TL for about 6 months, and finally found one ('96 3.2 premium, 82,500mi, $7200.)

Two things:

1) I've seen a lot of talk about melting headlight wires. I just ordered a pair of 80/100 H4's, the same bulb that I used on a Porsche 914 several years ago without a problem. Will they give my wiring trouble? Heck, 16 gauge wire can handle 8.5 amps, right?

2) The headlight covers are kinda cloudy, mostly from bug innards. Can a person get new ones without buying the entire headlight assembly, or can the cloudiness be buffed/polished out?

Thanks.

 

that is awfully cheap

i would think something is up with that car to be that cheap

 

You'd have to replace the whole headlight. Chrome ones are about $800 a pair, or you can get black ones from Japan for $450 a pair.

 

sweet you got a TL! Good luck.

 

I thought that was cheap too, but I Kelly BLue booked it and that is about right for the miles. I dunno what the deal is though, I kelly booked my 97tl and even put that it had 100,000 (only has 60,000) and it came back as $9,600 private party value. Must be some probs with the 96?

 

If the lenes are not yellow and brittle, you can buff them out. First clean them good with a non-abrasive cleaner made for plastic. There is some stuff for polishing plastic (pink tin), but most polishes just create tiny scratches you can hardly see. You can also use a dry method (buffing wheel and resin sticks).

 

Yeah, I thought it was cheap, too. KBB showed $9215 for private party. The seller told me that he wanted to just eBay it rather than retail it, as his wife wanted the garage space. He is a dealer, but insisted that he never bought cars at auction, preferring to get trade-ins from lots that he worked with. He had been personally driving the car for about 8 months. They seemed pretty straight-up, and I picked it up at thier home, but then again, I'm not not very experienced in the eat-your-nuts-for-breakfast world of used-cars.

There are a couple of issues that reduce the price - rock chip in windshield, a few scratches, both right wheels curb-scarred, and smoker.

I drove it back home to Columbia, Missouri from Hot Springs, Arkansas (430 miles, just short of 8 hours) and it drove really nicely. I plan to hit the dealer in St. Louis to have them deal with the "Check Engine", which the seller assured me was from the EGR valve, covered under recalle/service bulletin.

I don't plan to "rice" it out, but I will get tires soon, as it has no-name 205/65's. If I get into a 60 or 55, will the ride suffer much?

I'll look into buffing the headlight covers. Any ideas on whether I'm gonna melt my wires with the 80/100 H4's?

Thanks all - great board!

 

I'm not sure, but I think you can upgrade the wiring harness...

Craig

 

I don't think that the ride would suffer with 60 or 55 because mine is 40 and with 1.2'' low srping and the ride is still smooth for me except going through holes. I don't get a dramatic change in the ride of the car when I changed the rims like when I changed the srpings. The handling of the car is much better with changing springs & putting on strut bar.

 

which dealer in st. louis?

 

If you're going to go with any bulbs higher than the 55W stockers, you should really get a heavy duty wiring harness. They sell for between $30-$40 and are a good investment. I had a buddy with a Civic that used 100W bulbs and in a couple months he burnt out all his wiring. He ended up spending a few hundred bucks to get it all fixed up. The stock wiring just wasn't meant to handle all that wattage. And if you are really after brighter light output, go HID.

 

I was planning on going to St. Louis Acura on Manchester.

Oy... I can't imagine how little fun installing a new wiring harness for the headlights would be. Almost rather go for the HID kit.