Someone I know is selling their 96 3.2 TL with about 100k mi. for $5500. I know this is a good price, but I have no idea what the maintenence records are. There are a few scratches and dings on the car. His kids have been riding in it. The rims are a lil curbed. Anything i should know about these cars? and would you suggest that I get it or not? TIA

btw, ill put up a pic of it later

 

 

-make sure it has had a tune up already
-check under the hood for any signs of oil leaks
-drive it on the freeway at high speeds and see if the steering wheel shakes
-drive it on the freeway at high speeds and see if the steering wheel turns to one side immediately as you let go.
-check to see if the gears shift smoothly
-check to see if the D4/engine light in the gauge lights up

 

thanx, I just remembered that the owner told me that the ABS has a sensor that needs to be replaced, and the door lock actuator has problems. So I dunno still

 

I think that's a great deal. I owned my TL for almost 5 years, was very reliable. Check for exhaust leak, other then that, these cars didn't really have any problems, but the usual stuff at certain mileage.

 

At 100K, I would see if the timing belt had been done yet too, becase that can be relatively expensive to fix, and is suggested in the manual at 105,000 miles.


Check through the thread here about common first gen problems, and you will find that there aren't too many serious issues. And most of them are pretty easy to fix.

Also, I would see if he would bring it to a mechanic, or if you could, have them check it over and also give you an estimate about the ABS sensor if you won't be replacing it yourself.

The door lock actuator, I'm assuming you mean it buzzes and keeps trying to lock the door, which IIRC is fixable without too much trouble.

Good luck with it. I picked up my 1997 2.5 with 127,000 miles about a year ago for $6000

 

thats a great price

even if it had some issues, you could repair them and still make out on the car

i would go for it

does it have the dark interior? i logve that interior so much

 

makes me feel like a sucker, i got my 96 3.2 with 119,xxx for $7,000...

love the car tho..

 

the timing belt has been replaced already, yes the door lock keeps trying to lock sometimes, and The mechanic said that teh ABS sensor doesnt really affect anything, it still works fine. btw, it has the tan interior that needs a decent cleaning, but thats to the least of my concern.

 

I got my 98 3.2 w/108,000 on it for 5,600 out the door... I was luck tho, some luxury car dealership got it on a trade in and put it up on autotrader for 4,500... idiots... retail was like 11,900 at the time... I just happened to stumble by it (was looking for a 2 door legend ) Anyway, any price is worth it for a 1st gen... rock solid cars

 

i have a solution to your relocking problem that i typed up in a thread a few weeks back - if u do indeed purchase the car, lemme know, and i can dig up the thread. All you need to do is ground a wire - cost=free.99!

Hope your transaction goes well. I love my 1st gen to death - these are phenomenal cars

 

Thanx for the help everybody. We are still decideing wether to get it or not, but I will keep you guys updated.

 

Just picked up the TL today, drove it from LA back to SF, it ran super powerful and smoothly. The suspension seems a little mushy, but the car is pretty nice. Now here is the long list of downsides:

driverside taillight leaks
CD player doesnt work, everything else does
The carpet used to be tan
The dash/ door panels used to be lighter and not covered in a layer of dust/dirt
The seats should be soft and a ligter shade of tan, I need to take care of it soon
The engine bay needs some simple green
Needs a new air filter, I'm prolly going with a K&N drop in filter and removing the resonator or I might just slap in a G2 Legend w/ TCS intake.

all this for $5500 I'm pretty satified with it.

btw, ill take pix if b4 and after the major cleaning and fixes

 

Awesome, if those are the only problems, you made out well. Looks like they can all be fixed in a day for almost no money. Looking forward to some pics.

 

can you dig up your writeup, I may need it. thanx in advance!

 

This is what I mean when I say the car is dirty:

 

Phew, nasty :p

You'll love it once it is cleaned though, which isn't too hard.

Looks like the seat is in pretty good shape at least. Do you have the right dead pedal?

Any more pics?

 

Whats the right dead pedal?

and I'll post more pix up later.

 

It's the "pedal" to the left of the brake. From what I have heard, some of them were produced very short, while others sit more even/closer to the driver, like the brake pedal.

Don't really know why I asked actually.

 

hey dont take the ABS as a light issue, i do hope it is simply the sensor, but on our cars, esp. my 2.5tl, the abs wasnt simple issue. i had to change the accumulator (194cdn) and it can even relate to ur modulator...check on the base of ur accumulator if u see any leaks, secondly (bleed the system) check the service bulletins here somewhere, and see if the abs light comes back, if it does most likely ur accumulator or modulator could be having problems...ur abs will still work, but u dont want probs. to get worse.

 

Rent or borrow a carpet cleaner and some Oxyclean and go to town. For more results, boil the water before you add it to the cleaner. It works great on carpet in general. You can even mix up some Oxyclean solution and just scrub it down and let it soak for a few hours, then shampoo. At worst, you can buy new floor mats.

Congrats on the new ride man, these are great cars.

 

Thanx for the advice on the oxyclean. I am going to oxyclean the floormats and then dye em black

 

Why dye them black?

 

I going to dye the black because it looks great, and it is harder for it to show the dirt on it. Ive dyed floormats before and they come out looking better than new.

 

I'll be anxious to see how they come out. Maybe you'll start a new trend.

When I got my car I didn't have any floor mats, and bought a set of stock ones for like $50 and love them how they are.

 

I was cleaning the car today and the floormats looks like hell, the drivers side looks worse than hell. I will try to clean them with oxyclean first then dye them. Hopefully i will finsih them within the next 2 weeks since i dont have very much time on my hands.

 

Yours look pretty well worn, and putting around $60 into a brand new set may be a better choice.

On the deadman pedal, mine is shorter, and there was a TSB on them, listing the newer pedal. Talked to a dealer, and they do sell it. Maybe a boneyard find...

The shorter pedal is a real pain - uncomfortable just letting your left leg sit...

 

No prob - every time I shampoo our house carpet, I use hot water and Oxyclean and it works very well. It's hard to tell if your mats are just dirty, or also work out. If they are worn badly, then replacing them would be your best bet, as racerock said.

 

i got my 98 2.5 TL at the dealership for 9100 with 88,000 Miles............and that was after the employee discount...........did i get taken for a ride? haha

 

i got mines with 96 2.5tl with 95000mi/153000km for $7500cdn and that was just sep05. a car like urs would probably be priced 9000cdn max in canada right now so if u got urs recent, seems like u payed a little extra maybe..

 

Daaammmmn, you should check out the thread "putting ur floormats in the washing machine"

 

I saw that thread, but i dont know if i want the rubber hitting the side of the washing machine like that