I'm looking at a 2006 Acura TSX with 270,000 km on it, priced at CA$4,000. The car is in good condition does that seem like a fair deal? Anything to look for when i test drive?

 

I had a 06 TSX 5AT Navi with Aspec purchased new in 2006 and totaled by a red light runner in 2019 with +175,000 miles. Probably be still on the road today if it wasn't totaled. Very few people sell a vehicle this old with that many miles if it is running perfectly. They "might" just be dumping it after a major repair or don't want to roll the dice any longer because of possible future issues. Red flags for me on any used car purchase are:

- clean title, skip if it doesn't. Some older cars had unreported accidents not listed on a Carfax (accident, minimum cosmetic repair, sold the car later)
- I don't like aftermarket mods like suspension, powertrain (fuel system, reflashed ECU, cold air intake, etc..), brakes/rotors, alarm/stereo system, etc..
- multiple owners; I usually like to stick to original or second owner. I would skip if the Carfax shows +4 owners over the years
- I would inspect for rust because it might been used as a winter beater
- Carfax to check out ownership, accidents, and maintenance schedule. You can also enter the VIN into the Acura Owner's site to download the owner's manual and check out the maintenance schedule if done at a Acura/Honda dealership.
- condition of the exterior and interior. A car this old will have fading paint, UV hazing on HIDs, and wear/tear in the interior. If the exterior/interior look really bad usually means the previous owner didn't put much care in maintaining the powertrain.
- download the owner's manual to understand the features like: door actuators, driver's windows/trunk/fuel/door locks (wiring harness), seat heater button lights up, seat heater works, navi touchscreen works, bluetooth handsfree module works, speakers are rattle free, memory seat works with fob, fog lights work, side mirrors work, manual/Auto climate control and controls vents work (blend door is working), etc...
- how dirty the engine bay looks, check for leaks around the fuel injectors, engine, leaks/crusty stuff around radiator cap/hoses/water pump, and condition and leaks around P/S system. Any corrosion around battery terminals. Condition of serpentine belt (shows a lot of cracks)

All this is before test driving to see how it feels on the road.