bradykp

a lot of the NJ dealers, and dealers in other states, drill through the bumper for the license plate holder. it's standard practice according to the service dept at my dealer. just put a plate holder on the front, and put your favorite team on there or something.

honestly, you're gonna have to buy a new car if you're this picky. nothing wrong with being picky, but a used car just is not for you then.

bradykp

when i was shopping for a new car, Bridgewater Acura was one of the dealers trying to make right a bad situation I had at Springfield Acura. Their Internet Sales Manager treated me very well, I don't recall his name. He put up with a lot of questions. I've heard a lot of good things from people on this forum and people in my town that bought there. My one friend bought his 2001 TL used there, and it's still running with no problems.

what needed to be fixed other than the scratched up wheels?

bradykp

my mechanic back in NEPA told me there is no need to change my transmission fluid yet (but acura wanted to). i'm a 2006 with 54,000 miles on it. my mechanic back home has helped us run many cars well past 200,000 miles, so i'm with you on the fluids.

bradykp

mine has the same anniversary as you - few weeks later i think. i've gotten new brakes and a new battery. the new battery was a significant improvement on the OEM! we do a lot of city driving living around NYC though. i wish i could push them a little further.

bradykp

the camry is just a downright boring car. don't do it.

nj2pa2nc

I do a lot of long distance highway driving which helps keep the battery charged, not much braking or clutch use needed either. I bought my 06 tsx in Pa. They did an exchange with a dealer in NJ so it had the front license plate holder on it. I kept in on and put a personalized plate on it. My tsx has 84,000+problem free miles. Love it.

bradykp

yeah i remember from back in the day when i used to come on here a lot. my TSX had the plate holder screwed in. i was mad. but then i ended up getting into a fender bender, and got a new bumper. they all get eaten up driving on NJ highways anyways. i'm just happy that i've had relatively no maintenance on the vehicle. it's got 55,000 miles on it. going strong.

npolite

Yes I understand NJ law requires the front license plate, but the plate is held by a screw/bolt which is designed by Honda and isn't held in place by the 4 license plate screws. These guys used pointed screws and went too far and ended up drilling into the bumper. They screwed this up and I have heard many other forum members have this screwup. Why this happens is because the screws are too big and they aren't careful.

I would have swapped the rims but they didn't wanted to switch tire and rim, not just the rim and you know when tires wear they shouldn't be reused on another car.

I was more pissed about the bumper because I bought and car and need to take it to get it repaired just after I get it? I sent him an email on Saturday but never heard back, oh well.

Gargola

I read your complete thread, and it seems to me that all the time and effort you have put into finding the 'perfect' TSX at the 'Perfect' price is not worth the couple hundred dollars you are attempting to save.

On the other hand, you might be one of those people that thrives for the "hunt", and like to prolong it as long as possible. If that is the case, good luck and eventually you will find what you are looking for, it's just a matter of when.

I am currently shopping for 05/06 TSX, so I understand some of what you are going through...

Good luck on finding your car, I think you should seriously consider new or as close to new as possible, based on your expectations.

bradykp

you're talking about right in the middle of the plastic license plate holder - there's a screw screwed into the bumper right? if you're talking about a different screw, then i'm not sure - i was just trying to explain that acura service techs have been instructed to put that screw in for the license plate holder. the intelligent ones probably don't do it, but pretty much every dealer in NJ does this. it's not really a "screwup", since they were told to do this by the instructions given to them for that part.

if the bumper is the deal breaker - just put some sort of vanity plate on the front of your car, on the license plate holder. i know it seems like a big deal. i was pretty pissed when i got my car and saw that. but i got over it pretty quick. the car is too nice to have that be the dealbreaker if it's a good price. that's all i'm saying.

but there's really no way to fix it. i looked at a bunch of options, none would have made it look nice without just getting a new bumper.

nj2pa2nc

^^^^^^^
I just looked to see how the front license plate holder on my tsx was attached. There is a black plastic piece on the bottom of the bumper. It is attached to that with two screws.

Falmouth

He's talking about the screws holding the plate to the license plate holder. These don't screw into the bumper. The dealer used the wrong screws for this and marred the bumper.

nj2pa2nc

^^^^^^^^
You are correct. I have a personalized plate that I put on the front license plate holder and used small screws) Can not be sure if that dealer used the wrong screws since the car was used. maybe the previous owner did it.

npolite

Not sure who did it, but the screws were sticking out the back at least a quarter of an inch, and the hole in the bumper looked like it was that deep too.

bradykp

right - but if you take your plate off, you'll see a hole in the dead center of the plate holder. the instructions that come with the assembly is for the mechanic to put a screw through that hole directly into the front of your bumper, creating a lovely hole in the middle of your bumper.

they actually showed me these instructions because I was furious when I purchased my car and the first time I waxed it I saw this.

that's what i think he's talking about - but i could obviously be wrong and the hole could be somewhere else. i'm just saying - the mechanics didn't screw up, they just stupidly did what the retarded directions told them to do.

bradykp

where was the hole? that's what i'm not getting. is it flat on the front of the bumper, or is it on the underside?

nj2pa2nc

Took the license plate frame off and no holes in the bumper.

npolite

This was on the flat front of the bumper. Two of them. These are the two screws that hold the top of the plate.

bradykp

oh - so it's not the screws for the plate-holder, it's the screws for actually putting the plate on? well now, i misunderstood then - that's just a complete screwup.

but - leave the plate on and you can't see it, not a dealbreaker to me if the price on the car is right.

bradykp

well the hole is only in the bumper if they used the screw that belongs in the center of the plate holder - that's what i meant for you to see.

npolite

Tomorrow I'm going to take a look at another TSX locally. I had a good look at it on Sunday and it still had the Manhiem sticker on it. The front hood had a bunch of stone chips and there was a huge scratch on the the trunk. I'm guessing the probably got the trunk scratch out but not sure that they would have taken care of the hood. If the price is right I'll get this one (has only 24k miles) and get the hood repainted but I don't think they will drop the price on it (asking $21,000).

nj2pa2nc

I do a lot of highway driving so my tsx is covered with rock chips thanks to the lousy paint. I am sure they will remove that sticker-just ask. Good Luck-

dannyboy10

Npolite,

I know your goal is to get a pristine condition car at a fair price. Unfortunately, TSX's are holding their value very well.
This car may be too much trouble for you unless they give you a great price. Repainting the trunk and hood will also mean some blending of adjacent panels.....not cheap if it's done right.

Contrary to some opinions given here, CPO cars for certain brands and models are in HIGH demand. New car sales are down 30-40 percent these days and a lot of people are taking a closer look at CPO cars. Did you know BMW actually reported an increase of CPO sales for May 2009 compared to May 2008 ? Yes, an increase in this sour economy.

For what it's worth, 2009 Honda Accords are DEEP DISCOUNTED these days. I just got a quote (for a friend)of invoice minus the $1,500 dealer cash and would also qualify for 2.9% financing for 36 months. Great deal here.

Good luck!

dannyboy10

What dealer is the car located at and what is the color of the car ?

bradykp

a 2006 with 24k for $21,000? what's the issue?

the paint is cheap - tons of cars out there have those same chips on the hood.

my car was in a small accident, new hood. it actually chips more with the new paint job, unless my driving habits/road selection ended up with more rocks kicking up on the hood - but i think it's just the newer paint chips even worse than the factory painted hood.

and the hood came from the factory, painted - so i don't know why it would be any different.

npolite

I went over to Montgomeryville Acura, the car (carbon gray with a gray interior) was detailed and looked great, alignment was off slightly to the right. The sales guy said they would fix it (although isn't this in the 150 point inspection). They would only drop the price to 20,500. I offered them $19,000 but they wouldn't budge. They kept me for a while because they wanted to research Bridgewater Acura where I was going to get the other car that I put a deposit on but it was sold a few weeks ago. So I know at least I have to expand outside of PA because no PA dealer is negotiating at reasonable prices. When the car is going for $17,500 in a private sale, I think $1500 more is reasonable especially since these cars at auction are going for 16k. I can tell you they didn't put much into this car as I looked at it before it was detailed.

dannyboy10

Steering effort (drifting left or right) and centering of steering wheel ARE 2 separate items on Acura's CPO inspection list. As I mentioned earlier, corners are cut by some dealers......

Seriously consider a 2006 Accord if you are not too keen on the new Accords. The pond will be a lot larger for you. Used TSX's
command a premium. I helped my brother buy a new 2006 TSX for $25,500. three years ago.

Asking prices of $21,000 is too rich.....

bradykp

the edmunds TMV on my 2006 with 56k was around $17/18k when i checked a few weeks ago.

think about it - they made what....40,000 TSXs per year? that means there are 80,000 TSXs in the original style, and another 80,000 in the updated 1st gen. that's excluding any that have been wrecked over the past 5/6 years. it retains it's value very well, and it will when you purchased it used also. i would imagine that if my car would fetch 16-18 grand with 55,000 miles on it, a car with half the mileage would be around 20.

as for PA vs NJ - i found when I was shopping that the PA dealers weren't budging on prices. the NJ dealers have more NJ dealers to compete with, so they seemed to be flexible on pricing. I got a good deal at open road acura in Wayne, NJ, and Bridgewater was right there with them.

Springfield tried to screw me though...and Princeton didn't take me seriously cause I was dressed in sweats the day I went there.

acuintegra

Previous to purchasing my TSX, I was shopping around NJ dealers and "agree" that they were not budging much on their prices. Apparently, ppl are buying them for the price they are listing for or if not, with little discount. Good luck in your search but you may have to go private which is what I did.

bradykp

the used car market is also booming right now, so they probably know they do not need to budge too much, and they're making up for the lagging sales on new cars...

Nogard13

I don't know if this is an option for you, but why not look elsewhere (like Georgia and North Carolina? Cars there tend to be much cheaper (and better maintained). You can fly out to a dealer, purchase the car, and drive it back for less than 18K, I would imagine.

GA Acura #1

GA Acura #2

NC Acura

dannyboy10

The OP wants to see and drive the car before buying....

Car # 1 looks decent

Car # 2 was in TWO accidents

Car # 3 has almost 70,000 miles

bradykp

i guarantee this would be just an added expense for the OP. he seems very particular, so I know he'd probably find some hesitation, but now would feel obligated to buy since he flew out there.

plenty of options local, just need to be a little flexible. just a little.

Nogard13

What kind of accidents?

My car has been in one (it's a 2007) but it only needed the bumper painted. It's reported because I had the other guy's insurance pay for my bumper to be repaired.

My wife's car has been in two accidents as well (a 2005), one that required the rear bumper to be replaced (dude with a pick-up backed into the car and put the tow hitch through the bumper) and one that required a new quarter panel over the passenger front tire.

None of these accidents would affect the car in any adverse way as they were all cosmetic. You have to know what the accidents were before you can judge.

nj2pa2nc

[QUOTE=Nogard13;11021377]I don't know if this is an option for you, but why not look elsewhere (like Georgia and North Carolina? Cars there tend to be much cheaper (and better maintained). You can fly out to a dealer, purchase the car, and drive it back for less than 18K, I would imagine.

Not necessarily-I live in North Carolina and bought my tsx from a dealer in Pa-(got a much better deal). I am lucky that I visit my family and friends in Pa so I have all my service done at the Pa dealer.

oldguytsxer

and consider it a sweet deal......while helping a friend buy a Honda, I saw a 2008 tsx with Nav for 25900 12 k miles, a basic heavilly door dinged 2005 with 74k miles for 16,900 I am in Oklahoma


at 24K you got a car good for years , you can Hondata and have loads of fun with....for a thousand bux difference, who really cares?

club_euro2

http://1596.ecarlist.com/web/1596/ve...-PA?store=1596

dannyboy10

Nogard13,

I am not implying anything about the accidents other than the OP would not be interested....his posts convey that he is interested in a pristine condition car. The car is just too far away from him to even remotely consider.

He has already stated that he was disappointed in the cosmetic condition of some of the CPO cars on the Acura dealer lots.

tarheeldad

I have followed this thread and I believe that the shopper should consider leasing.
You know that you will be driving a new car every three years, and TSX leases are subsidized.

THD.

THD

dannyboy10

Npolite,

I hope you noticed that some of Montgomeryville Acura's pre-owned cars came from Manheim auctions located in Bordentown, NJ and Manheim PA.

As I suggested earlier, it may be worth your while to go to one of these auctions with a used car dealer. You would be buying from the same place Acura dealers go to when they need cars.

You are allowed to see and inspect the cars before the bidding starts. You will even see some sharpies with paint depth meters checking for paintwork and body work.

Your used car dealer may even know some of the people bidding if he/she is a regular at the auctions. If you see Acura dealers bidding on a car, it's safe to say the car is in very good shape and with a little money towards reconditioning, will become a CPO car on their lot(s).

Acura dealers will pay $15,000-$16,000 for a 2006 TSX and resell it as a CPO car for $20,000-$21,000 these days. You can buy the same car at dealer prices. Just add Manheim's fee and maybe a 5% fee to the used car dealer taking you to the auction and inspecting the car for you.

You will see the car yourself and any dings and scratches on the car(s). The used car dealer can get you a list of cars to be sold a couple days before the auction so that you can run Carfax and Autocheck reports on the car(s) that interest you.