curls

Looking at buying a high-mileage TSX (VIN # 000032 !!) that was driven on the highway a LOT. Price is really good ($4K less than any other TSX w/ half the mileage).

Still has about 1.5 years' worth of <my> driving left on the powertrain warranty.

Anything to look out for?

The CEL is on, although will be fully diagnosed before I talk price with them. Also minor scuffs on rear bumper but that will be taken care of as well. Buying through an Acura dealership, so it will be an Acura Certified vehicle, therefore getting new tires, brakes, etc... before being sold to me.

Is there anyone with this high of mileage on their TSX? Being #32 off of the assembly line is almost an honour. But then again, it gets the mileage burden.

Opinions / comments?

Thanks,
~Eric

Howard911s

how much?

Howard911s

and does it have NAVI? the initial batch of TSX with navi. have navi problems.

iamhomin

Although it is the 32nd car produced, don't be fascinated or flattered by it.

curls

No NAVI (2004 CDN TSX's never had that option anyhow).

Didn't want NAVI anyhow.

Asking price is $25,900 CDN but they even said they'd go lower as its been on their lot for a few months. I have a mechanic who works exclusively on Acura/Honda and is a personal friend of mine, so I don't mind the high-mileage.

What do you mean "don't be flattered by it"? Just don't be flattered by the fact its an early-run car? I'm not, it's just interesting. My 1991 Teg is # 2593. I'm a stats guy.

dom

So it has 44,800 miles or km's. I presume you mean about 71,000km's?

- Make sure the driver seat doesn't move under braking.
- Make sure the driver's seat doesn't grind when being moved back or forth.
- Make sure there's no condensation in the driver's side headlight. (When wet)
- Make sure the brakes don't vibrate badly when braking from higher speeds.
- Check the seat heater switches, make sure the lights work.
- Test out the VSA by turning it off and on while driving.

curls

How can I tell for sure if the headlight won't leak? If it's condensation, it's hard to replicate at a dealer lot isn't it?

And as for the VSA: How can I check to see that it's working? Turning it off/on won't do much when on a highway will it?

And yes, 72,400 km.

dom

If you can spary it with a hose do it. If not at least make sure such small problems will be fixed if they do come up.

As for the VSA, turn it off while driving and make sure it goes back on. When you turn it off a light will appear in the dash and disappear when its back on. Make sure that happens. I has the VSA sensor replaced because the light wouldn't go off.

dom

And make sure the AC works........

GIBSON6594

the rattles are included in the price

curls

Can't be worse at rattles than my 1991 Teg w/ 1300 watts of Class D power hitting 2 12's right now. LOL...

On a more serious note, what rattles can be fixed and what can't? Any covered by warranty?

sniff

I bought a used TSX 6-speed non-nav at 44K miles for $20K from a mercedes dealer.
I really got what I paid for. I had a lot of things replaced under warranty like
steering wheel, center console compartment, 2nd 3rd and 6th gear...
The car was really abused by the first owner. My mistake was buying a TSX that was
previously modified. ( I didn't see this until afterwards.) You definately want to check the shocks to see that they haven't
been tampered with. Most modified cars are driven hard which put a lot of stress on the drive train.

I have also learned in the process that not all accidents are reported. Have someone look at the paint
to make sure no part of the car has been repainted. New cars now have vin stickers attached to
major body panels to verify that the parts are original to the car and haven't been replaced.

And yes, definately check the sliding driver seat. Still trying to get the dealer to replace my tracks.

sauceman

Wow, #32 is the lowest VIN that I know of on this board. It used to be mine (I believe), with #134.

Obviously, that means the car has been built in the first week of production, meaning it may have minor glitches that would have been corrected later on.

Definitely check out for the A/C, rattles, sliding seat and rock chips since it has so much mileage. Out of curiosity, how much are you buying it for?

odessa

If you are serious about buying this TSX, take it to the Acura dealer and have them inspect it, that will guessing out of the purchase.. (I believe they have something like 120 point inspection?).
My own TSX has 42000 miles without any problems, thou I think that lately I got my brakes warped so I will take it to the dealer to check out.
If car is OK, I would not hesitate to by an Acura @40 or 50, 000 miles. My

sniff

44,888 miles for $25,900 is asking for way too much even for a certified. I was emailed a memorial day special (south coast acura) on a new 05 tsx non-nav for $24,998 including destination and extras. Yes...unbelievable price. You might want to contact through emails to dealers for a quote and ask them to let you know when they have a special price on a new TSX. Might be a better way to go and save you from asking this question. I am thinking of trading in my second-hand TSX for a new one.

YBA

Just make sure it's not the car I sold to the dealer 2 weeks ago

curls

$25,900 Canadian. Under $20K USD.

I will be checking the seat rails, suspension, A/C, lights (condensation), rattles, any signs of underbody rust, possible accidents, etc... all tomorrow.

I am bringing a mechanic and friend (one in the same) with me. What are the stock compression numbers supposed to be????? We are doing a compression test.

Also, it IS at an Acura dealership. They don't have it run through their 150-point inspection and said they won't do it unless absolutely necessary (read: more money). I trust my mechanic friend enough to find problems and signs of tampering and modding. Although with this high of kilometers in just under 2 years, it's highly unlikely it was modified -- it was likely a pure highway car from Ottawa to Toronto on a weekly basis. That is quite common around here.

Anyhow, I will report back with the findings tomorrow evening.

But in the meantime: Anyone know stock compression numbers?!?!?!?


Thanks,
~Eric

jlukja

If it revs to 7600 RPM its been reflashed

sauceman

Eric, when I got my compression test done, it showed 155-155-160-155. The guys at Acura said it was the best result I could expect to get, that it showed the engine was in great condition.

curls

Wow, I would have thought that would be really low. I know my b18 in the 1991 Teg is supposed to be about 185 across the board. And the B18C1 is over 200 psi across the board.

Why so low for the K24 if it has a 10.5:1 compression ratio??

~Eric

curls

Question: Is there ANY way to tell if a car was used as a demo at a dealership? With VIN # 000032 I'm fairly sure it was, especially seeing as the ownership transferred hands with only 9500 km on it.

If so, should this be a BIG bargaining chip?

~Eric

sauceman

I would believe so, because that would mean the car has been given a really rough time, no proper break-in, etc. Actually, I wouldn't even want to buy such a car.

Black_6spd

I'm assuming 1.5 years would put you over the standard 50k warranty? If I'm not mistaken, certified vehicles have a longer warranty (100k) than brand new ones.

curls

There is 28,000km (I guess 18000 miles?) left on the powertrain warranty. No bumper-to-bumper warranty left, though.

It's not an Acura Certified Vehicle, either, so there is no extended warranty.

sniff

You're buying a used Acura from Acura and it's not certified?...maybe they have a hard time certifying it. Get out while you can because it'll hurt you in the long run.

curls

I am having it checked over in fine detail by my mechanic / personal friend / Acura guru. If there are any red flags mechanically, I'm outta there. If it's in great shape, which is seems to be so far, then I will get a 10,000km bumper-to-bumper warranty tacked on, and still also have 28,000 km of powertrain.

I wouldn't expect this dealership to sell a car Certified if it has this many KM's on it. None of the 2000-2003 TL's are certified, because they also have more than 50,000km's on them. Seems to me that this dealership can't be competitive if they are selling Certified cars because of the increasingly competitive market for used cars in the area. Maybe I'm just talking myself into this, but numerous colleagues have come to the same conclusion.

I will keep everyone updated.

Thanks!
~Eric

GIBSON6594

A quick note...I bought a certified car, and if it had not been certified I would have been stuck with it and its major problems, but because of the certification they were supposed to perform, I was able to get out of it.

curls

What kind of major problems, and was it a TSX? What kind of car otherwise?

GIBSON6594

It was an Audi A6

One of the cylinders was malfunctioning and the CEL went off every day and they couldn't figure out why. They were calling specialists from Germany to figure it out and no one could.

It turned out they skiped some parts of the certification, because of that, i threated to sue for fraud and instead of the lawsuit they bought the car back from me and the whole deal was wiped clean.

If it hadn't been certified I would have had nothing to sue them for, they would have only been obligated to fix the car under the warranty, which would have been up in about 10 days. Would you want that car after that, especially with no warranty?

So its kind of an indirect reason to get a certified car

curls

The TSX will be mine on Wednesday! I CAN'T WAIT!

Great deal, warranty, fully touched up of any rock chips and chips in the chrome around the grille, free oil changes for 24,000km (1 year), got the OEM bodykit thrown in free, installed, as well. Didn't opt for the spoiler to be added in because I actually like it without the spoiler myself.

I will take some pics when I get it and post them up later next week!

Hopefully this forum will be as helpful as G2IC, where I was a "resident" for many years with my G2 (1990-1993) Acura Integra. This forum seems to have many nice people and helpful tips, tricks, and advice -- just like G2IC.

Cheers!
~Eric

sauceman

Congrads! And enjoy the drive!

curls

I'm sure I will!

They're putting 4 new tires on for the safety, but I am trying hard to sway them away from putting on the OEM Michelin's. I'm looking to get some Yokohama V4S or Falken Ziex 512 (have these on my Teg - they rock).

Hard time convincing them, even though it would probably save them a bunch of $$. I'm even trying to get a tire that they stock there (brand-wise, they stock Michelin and Yokohama). We'll see later today when I talk to the used car operations manager.

curls

They put on 4 brand new Toyo Proxes TPT tires, 4 new rotors, all new pads, and the check engine light was the (typical!) O2 sensor. Replaced that no problem.

The OEM kit is going on now, repainting rear bumper (to fix a 1" scuff, they repainted the bumper so as to not disturb the "pearl" in the paint in one area), and the hood is touched up perfectly according to them.

Picking up the car, and all its debt, tomorrow! I can't wait!

kaikai114

How do u test it out? I know driving in the pouring rain @ 90mph will definitely show if the VSA is working. But on normal days?

taeoug

Most dealerships would not hang on to a car for that long and use it as a demo. Maybe a loaner perhaps but that is very unlikely as well. Ask someone on this board to run a carfax report. Unfortunately, my subscription ran out yesterday.

sauceman

Gravel roads.

curls

I had a carfax run - came out 100% clean.

I bought the Used Vehicle Information Package (UVIP) here in Ontario and it said that the car was leased to one "I. MacFarlane" in June 2003 (3 months after production) and not sold until it was sold to the dealership that I bought it from. The 9500 km "change in ownership" was a mistake on my part -- the car was safetied and e-tested but never sold.

Either way, the car is clean and was had for a very good price. I'm happy, and will be a lot happier when that K24 starts singing!

John_RENAMED

Sniff,

I need some more info from you. I just hit 40K miles and the gear box catches the gate from first to second on occasion. I've babied the car, no abuse. So two questions.
First, how did your bad 2nd, 3rd, and 6th gears manifest ? What were the signs ?
Second, I have a creaking noise coming from inside the cabin, which could be from the center console. Why was your console changed ? Both answers would really help me out, because my warranty will only be around for a little while longer. My problems are subtle at this point, but I feel like the dealer needs to know before things worsen after the warranty is up. Thanks.

curls

My 1-2 shift catches sometimes as well, and i hear it's a "quirk" of the TSX 6MT. If you are smooth, it shouldn't happen much if at all, though.

One minor complaint about my car now that I've put about 400km on it -- the "not an ashtray" panel cover thing doesn't always stop in the right spot -- it sometimes doesn't line up properly. Maybe some dry graphite lube would help. Gonna spray a bit on the hinges for the armrest/storage bin, too -- slightly sticky but not bad.

Other than that the car is an absolute DREAM and is a ton of fun to drive.

~Eric

sniff

John,

I bought the car used and abused. I only discovered the 6th gear was grinding when I ran the car with no load by sitting the front of the car on jack stands and hearing the gear grinding only in 6th. The grinding noise was significant when running in the 6th gear. I mentioned this to the dealer and they also discovered that 3rd and 4th were bad as well which I couldn't tell. After the rebuilt, I ran the car with no load and the 6th gear grinding noise was still there but not as loud.

You might want to try shifting through the gears with no load and listen for grinding noise. Also, you should try driving the car hard when shift (+7000 rpm shift) and make sure it is a smooth shift. A good dealer should be able to tell you if any of the gears are bad.

About the center console creaking, I am not sure what is the cause. In my case, I had the ashtray lid catching and not aligning up, so I had it replaced. You can pinpoint the creaking by removing the center pocket assembly and ashtray assembly. I doubt this is the source of noise, but it wouldn't hurt to know how to take the center console apart.