evident

Have a choice to pick up either an 06 alabaster silver w/ nav, or an 08 Nighthawk black pearl w/o nav. both with 150K miles, new tires both $7500. 08 needs rear brakes and rotors, a job i can do on my own. 06 needs front rotors i believe. tires are pretty new on both at 7/32. the 06 has beat up leather seats, scratched bumper and chipped paint. black looked pretty flawless except for swirls, not a big deal. the 06 also had some gunk towards the front bottom left part of the engine, near the pcv valve. is this a telltale sign of an oil leak? the 08 didn't have this, but honestly both dealers probably detailed their vehicles.

honestly, the only reason why I would want the nav is to mod it to put a back up camera for my dad. Is there a clean solution to do this for the non nav 08?

this car will be for my parents, i'll be doing most of the maintenance and they plan on keeping it for a few years. With either car, i'll be swapping out the following myself: spark plugs, radiator fluid, brake fluid, serpentine belt, whatever pads/rotors necessary.


are there any other big things i should be looking for?

mrgold35

Is there anything else not listed that is wrong with the 08 (accident, clean title)? They both shouldn't be the same price even with the navi on the 06. It sounds like the 08 is in better shape. The TSX is a pretty solid vehicle when all scheduled maint is done; but, it can be very expensive to fix individual items like HIDs, steering rack, oil leaks, A/C system, etc... The less you have to do will save you some $$$ down the road.

The good thing about the 06 or 08 TSX is there is a open console the right size for an aftermarket unit. You might be able to put in a navi pop-up screen with other features like bluetooth audio, free/cheaper navi updates, traffic speed/red light camera alerts, traffic, weather, smartphone integration, back-up cam, USB support, etc...

evident

The 08 has a clean title, one owner with carfax records. they seem to have had everything done at the dealer. it was a recent trade in and the dealer didnt put it through their system yet, as far as replacing the basics. they offered to let me have it for the day on saturday. I was thinking about taking it to my mechanic in the morning for a pre purchase inspection. and you're right. the 08 is indeed in better cosmetic shape. I would have to look at it more during the daylight. I'm more surprised that the 06 is priced as high as the 08, but dealers justification was they replaced the tires, and battery.

as for the "individual" things you listed. Is there a common failure in the HID system? Or are you just talking about the bulbs becoming dim and need to be replaced? our 07 RX350 is starting to get a little dim.

power steering rack, AC system- what are the telltale signs that these systems will need to be addressed? i'm pretty much leaning towards the 08 unless i can get the 06 for a deep discount (like $2K off)

mrgold35

The TSX has the better HID lights output compared to the RDX or MDX. It is mainly if you need to replace the HID bulbs, ballast, etc.. if they go out can get pricey for individual parts. If the 06 needs some work, that can add up after a while to take away any savings at purchase. My HIDs still look pretty good for a almost 10 yr old car. I haven't noticed my HIDs getting dimmer (also put 3M clear bra since new). Your HIDs might not look as sharp if you have UV damage on the front HID headlight cover. A shine and sometype of UV film like 3M clear bra will help.

The other issues are problems some owner had in the past; but, I've haven't experienced them yet. A pre-purchase inspection by a trusted mechanic is an good ideal to make sure there isn't hidden repairs down the road.

Simba91102

I too would lean heavily toward the 08 (and I've had the chance to pass on the nav 3 times (and have) and haven't regretted it for a second). Any steering rack problem (which appear to be mainly just a leak) seems to be the luck of the draw, and relatively rare. Same with the AC, and except for some 04's, that too (any problem) seems pretty random. On the PS, though there's no recommended change interval for the PS fluid, I'd suggest changing every 3 years or so. It's too easy and cheap not to do it. I'm quite sure the only headlight issues are normal wear and tear ones (though I've never had a problem, and judging by what I've seen here over the last 8+ years, that's pretty rare to). The 08 for $7.5K sound like a good deal. These are becoming hard to find (good 1st gen cars), and unless the car was really abused or ignored, 150K miles is not a big deal.

jwong77

Agreed with Simba, go with the 08. Being that it was the last year of that generation, they would have pretty much fixed every issue there would have been with the car. As for the nav, I would skip it, at this point is not all that useful anyhow, as its missing a lot of modern features like traffic, etc.

I would get the more well maintained car myself, because you don't know what other possible issues maybe lurking around the corner. Also, replacing torn up leather seats can be pretty pricy.

As for big issues, I would certainly have them replace the front lower control arm bushings. Those things tend to go out on these cars.

evident

Today was the salesperson's day off, but he said to come by tomorrow, they'd be willing to let me take the car for 24 hours. I already scheduled an appt with my trusty mechanic, and would be showing it to my parents then too. ultimately my dad's going to decide. It's for him after all. I'll get him a garmin that can rig up one of those wireless back up cams. would be much more modern and useful than the circa 2006 nav interface anyways!

jchan2

+1 vote for the 2008. Personally, I usually prefer to put my own set of tires on so I can select the set I want, which is usually something different than what the dealer has put on.

Simba91102

Last post from the OP was a couple of months ago and we never did learn which car he chose (if he did choose one).