I have a 2004 TSX with 133k miles. I just bought it 3 months ago and the catalytic converter code came on, the engine has a small leak, and the transmission is making noise. I took it to THREE different mechanics and got the same report. Replace the cat at $1200, track oil leak and replace seals $1000, and replace the transmission at $5k. Should I invest in the repairs of this car or should I take the dealer's offer of $5k and get something newer?

 

Seems like the last guy decided to sell it.

 

I am thinking of taking it to a transmission shop for them to run the diagnosis on it. The price for a new transmission is $1,6- 3,6 depending on which parts need to be replaced. It comes with a 3 yr/36,000 mile warrenty. Anyone replaced their transmissions? At what mileage and how long has it lasted currently?

 

Some 2004 transmissions were recalled because of a defect in the transmission case. Look for the VIN in the engin bay and see if there is a punch mark above the first charactor. If so your car had the recall. If not it did not. Now that does mean it shouldn't have. You may need to search to see what VIN numbers were part of the recall. I'm sure there is a lot of info on this board.

The tranny has a lot of miles on it. The previous owner may not have had the fluid replaced. It may just need a flushing.

If you do need a new tranny you can find used one and save some money. No sense putting a new tranny in a car with 133K miles.

 

What will they let you buy with the $5K trade offer? An 07 TSX or a new one? What's the actual deal? (for instance, a good deal might be $11K and your car for the 07, $12K tops if they're really giving you $5K for your car). Really too many variables with a trade to answer your question.

 

i was in the same boat as you, my TL needed about 2k of stuff done when i traded, and another 1500 or so within the next year. with 188k on it, i decided to get rid of it, it was a money pit from the get go.

it was bittersweet, i loved that car, but in the time i had it, i probably put at least 5k into it.

good luck with repairs or a new(er) car.

 

The dealer is offering a 2006 TSX with 79,000 miles for
$16,1 less my trade in $5500= $11,900

Is this a good deal?

 

I've read that you should trade a car in like that when the cost of the repairs exceed what you can get for the car.

Of course, that doesn't say anything about the worth of avoiding the hassle of figuring out what's wrong and getting all the repairs done.

 

$16k is a little steep, unless that's CPO (which I doubt). Edmunds, which is usually more accurate for realistic value, puts dealer price at about $15k, KBB puts it at about $17k. For what it's worth, I paid around $2k below KBB when I bought my TSX. It would be ideal if you could haggle them down, but value is all in what you're willing to pay, I guess.

You're getting a newer model with a couple nice upgrades from the model refreshes, less miles, and you're probably not spending a whole lot more than would have gone into repairs, when you factor in the model year and mileage changes, and the increased risk of something else going wrong with a car that's obviously having a lot of trouble.

It doesn't hurt to do some shopping around, find out if any other dealerships are willing to out-do their competition, then play them against each other. If you can't make anything happen, well, ultimately it's your money and your call.

 

Hasn't the price of used Acuras/Hondas gone up? The price seems in line to me. Try to get them down to 11,000. If not, take the deal anyway. I think you'd be better off.

 

Assuming the 2006 is is good shape, it seems like a good deal to me.

 

So if you can believe this. I have been talking to the used car lot that sold me the car 3 months ago. I told them about the problems and showed them 4 different mechanics estimate for repairs including an Acura dealer. They were initially going to offer discounting their labor to fix it. I asked to see the safety inscpection report and after many times asking, he said he didn't have it and then offered to buy back the car less $1000 for depreciation. I feel very lucky. Now I'm looking to buy an 2004 with 140k miles for $9,200. Should i stay away from high mileage TSX's? I really like the car, but a newer one stretching the bank.

 

That was lucky and a hard lesson learned. Yes before buying a high mileage used car you need to get it checked out. Also if you came here and looked at problem people had with the 04 TSX (the first model year) you may have decided to get a different car. Personally I would not buy an 04 with 140K miles. I'm not saying every 04 had problems, but I think most will agree the 04 had more problems than later years. Maybe you should look for a car with less miles, maybe newer. That might price you out of the TSX but in the end you may be better off. At least get that one checked out by a good mechanic before you buy.

edit: in Autotrader (Houston) there is a 2006 non-tech with 90k miles for $11K. You could probably get that down a bit. The 06 TSX was the MMC update.