As some of you already know ive been here asking for some advice, which y'all have been fantastic, about my purchase towards a CLS. Ive passed on a few to which im almost ready to seal the deal on this puppy. Its a 03 CLS6 that just hit 100km on it. The car is fantastic. ITs swift, sits tight, and the interior is spotless. BUT with that being said there are some possible issues that im pondering about.

1. The previous owner, lease from Acura, had one of those tinted windguard things on the sunroof. I had them take it off, but theres some minor wear on where it sat. PRetty much you can see where it stuck on the roof. The outline is a bit dulled.

2. He mentioned that theres a slight rumble/shaking coming from the engine when you push it. He insists that Acura has cleared this noise and its normal, but i want to see if any of you understood on what im saying. I tried listening to it, but i could hardly make it out. Its only when you kick it you can barley make it out. This normal? It could be just the raw power that im not use to maybe, but ive been in a 02TL and i dont reconize the same sound. Could this be something to worry about? Or is it normal seeing that this is a littler more agressive than to the TL that i sat in before.

3 and last. When opening the hood up, i see a slight stain on the engine. Look at the pic below and you can see it on the top right side of the alumi block. Something blew up in the past? Or just someone being a little sloppy?

Heres the pic... Thanks in advance guys!!

 

nice ..good luck

 

Point 2 - Hard to say without actually hearing it, but it does sound normal to me. Overall, looks very clean!

 

Thanks guys,
Yeah the noise part wasnt a huge factor for me seeing that it was somewhat hard to hear. It wasnt that i felt the shake in the body or in the steering wheel, but seeing that the sales guy brought it up it made me think more about it. Im more or less concerned with my 3rd point.

As you can see in the pic, though you may have to zoom in, the right top part of the engine you can see some oil like stains. Can that be a result of sloppyness from someone, or could that be a sign of something exploding in the past?!

 

I doubt anything exploded in the car. Just run a carfax. I'm pretty sure someone on Acurazine.com has a thread open for it. Your just slightly paranoid and if your buying it from an Acura Dealership just get it certified.

 

I have the carfax along with another and theres no history of such events. Looks clean record wise. Yeah im a bit paranoid... The sales guy said that the acura dealship around the corner from him wanted to buy it off of him, but he refused. Im either going to take it to acura so that they can take a loot at it, or to my mech if hes not too busy.

Cant stop thinking about it! The test drive totally confirmed my choice of wanting this car. I cant believe the uber sexyness this thing is.

 

As far as point 1 goes, you may be stuck with the mark; putting a wind deflector on is kinda like putting a bra on a car. After time, the paint will fade from the sun (except where the bra was) and the rest won't match. If you really don't like the wind guard on the roof, try some Cleaner wax on it. If that doesn't work, you'll probably have to buff it (and the rest of the car while you're at it). That will get rid of the marks (at least for a while).

The other two points, i wouldn't worry too much about. Good luck and enjoy!

 

YEah, at some point ill probably just get the top rook painted if need be. Ill take pics when i get a chance, because i dont think buffing will do the job. Its kinda roughed up a bit. Maybe some wet sanding and then a good buff will do the trick. Ill check it out more if or when i decide on the car. As for everything else, im happy with it but some minor detailing will need to be done. Here are some pics of it. Gots to get rid of the gold emblems. Grr... Thanks for the heads up!

 

You buying it from a Acura Dealer ?

 

No, not from an acura dealership. Some place thats just down the street from one. Most dealerships here in Toronto want $23-25 for manual 03 CLS.

 

Good luck with your purchase, man. The car looks great (except for the gold badging).

 

You can probably take it to a dealership and get it certified for another grand or so

 

You can only get it certified if you buy it from an Acura dealer.

Point 1, live with the moonroof deflector. Makes no sense to paint or buff the hood. Just put it back on & live with it. It's not that bad.

Point 2, hard to tell. Could be a motor mount allowing the engine to rock a little, or could be nothing.

Point 3, that's just a dirt spot, nothing to be worried about. Just clean it off. There's nothing in that area that would "blow up"

 

Thanks for the heads up everyone!!!! Its much appreciated!!!

Final question,
I cannot take it to my mech this week, family emerg, to which i would like to have things done before the weekend. Would it be wrong, or a waste really, to take it to the "Stealerships" ?

About the roof thing, yeah... i might just do that. Ive looked around and it doesnt look that bad. Maybe at some point i may take it off and have someone repair it. At this point and time, JUST IVE ME THE DAMN CAR!!!

Cheers!!!

 

Actually you can go to an Acura Dealership and get it certified if you bought the car elsewhere. i have 2 personal friends who have TLs that have done so. Both got their cars certified for a little over 1200

 

Thanks for the advice!!
The dealerships here i believe have to sell the cars already certified, so thats one less thing to worry about. Im actually taking this bad boy to my mech with in the hr, so I hope everything falls into place!!

Wish me luck!!!

 

DONE!!!!
The deal is done! I'll post images back in the pic thread. Thanks for your insider thoughts everyone!!! Now, what will be my first project! :p