jsido

New to the forum, but love acuras. I'm looking at buying a 2002 TL 3.2 with 102K miles on it. I'm able to get the dealer down to $7500 for a cash buy - but I obviously want to make sure I'm not walking into a minefield of maintenance. I drove the car around a bit and it rides really well, but at that mileage what should I be on the lookout for?

I know that it's reached the age/mileage where timing belt could be an issue. Anything else I should keep in mind?

I'm planning on taking it to a shop to get it looked over before pulling the trigger, but I'd like to track down the maintenance history.

I do have the VIN - anyone here able to locate maintenance records with a VIN???

Skirmich

Very close to Timing Belt/Water Pump procedure if it hasnt been done talking about 1K or 800 bucks of $$$.

But that Price is too high for a Cash Buy better look for a Type-S with that Money, I think a member is selling his S/C Type-S for less than that but a lil bit damaged.

jsido

Appreciate the input. Dealer was originally asking $9,000 for it - and structurally it's in a great shape and rides really well.

Are there warning signs for the timing belt issue?

my.daily'tl'

Input vin at owners.acura.com. Carfax - but they may not show everything.

Maintenance wise - check for trans replacement before any money is spent. Blue bolt heads thru to the engine - sign of replacement. Timing belt, fluids.

These cars are great when taken care of. If youre inclined to doing your own work, theres a DIY section with most maintenance items covered.

my.daily'tl'

Timing belt goes by miles and/or age. At 102k its a good idea to change it. Peace of mind knowing you can go another 100k.

01tl4tl

7 years or 105kmiles for timing belt. expect private shop $1000-dealer 1500 plus!!
depending if other fluids like brake and ps have not been flushed before add $$$
no test needed- its been replaced or not!

trans- always a suspect and requires an hour drive to get hot enough to show any problems, but expect transmission failure at 2500$ in your future

Few people dump a perfectly good TL at 100 unless they didnt want to spend the grand on the 105, or other maitenance has beeen deferred
and the trans is past warranty and on the way out

Was the car taken as a trade-in? from local owner who bought it at that dealer new?

you didnt talk them down 1500, they know what they will accept and set asking price far above that
You can negotiate to just above what they really wanted!

IF they are willing to put the tbelt service with the price, and offer a 3 year warranty on trans,,ok,,otherwise walk away. too pricey a TL

You dont know anything about the TL to be testing one on your own

you will do better thru our Used Cars for sale section of member owned cars
but expect these cars to need expensive things in the 2nd 100k of its life
brakes shocks services etc

Skirmich

Woahhh? Whut? My Local Honda Dealer quoted me 850 bucks for the Whole Service + Parts, 1500 Sounds too high! heck I can buy a Car with 1.5K! (A Shity one but a Car None-the-less).

Nicks098

5-6k will get you a very nice tl,trust me... i paid 4k for mine & its well worth more than that... shop around... any car you get from anywhere runs the risk of problems and blah blah... cant buy something on what might or could happen in th future, just find out as much about its history, and cross your fingers lol.. 7500 way too high though. if you have that much cash, id would deff buy thru a private sale if you want a 2nd gen tl

01tl4tl

honda dealers that are willing to do the TL 105 charge less than acura dealer- thats true
I was using acura numbers vs private shop for the range stated

of course, I think that a car with 10 years on it deserves new tensioners and idlers as well as new hoses and thermostat, make it ready for another 100,000 easy miles
do a halfazzed 105 and get half life from the engine when some $50 part not replaced,,,fails

add to 105 normal stuff:
the egr port and passage cleaning, valve adjust since manifold is already off for egr, and next thing you see is valve covers~
book says inspect and `adjust as needed`,,that means ck each one and adjust if off spec= thats every valve adjust job!! some are on spec, some are not

01tl4tl

skirm
850 labor, PLUS parts at ~$300++??? ($295 is the ziner deal from sponsor acura santa rosa)

the $1500 many acura dealers quote,, often causes the car to enter the used car market!
which their new car dept loves to help you with

darkdeuce

iTrader: (1)

I bought mine for about the same price 2 years ago. 7300, Non type S. 92k, needs a paint job. expect to have to get ready for maintenance. Things tend to need repacling at the same time, murphys law. Tires from a dealer last about 20-30k so roughly 2 years. brakes may need replacing sooner than that. When major maint comes up, you'll be replacing not only the belt and tensioners, but plugs pulleys and the waterpump.
there are also things that you may want to do for preventative measures like a 3x3 tranny drain and fill. there are also some parts on the tranny you may even want to swap out.
actually for me it wasnt the cost of the things I expected but the things I didn't. My trunk wouldn't latch and I took it to the dealer for about $300. Then my moonroof exploded and the glass replacement had an internal part issue here on the west coast.
I say ask for $6800 and if not walk away. They'll come around to it. after tax you'll be right back at 7900 but it will make you feel better.

01tl4tl

I've said it before and I will say it here once more

Much as we all love our TL, a reasonable person today--would not buy one `without a warranty covering the trans replacement`
the trans being too big and LIKELY an issue, (often why the car being sold)
and why blue book value on the car is so low

the prob with an aftermarket `warranty` is the fact its actually an insurance policy and the insurance company administers it,,same as health insurance or car accident/crash payments as example,,is it worth to them what its worth to you- no! they want to pay the least possible in any situation
When was the last time you heard an insurance company working to give you the best service?, over whats in their financial interest of not paying out claims?
Details and broken stipulations tend to void many warranties

If you stash $2500 away for that rainy day, then buy what you like (get a low price)
and become as addicted to working on your car as we are, an official ziner nut

01tl4tl

please see our member Used Cars for sale, bottem of the master thread list after you log in
called the Black Market section
https://acurazine.com/forums/marketplace/cars/search/

compare price, miles, known maitenance or things needed
ziners tend to be on top of things, or up front about it when selling

you can place a want to buy ad there too, ck the posting rules for how long you have to be a member and how many post before you are allowed to post in certain sections- its to prevent spammers and scammers from clogging our bandwidth

9gs might just score my 01p navi, tein SS, 18" enkeis, cusco bars up and lower, badazzest brakes in town,,, (not really for sale but...)

Skirmich

I bought my TL-S in Pristine Condition for 5000K the ex-Owner told me about the Transmission issues and that the Car was Acting Up, So the tranny lasted me about 15,000K and went Caput! but other than that the car looks like brand new, Well not now that is hitting 200K in 2 months perhaps and Need all 4 Ball Joints + Shocks in Front hahaha but Engine and Exterior are Top-notch!

7500 NOW is A heck alot of money for a TL-P.

01tl4tl Honda Quoted me:
576 bucks in Labor (With Seals, Crank + Cams) + 268 for Parts (With Seals, Crank + Cams) = Total: 844 bucks (Without Seals lower 100 bucks) Seems Honda doesnt Think seals are Part ot the 105K..
I had the paper somewhere around here If I find it, Ill post it here.

TL1947

I bought a 2002 TL in 2001 and have put 210K miles on it. It's been a wonderful car. Unfortunately, the transmission is going out (this is the second; the first went out at 55K). The engine has been fantastic, the car has been wonderful other than the transmission. Also, had to replace the stereo at 8 years/160K.

MrKev

7500 is alot for the tl but if you can talk them down then it's going to be a good car. If you test drove the vehicle and don't feel any slippage in the transmission or banging into gears then I wouldn't worry bout transmission going. I work at the dealer and seen many of these tls with well over 200k that runs mint. First thing I would do if you do get the vehicle is change the transmission fluid with OEM honda/acura transmission fluid and if t-belt service hasn't been done then do that too.

If you're buying from a dealership then I'm pretty sure everything is done that's needed and comes with a year warranty I believe, if its a used-car dealer then I would have the vehicle checked over carefully before buying