mmp

I'm looking at a 1999 tl with about 60,000 miles (no navigation system) that I'm considering buying and could use any advice that anyone might have.
Car drives strong and straight. Thought I noticed a slight pulsating once or twice in brakes?.
Is there anything to lookout for? Does a timing belt need to be changed at anypoint?

As far as I can tell the car is in pretty good shape. Engine seems strong. It needs to be detailed, needs new tires soon, and the door cover for the cd holder (I think that is what is just above the radio) is missing.
Any direction / advice anyone can give would be great. Ny the way the asking price is $11,900.

Thanks,
Mike.

rpsouthsider

i would go for the 2002 - 2003 TL

if you want to add around 3k more or somthin

arm5262

third genenration Tls have tranny problems....so better be careful if you wanna keep it for long......however seems like 99 tl is quite reliable.....look at the active poll i am running to see how reliable it is...i have 99 tl and kind of worried about its reliability

PenancE

i still got orig belts on my 99, but fymstm, sry for name lol, he has his and hes at like 190+!!!

sbuswell

99-03 is 2gen TL not 3rd gen. I would recommend a 99 over a 00-03 anyday. tranny's are much less likely to go bad. I have 117k+ on original tranny and it shifts fine no slippage. Engine is very strong. 11,900.00 for 60k is not bad, but you might better deals if you look hard enough. pulsating in brakes is normal for ABS systems, is it a rough pulse?

arm5262

i think fymstm mentioned in his post that he is on 4th tranny

03CoupeV6

Pulsating brakes = warped rotors.

And

Transmissions are ALL poorly designed 99-03. There are fewer failures in 99 models because there are less of them.. 1 year model versus 4.

pimpravi

dont waste ur money on a 99, gas milage sucks and its still prone to tranny failures.

TLuvr

I had a '99 until I traded for the '05. 1999 TLs are great. I ad 70k on it ans wish I could have afforded to keep both, but the Nav system in the '05 won out. The pulsing in the brakes is probably just the rotors, so a brake job is probably needed sometime soon. As far as the timing belt I don't think it's due until over 100K. 11,500 is a little steep, but if you like the car go for it.

Luke7

Bought mine 99 Navi with 38,900 on it for $11,000 in mint condition. This was in Sept. 05. I'd try to deal with them especially with the brake issue. It will cost you a lot if you don't replace the rotors and pads yourself.

MikePA

This is NOT true. You'd think with 1,910 posts you'd know the reason.

The '99s have a 4 speed transmission while the '00 - '03 have a 5 speed transmission. The 5 speed transmission does have more problems than the 4 speed and it's not simply because there are more cars with the 5 speed.

sbuswell

^^^^ I agree, 99 tranny's aren't that bad and a slight pulsating in brakes does not necessarily mean warped rotors.

PenancE

nono i ment i tink hes on his orig fan belts.

mmp

Thanks for all the advice. A little confused on the tranny situation. Not sure how worried I should be about failure. Does the 100,000 mile warranty transfer to a second owner?
As for the price, looking in the classifieds on-line and print $11,900 for a 99' with 59,000 miles didn't seem to out of line, am I looking in the wrong place? Kelly Blue book has a private value for less but a retail price for more???

sbuswell

honestly I wouldn't worry too much about tranny failure on a 99 I have 117k+ on my original tranny and I have mods and drive it hard. It still shifts fine and as I have said before never slips. Look on www.autotrader.com for TL's in your area. 59k is very mileage for a 99. Also make sure regular maintenance has been done, but these cars don't require much maintenance. Good luck in your search, when you find your TL, I'm sure you will love it.

MikePA

This is mentioned a bazillion places on this site. The warranty is 7 years/100,000 miles. The warranty on the '99 you are considering will expire because of the 7 years before it will hit 100,000 miles.

BTW, kris hasn't replaced his timing belt yet.

03CoupeV6

I am well aware of the difference between the 99 and 00+ TL's automatic transmissions. What some people on this board fail to realize is that the 99's transmission is also poorly designed. If it wasn't, it would not have such a lengthy warranty. Visit v6performance.net to see the track record of the 4AT in 98-02 Accord V6s. There is NO good transmission in ANY second generation Acura 3.2TL.

MikePA

Did I say it was well designed? No, I didn't. I am not aware of anyone on this board (except noobs) who fail to realize the '99 also has a poorly designed tranny. I said it fails less frequently than the 00 - 03 transmissions and not just because there are fewer of them to fail. Given the choice, I'd buy a 4 speed '99 over a 5 speed '00 - '03.

03CoupeV6

So I'm just curious since common sense would tell you there are fewer 99 models on the road than 00, 01, 02, and 03 models what exactly is the reason they fail less frequently (since you seem to know so much about this)?

For some of us, the added feature content (and on S versions, performance) of the 2002-2003 models make it worth the risk with the extended warranty.

vipvop

1999 TL owner here, around 90,000 miles I bring my TL in for the scheduled service, supposedly everything is fine, about 2,000 miles later my transmission starts acting a little wierd - just sluggish. A little after 100,000 miles the tranny goes completely, acura wouldn't cover it under warranty, I believe they wanted 4 or 5K just to put in a refurbished tranny.

From what I understand, acura still has not fixed the 2nd gear clutch pack issue. I don't follow this board much anymore so I might be wrong, but search is your friend.

Not trying to flame, but I would NOT recommend a 99. Your cd player won't play burned cds, tranny still has a decent chance of failing, stock rotors will warp almost instantly (it feels like). I'd search the boards for info on local dealers - a good dealer might make it worth it, but the ones around here suck. I'm still driving my TL, but I can't recommend that anyone else buy one, especially if you can get a gs 300 or such for not too much more (although it might have higher miles).

Marlboro27s

try to go a little lower on price...negociationg is good on TLs because the market is low

the good thing about your deal is that you have 40k of driving under warranty

Nyses

i would go lower too .. i just bought a 2000 w/ Nav for the exact same price with a small ass 3 month warranty ...