Hi everyone, first time posting here. Got a couple of questions on buying a used TL for my girlfriend, hope you guys/girls can help me out.

It is a 99 TL (not Type-S), has about 123K miles for $8,200 OTD. The engine doesn't make any weird noise, and the brakes are pretty good. The body condition is not perfect, a scratch here and there, no major dent or anything. Here is my problem, the navigation system will not work, a blank screen. I understand that the audio contral and the climate control is also link to the navigation system, both the audio and climate control works fine but just nothing display on the screen.

The dealer wants to sell the car "As-Is", but I don't know exactly what is the problem with the navigation system, if it's just a fuse, then good, I can replace the fuse (BTW: I can't locate the correct fuse). Worst case senario, the entire system needs to be replace, how much would that run about? Do you guys/girls think that car is worth buying?

Anything help, Thanks

-Tommy

 

hi and welcome to the board.


I bought my car for exactly 8200$ and its a 99 tl non type s since they dont make type s that year, 80 k miles, non navi though and it was from a personal seller, honestly i would pass. I would look for a tl with lower mileage and in better condition which i think that you can find for that price range or a little more... as for the navigation system i dont know but the tl is a great car

 

Do you get any sort of error message on the nav screen or does it not display anything at all?

If the screen is the only problem you can find used replacement for less than $200.

If the hard-drive based nav box in the trunk is shot, you can find those used for about $200.

But there's always a possibuility that the fix is not simple or cheap.

So it would be a bit of a gamble. I would be tempted to keep looking.

Bob

 

It doesn't display anything at all.

Do you guys know where is the fuse located at? I checked the one under the hood, and one from each side of the dash.

thanks

 

You might want to post your question in the "D.I.Y. Non-Navi to Navi" thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114084

The people that have done this conversion probably know the system pretty well.

Bob

 

Dont bother looking for any fuse

This car has bad news written all over it

If the seller is a used car dealer and wont offer any type of warranty and wants you to take the car as is- and wont bother fixing the all important screen-

Tell him to sell it to some other idiot

If any/everything does not work
You can be in for some $$$ and hours of listening to your lady complain

And the transmission is the big issue in our cars
The front brakes on a 99 are a pain to do=$$$

Any Acura you are interested in buying- write down the VIN number and call acura care
at 1-800-382-2238 x 5 6am-5pm pacific time

Tell them you want to know the repair history on the car
And if it passes that test, have it taken to a private mechanic for inspection
50 bucks now can save thousands later

 

Also ask the dealer to provide a COMPLETE Carfax report- not just the short one you see for free online- the actual paper print-out
That car may have been moved from another state after major repairs
or other strange things.

 

Thanks, I will try to get the VIN and run a history check

Can you tell me more about the transmission issue?

Thanks

 

The transmissions of all of the 1999-2003 Acura TLs have had reliability issues. Some owners have experienced multiple failures before 100,000 miles.

The car you're considering would not be covered by the 100,000/109,000 extended warranty on the transmission.

The 4-speed transmission used on the 1999 TL is more reliable than the 5-speed transmission used in the 2000-2003 TLs. But the 1999 TL transmission still has "worse than average" transmission reliability according to Consumer Reports owner surveys. The 2000-2003 TL transmissions have "much worse than average" reliability in the same surveys. That's the lowest score that they give out.

Do a forum search for "transmission" and "failure" and be prepared for hours of reading. ;-)

FWIW, the original transmission in my 1999 TL made it to 173,000 miles.

Still, I love my TL. It's a great car.

Bob

 

Tommy, I'd keep looking. It seems like you might be in for a few hassles with this one. You don't seem thrilled over all -- the body doesn't sound perfect, and many aren't, but it's giving me a "whiff" of someone who didn't take great care of this.

See what you can find out from Acura, but this seems like one to pass on.

 

Dont buy it.
123K for 8000...you can get a much better car for around 10-11k.

 

8000 for 123k in year 1999??? no way. 6500 sounds right since navi doesn't work and it's over 100k. i wouldn't even look at it in the first place my friend. I got mine 2001 TLp 80k for 9000. so look around.

 

I paid $11,000 for 99 tl navi with 39,000 miles on it in (MINT CONDITION) Sept. of 2005. WALK AWAY DUDE That's not a good deal especially with the navi problem

 

^^^ X2.......that's not a good deal.

 

A good place to look for a well maintained Acura is on this forum.
Go to Off Topic
Private Sales
and look for FS ads thats For Sale!
You can also post a WTB want to buy ad for free
Then go to your local Acura specialst repair shop or other import sport shop and ask if they know anyone selling what you want.

Good Luck