Hey , so i am thinking from buying a 02 type s from a salvage yard. it has 80k and its hit in the rear. i made sure there is no frame damage. but anyways they are selling it for $2200 and about $600 in parts. what is your general advice? stay away from it because of tranny issues that we all know of or just get it? its tan inside no gps. my 00 fpr has 105k ...

 

"selling it for $2200 and about $600 in parts" What does that mean exactly? Are you wanting to get it fixed? Have you gotten an estimate? Repairing rear-end damage is not very easy since you can't really replace fenders like in the front.

Also, cars that have sat around salvage yards can be missing lots of little pieces and parts that you don't even realize are missing at first glance. Did the airbags go off? That's a huge expense to get fixed.

 

no airbags went off or anything like that but trunk lid is twisted but bumper survived it. the salvage yard won it from a insurance auction and its a rebuilder so you cant take off parts from it. so what do you think? and the rear quarter panels are fine also for both sides

 

when a car sits for several months- as this one probably has-
the rubber seals dry up, then you start using the car and ps pump fails- trans seals go, rack seals etc
who knows what moisture in the exhaust...

if your current TL is fine- stay with it- do the timing belt sevice and enjoy
Cars are labeled as parts cars for a reason!!
Insurance doesnt total cars for no reason

twisted trunk lid--thats all I need to know--

 

and at 80 that trans is right on schedule for failure~
If its got blue paint on the bolt heads for the trans- its an acura warranty replacement unit--that would be a bonus if a post 05 trans case-

 

So selling for $2,200, then another estimated $600 for parts to fix it? Who would be doing the work? Obviously the trunk will have to be painted. There is also the hassle of getting the title from salvage status to rebuild status before it would be street legal.

I drive a rebuilt car myself, so just trying to think of everything. I love my car, and had no issues with seals leaking or anything like that. I have had other issues, but mine was hit in the front, so lots more to go wrong up there. Definitely check the tranny for signs of replacement or at least oil jet kit install.

If it was only hit in the trunk, it should be driveable so maybe you could test drive it.

 

turns out radiator is bent. could have ran something over? but the car starts. i will be fixing the car with my buddy from a shop. most of my cars are rebuilt because its just so much cheaper so i am not afraid of a branded title. but i called acura and turns out there was a recall completed for the tranny in april 2005. this car is clean inside!! i checked the records at acura and this person did all his stuff at the dealer. but the salvage yard just received it

 

How bad is the radiator bent? Might not even need to be replaced. Also check A/C condenser while you're at it. You might have a real cherry there.

 

conderser is good. bumper is good everything else is besides a no go on the radiator i think its done. its leaking

 

condenser

 

It ALWAYS takes more money and time then you ever thought to fix something like that.

 

I wouldnt advise anyone to get a salvage titled car i bought a salvaged 03 type s over the summer for a real cheap price but the time and money that I invested in it was way more than i expected.
The car looks sick now tho.

 

max: how much did you buy it for? what was damaged? how much did it come out?

 

Salvage can be risky. It is best to know who is doing the rebuild, and to make sure you take it to a reputable inspection garage. Re-builts sell for about 20-30% less than cars with active titles.

 

Entourage i totally agree with you. but the cars i bought before that were salvage i have put 50-60k on them and still running strong. so it all depends on the damage.

 

"all depends on the damage"... exactly. I have had numerous salvage/rebuilt cars over the years, and longevity has never been a problem. Sure there are always a few surprises, but if you are willing to do a little DIY, you will save money in the long run. If you can see the damage before it is fixed, you are best-off since you can pick-and-choose the right car with the right amount of damage. If you don't have the ability to determine how much damage is too much damage, then you shouldn't even consider it. Not knowing the damage and just buying the finished product can be tricky. Also, you have to be willing to drive it for awhile, as you will probably not have much luck selling it because of the tainted title; most people are scared of it. So take care of it and try to get the most mileage you can out of it.

My TL is a rebuild. I bought it from a used car lot from some Kurdish guys. It had SRS problems and A/C problems which I should have never left the lot without having them fix...my mistake. I have never had any alignment problems whatsoever with rebuilt cars, and I know that is the main concern of many folks when considering one. You have to check for frame damage, in particular, and have to know a "good frame guy" as my dad calls them.

Normally rear-end damage is avoided, but if only the truck is bent, that is perfect. Mine had front-end damage, which caused the A/C system leaks and required an SRS unit reset and front seat belts due to pretensioners firing. I would think trunk damage is a piece of cake...if that's all there really is.

 

Thanks john, yea its pretty much in solid shape. i checked out the vin number history i will be 3owner. and both owners had the car always oil changed at acura and they recently did a detail. but i am guessing i have to change the radiator looks like the ran something over or something. and its leaking and its empty

 

I'm sure you will do this anyway, but double-check everything around the radiator. If it's that bad, hard to think nothing else was damaged at the same time. A/C lines around the compressor, motor mount, radiator and condenser fans and shrouds... How did it get past the splash shield underneath?

 

Hey VM159 I would not worry ,as long as you don't have any frame damage go and buy .I got my car with a rebuilt and my car was hit in the front and the acura body shop did the work and I talked the bodyman that worked on my car have and they said there was no frame damage , the airbags did go off but I reset the mod,boy I didnt know there was alot of front hit 2nd gen tl here with rebuilts lol

 

lol yeah there sure are. because the title branding doesnt scare me away. there are good deals out there on salvage vehicles

 

Cool yea good luck on the tl keep us posted bro

 

I found a tl.s in my area and turns out its Canadian dealer said. So I called Canada and they verified that its Canadian. Is that better if Canadian. It's not aspec though

 

hey guys so i picked up a salvage 02 tls and i know i know some of you dont like a branded title. its a abp and a tan interior() but oh well. its got 78k and had all recalls completed and the tranny recall was completed April 05. but one thing is its Canadian which kinda sucks. Its asking me for the radio code since the battery died so i called Washington state Acura and they say its Canadian we cant help you with it call Canada. and when i call Canada they say what Washington state Acura says. so what can i do?? also it has a check engine light for some reason, i haven't scanned the code yet but everything seems fine ill stop by auto zone later today.

I had to replace the trunk lid so till the painter that i trust frees up i will be rocking a white trunklid on a ABP car

 

Open the glove box and check for a sticker with 5 numbers on it. The sticker is included with the original purchase, and sometimes owners will put the sticker on the glove box. On mine, if I open the glove box and look on the side of it (towards the concole), I can see the sticker there. But check all around, it could be stuck somewhere. Also if the owner's manual came with the car, look inside it for the sticker or maybe someone wrote it down in there.

 

^congrats on the buy - $2-3K for an 80,000 miles TL-S is a pretty awesome price. Hopefully the damaged rear is repaired well, those quarter panels are not easy put back into shape and bondo up.

Post up some pics of it if you can.

 

so i have a problem. my driver side hid doesnt work. I tried swapping bulbs and nothing. Though day time running lights work? I checked the fuse, but than again if it was fuse the day time running lights wouldnt work? Help appreciated!

 

I think only the Canadian versions have those daytime running lights. If the bulb checks out, next would be the ballast and/or ignitor. You have to remove the bumper cover to get to those and the headlights in general, but try switching them with known good ones (aka, from the other side).

 

thanks. i figured it out i need a new balast. Ignitor is good. Anyone know if a mazda ballast or something will fit a tl? because i dont want to spend 150+

 

turns out that the ballast is leaking water from inside when you flip it over! is it dead or do i still have a chance with sticking it in the rice

 

Probably dead, but you can certainly try the rice trick...won't hurt. Sounds like the gasket is spent or leaking from somewhere - either coming in from the headlight above, or a crack in the ballast box itself. If it's coming from the headlight, you'll need to fix the leak or else the ballast (old or new) will die again. If the ballast box is cracked, or coming apart at a seam, you'll have to get a replacement.

The ballasts are very particular, and not normally interchangeable, even between some model years of TL's. You can try a salvage yard or eBay for a used one - still probably $100+. Some folks on here go with aftermarket HID ballast kits, but they don't fit like stock (at all), and thus require special mounting AND splicing some wires because the wiring harness on the kit doesn't match factory stock; the plugs and sockets are different.

 

hey vman try hidextra or ddm tuning for hid replacment ,but hidextra is a vendor of acurazine and will give you a really good deal

 

Ok so here she is guys turns out the radiator was not damaged or anything just cracked the front bumper but until the paint shop that i trust frees up i will be rocking a white trunklid

*Front and Rear Bumper will be replaced sometime in the future!

I Taped the Trunklid because i unscrewed the lock for the trunk because i am prepping to get it painted soon... but i tied the trunk lid

 

Looks pretty good!

Good You got that one for a nice price!

 

thanks i can feel the diff. between the tlp and the tl-s for sure

 

Still some work to do, but looks good for that price!

 

The car is complete. I will post pics tomorrow. but warning ***car will be dirty*** as i can not wash it for couple days with the fresh paint.

 

have you got the radio working? if not, i may be able to help

 

my car is still at the body shop waiting to be picked up. Pictures will be up on monday most likely. and yes i did some digging around and found the code on the fuse box in the engine bay

 

I don't know if I have a trans replacement. Where exactly are the bolt heads for the trans? any picture? Thanks!