sjdavidl

Hey ACURAZINE members,

I've been wanting a 2nd gen TL for quite some time now and now that I've done some research, I'm not sure whether or not it's a good idea. I've been reading around and the most common problem I run into is the tranny. I've read that the problem can occur at anytime whether it's at 60k miles or 200k miles so it's pretty unpredictable.

Just want an opinion from the TL community. Do you honestly think that it's a good idea to pick one up? I'm looking around craigslist and found some with around 90-130k miles for about $8,000. I live in Seattle and there aren't many TL's here compared to someplace like California so the price for these are a bit higher than other places. However, the extra $2,000 or so wouldn't matter. I just want to know if it's going to last a good 4-5 more years.

If it's ok for me to pick up, I will be picking this up at a dealership. What should I look for when test driving this car? Listen for noises? Check certain things? Look for any signs of anything about to give out? Any tips and pointers would be greatly appreciated. Really interested in this car and hope that some positive news will come my way . Thanks in advance!

01tl4tl

welcome to the forum
there are numerous threads like yours if you will scroll thru the main list for gen2
Of particular importance is the tranny failure thread

At this point in time, unless you have $2500 extra= ready to use on rebuilding the trans,
its not worth risking a TL at this age,,,sorry

Miles wise they will go and go- but you also may go thru a few trans in that time
Little else major goes wrong,
be aware the car will need the 105kmile service based on 7 years,,so add 1000-1500 dollars for that!
figure fluids all need change to, some brake work,,,,small things get expensive

dealers either get a great trade in they keep and resell themself
Or they get cars from the auction- with questionable history and cross country move to sell...

the dealer can tell you the cars history of where its lived- how many owners etc
if dealer wont= get the cars vin and call 1 800 382 2238x5 acura care
tell them doing a prebuy history ck

01tl4tl

if its a trade in with all service history at dealer and got a rebuilt trans installed in the last few years,,then it can be a deal
Never pay what the dealer is asking!!!!! negotiate- have an experienced person go with you
thats way too much money unless they did the 105 and its got a fresh trans
is that likely? not likely!!
they dont put any money into a used car they dont have to
but can do things for you as part of a sales agreement

pickler

whatever you buy, test drive it to make sure its shifting smoothly no rough downshifts or upshifts.

sjdavidl

Thanks for the feedback, guys! So what I am understanding is to just make sure the car has some recent maintenance done on it. Sounds good to my ears because this is the only car I really have my eyes on right now.. I have big plans for it!

I will first test drive the car, make sure there are no tranny problems, and if everything goes well, I will ask about car history. Let's say that they don't have any car history on it. Is there any way for me to tell (other than calling Acura) that the car was properly maintained?

01tl4tl

a mechanic can tell you if its been maintained by looking at fluids and parts

Im not sure what your ears heard from- dont buy a gen2 TL at this point!!

the trans is always suspect- you need to know if its been replaced and when
or if the fluid has been changed
the maitenance to be concerned with is the `105,000 mile timing belt water pump and probably some other things.. expect 1500 dollars
that is due at 7 years or 105 whichever occurs first!

you cant feel trans probs until its really really bad unless you are very skilled at diagnosing TL failures, and can test drive it for an hour to ck hot conditions and clutch performance
Subtle things are clues,,big clanks and slams into gear would be bad news today~

to restate: 8 grand is way too much,, UNLESS they just replaced the trans AND did the 105
what I meant was: thats not going to be a reality in 99.99% of cases!!!

so look for a good honda to fix up instead
the TL will definetly cost you some bucks in the future

but if you want to proceed against advice: the dealer should let you take it to a shop of your choice for inspection- not just their inspection~

also look in our Used Cars section--just for members to sell their nice acuras to each other

Feeelax

Just sold my Tl-s 2003 to a friend for 8k, 87k Miles. 8K for that much miles is too much. Talk it down with the dealer to 6-7k or that ball park