I (still) have a 2001 TL which was purchased brand new. It is 7 years old, accident free. Should I trade it in and pick up another TL at this time where my trade in value is still good, or continue to drive to the ground, and then buy a new TL?

 

how many miles?

 

I say sell it on our black market forum or put it on craigslist.org...both options are free! See what kind of hits you get on it. If you trade it, you'll lose your shirt IMHO! Unless you are good with dealing with dealerships and know the tricks, stay away from trading in a car if you don't have to. Go to NADA.com then kbb.com and then average the two private party prices to come up with a fair price. Check to see what others are selling for on craigslist and autotrader.

You could always work a trade for an 04-06 TL if you want the new body style...unless you want the new Type S. You may be able to work a decent deal of a used TL. Dealerships don't like a ton of used cars on the lot, so head down there last week of the month and scoop up a deal. You may get less for your car, but you may be able to scoot outta there with a cert pre owned TL for much less than brand new, and you get an extra 12K/1year on top of factory warranty.

 

sell

 

sell it and then part out the trim kit to me.....but really just keep it....

 

OH It has 70,000 miles

 

Keep it and avoid all the gen 3 problems

 

Sell it and get a 3G, its about time you changed up your ride.

 

wow, i have 70,000 on my 03 TL

 

You might want to factor a potential transmission failure into the equation. If you want to avoid an out-of-warranty transmission repair, sell before the extended warranty expires.

Bob

 

Keep it until the 4th gen comes out, then sell. Maybe you won't get as much but at least this way you won't end up regretting not waiting for the newest TL.

 

Do what you want to do

 

I found myself asking the same question about my '02 TL-S a few months ago. I have always bought new vechicles about every 3-4 years, but have decided that I much prefer not having a car payment and will use that money to pay down the home mortgage and put more away for savings. I love new cars, but they are a bad financial investments. I plan on waiting a until the '09s come out and see what they look like or pick up a nice used '07 TL-S in a year or two.

Keep your '01 and save your money. Your '01 has low miles and should last several more years.

 

If money is not an issue to you, buy a new one. New cars are always nice.

If money is tight, you will lose some money when buying and selling cars. Even spending the money to fix the tranny, it is still cheaper than buying a new car. I would keep the car and drive it to the end of its life. New car does not mean it is guaranteed to be trouble free.

 

mine is at 78k......just do what a friend of mine told me to do replace tranny when it blows before 109k....help it blow if need be.....then when it blows out of warranty forget to put on the ebrake and let it roll into a cannal......btw this only works if you have full coverage.....

 

Sell it, trade it, get ride of it unless you have the tranny extended warranty coverage. If your tranny holds up fine, it's good. Just in case it doesn't, it will leap out and bite you real hard.

 

Depends -- if it's accident-free, given you no problems and it's paid for ... you might as well keep it. You've already eaten the main depreciation on the car ... might as well ride it out. Cars like the TL are not collector's items so 'value' is not even an consideration at 7 years of age.

If you're looking for a new car ... then trade it in and buy a new car. I hope I can keep my car as the 'winter beater' so I can buy a 2 door next time around ... I have to ask my 'boss' (ie wife) to see if I can maintain 2 cars.

 

if you decide to sell it, I remember reading a thread where a fellow TL owner sold their car to a web site company who buys cars. I forgot the name but maybe someone will know what im talking about.. I remember that their offers for the cars werent that bad.. hope someone could chime in with the site im talking about..

 

got it.. carmax.com duhhh

 

If its still a nice car and doesn't cost you much to have, I'd keep it at least until the new TL's come out. If you get a new one now, you might kick yourself when the new one comes out because it might be even better and plus your gen 3 would take a big hit in depreciation when the new model comes out. just my opinion...