lesgoodfella

My friend has 2002 Acura TL with 45K miles on lease that's due back next month. He has an option to buy it for 17,000. He's not going to buy it because he already got another car, but i can buy it. I need to get a car and my budget is 20,000. The TL is a really nice car, but i worry about maintainance. The car is in good condition and it runs fine. My other choice is a 2005 honda accord EX. What should i do??

NFLblitze1

personally i own a 3G TL and i wouldn't buy a 2G TL solely because of the transmission issue. i would go with an ACCORD its just a very less classy TL

MichiganRich

I would have to seriously consider the transmission issues I've read about before I paid anything approaching fair value for one of them. $17K is fair value for that car. I'm not accustomed to not being wholeheartedly behind buying a Honda/Acura but that one might be best passed by.

*scratching my chin thinking* Y'know, $17K would buy one of those bad-ass looking new Civics brand spanky new. Lower insurance costs too.

NFLblitze1

MichiganRich

p.s.- forgot to mention how much I liked the '05 Accords. I drove maybe 6 different brand new Accords before I found the TL. They have just as much space and 'ease' in cruising around, and they feel a little lighter and quicker in the steering. The EX has all the toys you could reasonably need, and it would be a great value. You would not lose money in owning it for a while, especially at that price.

lesgoodfella

Because i've been riding my friends TL for almost 2 weeks, i test drove the new civic and i can feel the missing horsepower. That's why i want the accord.

Mike_McCready

Get the TL. you have 55k more miles of full warranty on the tranny.. and that is if it ever does go out on you, which it may not. My tranny busted once, but I love my car so much, it didn't even phase me. Get the TL, it is way better than the Accord, you will love it. And with the extra 3 grand of your budget you can start modding the TL. And if you need help starting the modding process just visit us here and we have an unimaginable amount of ideas for your money

Laxplaya11385

i would go w/ the 2005 Honda Accord. It'll be newer, better mileage, and you only have to use regular to fill up. If it were the 3g, then it'd be no question.

quad150db

iTrader: (1)

17 seems a little high to me for an 02 TLP now if its a type S then I would say not a bad deal at all.. 8 months ago I bought my Type S with 33k on it for 18,250.00.. And that was with facory body kit spoiler and wood steering wheel..

PenguinQX

iTrader: (1)

17 seems steep for a TL-P with that many miles on it. I paid 16.5g's for mine with similar miles, but this was over a year ago

2002Blue32TL

I've had the experience of driving both cars you mention. I just purchased a CPO '02 TL-P w/33K miles on it, a couple of months ago. Yes, I since have had to have the transmission replaced, but the car runs flawlessly now. My friend has an '04 Accord EX V-6, and although it's nice, it doesn't feel as solid as my TL. Bumps are absorbed better in the TL, and I hear less road noise.

I say, save your money and go with the TL. Plus you'll get cool xenons, sport-shift and fog lights (among other stuff) that the Accord does not have.

te3point5

I would get the accord simply because its a brand new car...

I would shy away from used cars simply because you might not know what's happened with it. Since your friend owned it, and you pretty much know the service record, it might not be that bad.

But i would still say get the brand new accord. you get that new car smell, the paint is perfect, and if you get a decently optioned one, you'll probably get the same, if not more options than the TL. (Voice activated stuff, etc.)

new car > used car

hfzeus

If you plan on keeping the carts more than 3 or 4 years, go with the Honda. Otherwise, the TL is probably a better deal. It will have less short-term depreciation than a new car and if the tranny dies in that time, it is under warranty.

bkzjimmy

this is a hard decision...
i would say go with a NEW car, but i love my TL its hard to tell you to pick another car

Mike_McCready

and of course the TL looks way better than a new Accord..

merkin110

I bought my 2002 TL-P at the beginning of the month and could not be any happier. Well i would be happier if i had purchased a Type S.

Shift_it

I love my 99TL. It be hard for me to get rid of. Trust me I tried and people called, I decline the sale of the TL and that was both in autotrader and local classifides.

fla-tls

The tranny on that TL has more warranty left than the entire warranty on a brand new accord. It's the only major thing that's been identified as a problem on these cars.

Who knows, if/when you need a new one Acura may have the problem finally solved.

Jputt

I wouldn't do it unless it was a TL-S. I can put up with the tranny problems personally because I have the type S but if I had the TL-P I don't think it would be worth it.

03CoupeV6

I had a choice in March when I traded my 99 Accord in. A 2003 Accord EX-V6 sedan or my 2002 TL-P. I figured why have a 2003 Accord EX-V6 sedan and a 2005 Accord EX-V6 coupe, so I got the TL.

Worst car buying decision ever. My car has had SO MANY PROBLEMS. Don't buy it, go for the Accord - I've had 6 bulletproof Accords.

My TL's had some $5000 in warranty work (and that doesn't include a transmission that is slipping as we speak) and tonight the windows and sunroof have stopped working AGAIN. The rotors are also warped again even though it's only been 11k miles since they were resurfaced. This combined with jamming headunits, failing window regulators, slipping transmission, cheap leather having to be replaced, warping dash and airbag cover having to be replaced, etc.

Buy the Accord and never look back. My other vehicle is an 05 Accord EX-V6 coupe and it has 8000 miles on it now. No trouble from it, and I don't expect to have any based on my 5 Accords before it. But the TL's had all those problems at a mere 47,400 miles.

bkzjimmy

wow.

docrob

I bought my '02 TLS with 88,600 or so miles on her in May of this year. Earlier this month the tranny went at 96,537. I only paid $12,500 for it, which I thought was a good deal, now if this new tranny makes it till I hit at least 200K then I'll still think it was a good deal. Other than the tranny problem, the car is mint, runs and looks great, except for a little bumper damage caused by a neighborhood azzhole. Only thing I have done to the car is to change the rotors to slotted and drilled and pads to Raybestos Quietstops. The only reason I changed those is because of the immense amount of dust the old ones produced and since I was changing the pads, it was a good excuse to change the rotors. Now with Raybestos Quietstops it dusts less in 1 month than it did in a day before.