So I've been floating around your site for the past few days. Its probably the most active TL forum I've found haha. I'm considering buying a 1999 Acura TL off of a insurance pool auction. Basically The car just got t boned lightly and the average joe would have paid more than the insurance company felt it was worth to repair it so they threw it up for auction. Right now it has 145k, a broken motor mount, and a little body damage that'll run me around 800 to fix. Should I watch out for anything? Ik the tranny is a pretty major issue but I'd think it would have already came up since most seem to crap out while the car is under 50k miles.

 

1999's dont really have the tranny problems, if so its very rare. Its the 00's to 04's that do. If I were u I would look at other options too, especially if that auction price goes up and keeps going up, I dont really like cars that has been into accidents of any kind, make sure I check carfax, but I say u should pass on it, how much is it at now anyway ?

 

Oh and that car gonna cost u more then $800 cuz u will also need to take care of the regular maintenance; timing belt & other belts, water pump, tensioner, thermostat = $1,000. You will need the transmission fluid changed = $60. You should get a oil change = $25. You should get the power steering & brake fluid changed = $125ea. You should only use premium fuel, this car gets about 280miles on a tank and is around $35 to fill the tank. Then later down the road parts may break here and there, many times its cheap simple tiny parts that require alot of labor to change, in many cases u will find yourself spending hundreds to change a small $10 part. Make sure u take it easy over bumps and pot holes cuz our suspension's dont like them and that will hurt your pocket too. Well this is the would of acura, hope this helps

 

The auction starts tomorrow. I've grown up in a automotive savvy family so things like tranny fluid, oil, etc, are just price of the fluid. I was planning on bidding up to 3 or 3500. The wreck isn't serious to any degree, just bent sheet metal, I think the engine mount was a previous neglected problem on the car. Thanks for the help too.

 

i bout a 02tl-s about 11 months ago from the auction and it was also t-boned on the drivers side. if u look at my car now it looks like it hasn't been in an accident. my car came out to $6800 repaired. just make sure u see the car in person. pics could only tell u so much. good luck with the buy

 

I'd get a Honda Accord with lower mileage on it rather than a 1999 TL with 145k miles. Just a thought.

 

I've taken it for a spin already, you can look at the cars before the auction and they have one once a week. When I saw it I thought it was a good balance of speed and luxury, thats kindof what I've been looking for. Right now I drive a 97 trans am and ik I'm gonna miss the speed, but I missed the luxury of my cadillac and bonneville. What would be a better consideration?

 

Aphix that may work better for someone your age trust me, Its much easier on the pockets, hes very right

 

The TL is hotter though and you will get more attention

 

See thats what I thought, the TL looks way slicker than a Accord, and its out of the ordinary.

 

Tranny is the only major thing and if you do a quick search you will see quite a few other threads like this also

 

If that car has not been used to pull anything you will be fine, check for a hitch, if u see one leave it alone, if the tranny already has not been rebuilt it will need to be soon trust me

 

i just recently bought a 99 and my ORIGINAL tranny crapped out at about 104k...well it didnt die, but it was on its way out. maybe you should pass on this one and wait till something more comes along, preferably somethign that hasnt been in an accident, you will get NO love from a dealer

 

and the transmissions on these acuras are fairly complicated and advanced. You should be carefull where you send them out for rebuilds and can probably only trust the dealer for these if any... This isnt a GM or FORD tranny that the corner mechanic can redo for $1500. Its gonna cost u alot if that transmission fails, one acura dealer stated $5,000 for a new transmission. I hope we didn't scare u, these are great cars, but if i were u, i'd just get a 03-04 honda accord or something, cuz this car is gonna eat up all your lil pocket change then more,

 

one of my bros friends is an acura master tech in napreville acura, since my tranny crapped out he said a new one is almost $1500 and labor is 5.5 hours so it almost $800 which ist that bad

 

I went ahead and bought it for 2300. Ik you guys said a new tranny is 1500 and 800 for replacement but I can get ahold of a used one pretty easily and like I said I'm pretty well involved in the mechanics world so stuff like an auto lift is free to use. I'll have to run a carfax on it, it seems like the transmissions go out alot earlier than this one is at so theres a good chance its been replaced.

 

 

Welcome to the Forum.

Good luck with the buy and repairs if you do end up buying it

 

he already bought the car for $2300

 

what i ment was a rebuilt tranny from acura is about $1500 + 800 for the labor. so total about $2300 give or take a couple hundred, all depends on what dealership u go to

 

i have a hitch installed recenetly. the only thing i pulled is my motorcycle.
the total weight of the trailer and hitch is like 3 people. so whats the difference between driving with 4 people or pulling motorcycle by myself.

can with a hitch can be in perfect condition Vs car without a hitch that was abused.
there no rules for that

 

Ive put about a hundred miles on it with no tranny issues. I need to put a half inch hole into the firewall of the car and Im having some serious trouble finding a viable spot. Anybody know where I could tap a hole or fit a wire that big into a grommet?

 

Nvm I found a DIY

 

look at ftysm's 6 speed tranny swap, he was doing a lot of modwork around the firewall and stuff, might find something there
and welcome to the family