I am looking at getting this car...



But I have a few questions...

How much would I be looking at to color match or take off the mud flaps? Also the molding running on the doors is that normal? I don't think I have really seen that before.

Its an 05 TL w/ Nav and 38,500 miles and they are asking $22,900 which is over excellent blue book value.

Thanks for anyone that can help me with my quesions...

 

22K is a bit too much IMO. I got mine a year ago for 20K with 37K miles w/Nav. Now I think it should be cheaper even for an 05. Try more like 18K

 

Yeah I think its to high of a price, I just emailed him the Kelly Blue Book site with a low of like18,500 and high of 21,500 so we shall see. What about color matching those mud flaps and that door molding, and opinion on that?

 

Why not just get new pre-painted mudguards?

As for the door molding... eh... that's one of those accessories/options that no one got, except for this individual it seems.

 

Ok I didnt know I could just go get new ones that are color matched, I guess that solves that problem. As for the door molding, I dont really care for it. Do you think taking it off would be more pain than its worth? And usc what you think about that price, what should I come in with an offer at?

Oh and NICE ASS whopping of the Ducks! I loved it!

 

I'm not sure what's involved in taking off the moldings. I'm assuming it's stuck on w/ just double-sided tape (kind of like the rear deck spoiler), but I could be wrong. A trip to the dealership's parts department to ask some questions about it could help you understand what's involved in stripping those off.

If it is just double-sided adhesive, then you can probably take a blow dryer and carefully warm up the moldings a bit to soften up the adhesive to help you peel them off. Then just do a thorough wash/cleaning and scrape off any leftover crap.

The only thing you might then need to worry about if whether there might be some visible paint differences. Obviously the molding has prevented sun from hitting the paint underneath so the paint might look a little different after you remove it.

As for the counter offer... uh... don't know.

I'm assuming you're trying to buy it off a private seller. What you can do is just say, I'll give $20K (or whatever price you're comfortable with) for it. If they won't budge, then it's their loss.

The main question is would you be happy with *this* car? (color combo and condition)? Has the owner attended to all service bulletins? Another thing to possibly consider is that if instead, you bought a certified pre-owned at the dealer, you might get the extended 100k warranty. Might be something you'd want to consider given the transmission.

I'll hold off my trojan football celebration until the UCLA game.

 

Wow the TL prices have dropped that much over the last 6 months. I got pretty much the same 05 TL with 40k about 5 months ago for $20k and it was a deal.

$22k from a private seller is expensive, from a dealer its ok. Going private I wouldn't spend more than $19k for it but like everyone else make sure he did all the service and took good care of the car. But I am basing the pricing on the color combo and costs here in NYC. TL prices might be different in your area.