Tom8757

I am looking at an 2006 Acura TL with 210,000 miles thats for sale. They are asking $5,500.It has been serviced at only the Acura dealer. The owner just paid $2,200 for for struts. It is mainly freeway miles and this is the original owner. What could go wrong with this car? What should I check? Is this a good deal? I have never owned a Acura.

kaushiknair

make sure they person has all the receipts and have the car maintained. Seems like a lot of miles but keep in mind acuras and Hondas run for a lifetime!

ZonerYang

idk thats quite a lot of miles.. Anything above 160k miles scares me. But its up to you. If you want a good looking car to drive around. Then go for it!
I dont hear much issues from owners with TL's thats been over 200k miles. So I dont think you have much to worry about. Just know a high mileage car requires more attention then a low mileage car

THEReeM718

iTrader: (2)

Pass. Too many miles.

DaeHanMeenGuk

I'd rather get a 2G TL with 100k miles on it for the same price. Probably because that's how much I paid for mine. Still have the 2G and it's still going strong.

lusid

make sure the 2nd timing belt service has been done..

Otherwise I dont see much going wrong. The 06's are pretty solid

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

That 200,000 mile well maintained single owner TL may very well be in better condition then a good amount of 60,000 mile TL's. As someone recommended above getting a lower mileage 2G, I personally wouldnt consider a 2G TL, and I would rather have a extremely high mileage 3G over a lower mileage 2G, but thats probably because I have never liked 2G's.

jblessing

+1 On the timing belt being replaced for the second time (every 105k miles).

See if it has the original transmission and how often the fluid was changed (if they let it go more than 30k at a time, I would pass on the car...unless the price + a rebuilt transmission still makes sense to you financially).

Does it have Navi? Are all of the Navi parts original? Does the HFL (hands free bluetooth link for your phone) work? (it should say more than just "booting up" when you select it)

I typically own Hondas/Acuras to about the 200k or 10 year mark, so I can't say from experience how things go after that. Most people say the engines will last 300k +. TLs are great cars though, with few problems compared to similarly equipped cars. Search around this site for more details..

TeamAcura

I'd say go for it. Have a mechanic look at it first. Give the seller 5K cash. Money talks.

Shoot2Thrill

I obviously like the car but I would say find a Corolla with less miles. At $5500 you are talking about buying basic transportation. You are paying for features you can live without like leather, oversize tires, sunroof. If the car is reasonable you could drive it another 100K and maybe put in 4-5 grand in. So to drive 100K for 10K is not bad but you need to have some cash on the side.

pohljm

Verify second timing belt then go for it! 5K!

crbnfbr

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't just worry about the timing belt. You also have to consider chassis components, like bushing, tie rods, ball joints. Also, there's alternators and power steering pumps. The engine may be bulletproof, but it's all the little things that start adding up.

pohljm

^ check prices on a low mileage 06 and its not going to add up to the difference. For 2200 for struts they must have replaced other components as well

Pghpizzaman

origanal owner ,acura serviced, highway miles. if it looks clean then he took good care of it. i'd go for it. i bought mine around 200k, and it runs like new.

Acura_Dude

Shoot2Thrill

This is true, then you start to run the car in failure mode where you don't fix stuff because it does not make financial sense. Fixing dashboard lights, seat heaters, and a zillion other non essential elements to the car. I have taken cars to 350K but you have to look at like basic transportation. It gets from A to B reasonably reliably on the cheap. I would suspect dealer gave $1500-2000 on the trade in.

nfnsquared

$2200 on shocks? Not likely. That's either a good thing because that means the owner had a lot more done or he's BS'ing you (or I suppose the stealership could have really screwed him). Do you have a receipt from the work done? Get that and see what all was done.

If it's not an AT, ignore everything beyond this line.

What kind of maintenance has been performed on the AT? Have the switches ever been replaced?

If it's an AT, I'd be wary of the transmission life remaining. 04-06 AT's don't have a great history...But it could still be a great buy if you can get it for under $5K, just have a back-up plan in case you need to fork over $2K-$3K for a new transmission.

pohljm

I have an 06 with 90K and three transmissions. I believe the chances of the trans going bad are essentially equal between a low mileage 06 and a 210K 06. its roulette. you can even look at it like it hasnt happened yet so its not going to. It seems as if the ones that are going to fail, fail sooner rather than later.

LaCostaRacer

^ I agree. Just check the car over and see if it has been well kept. With that many miles, there's a decent chance that this car was driven with just one driver in it (like a salesman) so all the other seat locations could be a great shape. The original owner definitely got his money's worth out of the car.

I'd say go for it as long as the car looks like it has < 100k miles on it from a cosmetic point of view.

I figure if the original owner paid $32k originally and went 210k miles, the car cost him 13cents/mile + gas & maintenance- not bad! If the OP buys the car and puts 20k miles on it- cost will be possibly 5 cents/mile + gas & maintenance (assumes he sells car for 4k)- that's even cheaper and might cover some unexpected maintenance too.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Tom, I know it's a cheap TL. But I would suggest getting the VIN and checking it at an Acura dealership to see what's on the record with it (if it's been totally serviced at an Acura dealership).

jammoye2

Have a good mechanic check it out. If everything has been maintained well there is no reason not to buy it. My 2005 TL has 179k, mostly highway miles and I meticulously maintain the car. I don't see any reason why I can't get another 100k out of the car.