Hello, I am currently looking at buying my first Acura.
What I have been searching for is 07-08 TL Type - S and have found one that baffles me. It is a Type - S according to the VIN and had dealer call Acura corporate, becuase after I test drive I noticed the car had a 3.2L not the 3.5L it should.

Long story short, the car was special ordered from factory with the 3.2 motor.......Why would anyone do this?

Is the car worth more or less? ( I am thinking less)

 

that cannot be.

some where some one is getting suckered.
you should probably post the link or pictures of this car.

most likely it was a base TL converted to look like a type s

 

That's really odd... regardless I wouldn't pull the trigger on this one. Something is fishy.

 

Here is the link to the car.

http://www.davisautosales.com/window...UA76598A027778

 

Run away from it

 

exterior is 100% legit and could be just a 'typo' in the ad.

did you actually pop the hood to confirm engine?

most of these 2-bit auto dealers dont know jack about the car and may have just did a google search and stuck it in there. go back if you can and pop the hood.

 

no shots of engine.

can only assume that it is a true type-s with a misprint in the ad.

 

Yes, I have test driven already...popped the hood and noticed it.....I had to point it out to the dealer originally. Not sure how it compares to a 3.5L engine as this is the only one I have driven.....they seem to be very hard to find in my area at a reasonable price.

I am trying to talk this guy down to $13-14k

 

are you sure it wasnt an engine cover?

the ECU's are different.
it wouldnt work.

 

well..this is way too odd... there's no such thing as a 'special order' engine ... the ONLY other thing could be a complete rebuild using typeS parts.. i dont know... makes absolutely no sense.

 

Pass and on to the next TL...

 

is everyone taking crazy pills today?

it's clearly a type-s, VIN confirms that. it's just a typo on the page.

there is no other explanation for it.

 

it was mine and i converted it to a 3.2L to get better gas mileage then traded it in

 

He says he popped the hood and it says 3.2......





If I didn't just read that then someone pass the pills please

 

But where does the story of the car being a "special order" come in? Did the dealer tell you that? LOL

Who the heck "special orders" a Type-S with a 3.2!? It's like me going to an Audi dealership telling the salesman that I want an S4 but with a 2.0T engine. Something doesn't add up.

For all we know, it could actually just be an engine cover off of a base model. If that's the case.. and it's actually a legit Type-S then talk the salesman down on the price while he still thinks that it's a 3.2.

 

check the engine block for the VIN and see if it matches up...

 

I don't really care what he said he saw. It's a type-s. nothing else to it.

my stash is running low, sorry.

 

...and is it me or do dealers even wash the vehicle before taking picures? It seems like such an easy step...

 

thats definately odd. If thats whats on the vin plate then it is what it is. Thats a red flag for almost everyone with the base motor when you popped the hood. What kind of dealership is this?

edit - nevermind it looks a like a ma and pa dealership. Walk away quick and dont turn back. Hopefully its just a engine cover, but then again the average customer would even know to swap brackets to make it fit.

 

+1 on probably just a different engine cover, they are nearly identical.

 

If the origal owner smoked the 3.5 engine, could they replace it with a 3.2? It may of been cheaped and easyer to find a 3.2 at a junk yard. I don't know enogh about the ECU working with both engine types.

 

Well first off, NEVER believe any story a dealership tells you because a lot of those scumbags will literally say anything to make a sale. Hence, telling someone it was a special order engine ROFLMAO!!!!
Like the guys said above the cars is for sure a Type S as the VIn proves it, as for the engine like said above again. Either the engine cover was swapped at some point during its ownership (probably the most likely), or the original motor developed issues or was blown and the motor was replaced with the 3.2 (basically someone trying to save money and took the cheap way). However someone above said the 3.2 wont even work paired into a Type S.

Your gonna have to verify some numbers on the engine to be sure, unless someone else knows of a visual way to tell the two apart by just lifting up the engine cover.

You can figure it out!

 

This is a used car dealer, says he has the car on consignment from a family "friend" from FL.

I am just passing on the car all together.

I found another 2007 type s w/125k miles that checks out for $14k but the dealer can't come up with any service records of timing belt service.

Anyone here think $14k is a good deal with that much mileage? Or just keep looking.

 

I was told you can't pair the 3.2 with a Type-S transmission. It's a lot of work to do the swap.. dropping the sub-frame and all.. replacing the ECU.. replacing the transmission, etc.

 

-ECU
-maybe problems with tranny/mounts
-wire harness(would have to spend countless hours remapping wires)

if it were that easy; we would be swapping the 3.5 into the base TL's.

 

The bell housing it's what is different, or so I've read.

 

where did you match the vin? make sure all vins around the car match up, it could be a switched vin or something, still i say no go because the previous owner probaly did something fishy to the car.

 

You are correct the bell housing are different and will not mount up to a base model without major modifications.

 

check the manifold....the Type S has a magnesium manifold....

I am with Aaron, on this one....looks like a Type S with a base engine cover and the dealer might have just BS you when you asked why is there a 3.2 in it....

 

there is a guy on our forums who recently did a 3.5 into an accord.

but it took a lot of work and he's sort of a genius.

 

Run!

 

Im jumping on the boat that is just a different engine cover. Someone prob tried to paint it or mod it in some way and messed it up and got a 3.2 cover for cheap or something.

 

Honestly I think its 99% a Type-S from the pedals to the trim, to the exterior. Every little detail that makes the Type-S different from a base is there, unless he actually changed the engine to the 3.2 which is HIGHLY unlikely I dont think you should worry. It's prob just a different engine cover.

 

aren't the 3.2 covers cut out of the intake manifold with the etching of the 3.2 on the manifold it self?

The 3.5's are all covered up and if you remove the cover nothing is etched on the intake manifold.

 

I say type s with base engine cover as so many ppl have said before me. You can't modify the VIN, it clearly says UA7

 

Just an FYI-
Doing some research, the AT in the '08 base TL is the same as the TLS.
Now, replacement of the 3.2 into the TLS may present another problem, but it appears that the intake manifold and heads are the same, so I'd say it's certainly a possibility.

If it was replaced with the 3.2, you'd certainly think that the 3.5 cover would have been used.

Guess more investigation would be needed.