Mpunk

I'm so mad at myself today. I always pride myself on being a "precise" driver and never, ever "back into" anything, esp. when driving my TL. But today, out of haste, since my tandem parking neighbor was waiting for me to park into my stall, I was rushing and backed my TL into the fence and pretty much ruined the rear passenger side of the car. (Just scratches but no dents or broken lights.)

It's an '05 Silver 6-speed, which I love, but I've been debating on whether to get the thing repainted (this was before today's accident, btw), but if I did that, I was seriously considering just re-doing the whole car. There aren't any dents or dings anywhere on the car, just minor light scratches here and there and a small chip on the front and rear bumper. Oh, that and the ruined passenger side rear bumper and tail light area from today's accident. I'm probably going to get a quote to repaint the whole car from a high-end paint shop, and I'm assuming it's going to be in the $3K to $4K range, I dunno. Could be more.

But because the mirrors are scratched on the outside, I was thinking of just replacing them with the '07-'08 with side integrated turn signals instead, which I love.

And then there's the rear tail lights. I checked on eBay and there's a bunch of tail light replacements for about $100 each for left or right side, but they're all aftermarkets. New OEM replacements from the dealer will probably be over $500 each (I just need the right side).

I initially really hated the '07 refresh taillights for the base (clear whites for the brakes) and the silver/black chrome trim for the TL-S but have since grown to really like them, esp. after my dealer gave me an '08 NBP 5AT Navi as a loaner for a week while my brembos were being replaced (the dealer accidentally sold my set and had to re-order a new pair, hence the 1wk loaner). So I'm thinking about swapping them out both for the '07-'08 style, not sure about which but leaning towards the TL-S style. (If I did that, I'd have to replace the rear side marker lights with clears, obviously.)

And then there's the interior. When I got the car, the previous owner, I don't know what they did, spilled this clear, nail polish like substance stuff all over the two front seats. I think it's acryllic. I spent $300 on detailing the car, and the detailers couldn't get any of that stuff out. So the dealer recommended that I reupholster the 2 front seats with OEM leather at about $500-$700 per seat plus the labor. Plus the steering wheel leather is getting crappy so, rather than just buy a new '05 steering wheel, I'm thinking about getting a new '07-'08 base steering wheel (not the Type S, though, as that would look retarded). Except if I did that then I'd probably have to buy the damn airbag along with it. Plus the install and labor from the Acura dealer. But rather than stick with the crappy OEM leather, I'm thinking about doing a custom upgrade to a high-end leather, maybe not Nappa but something more fitting. Like maybe the kind of leather they use in the RL, I don't know. I just want it to match the perforated style like the back seat, which is fine.

I might also redo the carpeting for something "higher grade."

And, if I'm going to be doing the interior and repainting the damn car, I might as well "invest" in a new backup camera system which would've totally prevented me from driving into my fence, which means I'll also need the whole new interface Navi module for the front. I saw some used sets on eBay running for about $1500, and that's just for the dashboard interface, not the rear camera or wiring.

And finally, there's the required "mods" like new rims since my stocks are curbed, etc. I might do some lighting mods for the front and LED footwells for the front seats and for the rear footwell areas. Oh, plus I'd upgrade to the TL-S aluminum drilled pedals, too.

My friend with his '01 E46 M3 "CSL" spent about $30K for his car used a few years ago but spent about another $40K upgrading it. That scares me because I'm also thinking about getting an '09 Lexus IS-F or an '09 BMW E92 M3 6MT. The resale value of my car plus the mods I proposed would probably approach a pretty good % of either the BMW or Lexus, so this obviously doesn't make any financial sense.

If I could get a decent '08 TL-S 6-speed, I'd just swap this car for that and be done with it. Problem is, I can never get one with the low miles, condition, and color combo at the right price. I've seen a couple in the past few months that I like but the price was so ridiculous, plus they actually sold for that price within a few days. I guess that's the "curse" we 3Gers have with our car being so damn popular. haha.

With everything I just mentioned with my wish list upgrades and swaps, I'm probably looking at over $20K, which is ridiculous, I know. I have pretty low miles on mine (around 33k for an '05) but still, that's ridiculous. But part of the appeal of doing the upgrades is that I kind of always wanted a show car but my mods, if I go that route, would be fairly modest and low-key.

Even if I could get an '08 TL-S 6MT I'd probably keep this car and still fix it up a little. At least do the paint job, lol.

What would you guys do? And how far are you willing to go/have gone with your own extreme makeovers?

For the record, I think I've seen a few posts where a guy took his 6-speed '04-'06 TL and made it look like a full-on TL-S, which IMO is retarded. I wouldn't go that far. But I like the idea of fixing her up.

FreedomEagle50

I think the people that wanted their car to look like a type-s "if bought when their are type-s" should of just bougt one. With all the money they will spend to do it they would of had enough to just bought it?

chairguru22

I would say just sell your car and then use that money and put it towards buying a TLS. But all those mods seems like a pretty serious project if think you'll have fun doing something like that.

csmeance

wow, that is quite a bit overboard.

that is very extreme, here are some of my suggestions:

Paint -> get the rear fixed ONLY, don't repaint the car, its never as good as OEM. Get the car professionally detailed 30-60 days after the new paint is applied to ensure it has time to gas out.

Leather -> go to the dealer, ask them who they use for uphosltery for the small rips and tears, they will direct you to the right place. They can source the leather pieces and replace them for a lot less. Just remember that the grain won't match on the new leather. It'd be good to also try to have them redye the leather.

Tail-lights -> group buy from Tim @ hondaacuraworld.com, its 300 for the sidemarkers and tail-lights and any body shop can install them for cheap or an Azine member can do it for a case of beer or something. LINK -> https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/groupbuy-07-type-s-tail-lights-717535/

The Mirrors-> they can be expensive and what not, I'd stick to repainting them if necessary, but if you have the $$$, replace them.

Carpet -> you can buy new OEM carpet for around 300 dollars and new mats for around 100 dollars.

Navi Interface -> hondaacuratech on ebay sells the conversion kit for around 3K and for 500 dollars he can install it too, this is the factory navi. Then the backup camera stuff will be 200-300 for the adapter and 100 for the camera

Pedals -> you can buy better ones for less from our vendors on Azine.

Curbed Rims -> if you need new tires, you can always opt for a new set of rims and tires. If your tires are good, just spend a little bit and get them fixed by a Rim specialty company like http://www.mobilewheelrepair.com/

LED Lighting upgrades -> about 100 dollars for the car, well worth it.

I'd suggest looking at getting yourself into a used TL-S, try searching cars.com and autotrader.com for one.

Prodigy

$1,000 for rims install? Shit I'll drive there and install them for $750 if you want!

If you're seriously considering spending that much, why not just get a Type-S with low miles? I think you would make out a lot better than spending an extra 20 G's on your ride.

AnthraciteAspec

iTrader: (6)

Damn that is insane overboard, a lot of your prices are through the roof though. I love the $1000 for rims install lol

Anyways sounds like you should just get a like new type S. You will do all that work and there will still be little things that bug you. Might as well buy a new car.