So, it's been a crappy few days for my 2007 TL. It has roughly 106,000 miles (all mine) and I love the car. It's paid for, it's my daily driver, and I always assumed I would drive it into the ground. I just didn't think it would be this soon.

I've had a ticking noise coming from the engine the last 8 months or so. First time to the service dept, they said it was noisy fuel injectors, but didn't need to worry about it. Last Thursday, I noticed a rough idle when it was in gear. Sounded like misfiring to me, but no error code. Still, I thought I would take it in again on Friday. About a mile from dropping it off, I finally threw a P0305 code.

Got a call later that morning that the misfire was a loose spark plug. They pulled the plug, cleaned and replaced it, and said all was working fine. The ticking had disappeared. Still, as I pulled away, I still sensed a small roughness to the idle, but nothing like before. Yesterday, I got ready to leave the house, fired up the TL, and it was a very noticeable rough idle in park- like the engine would stall out. Almost immediately, the engine threw the same code. Looks like more money to come...

Here's the kicker. I had to have work done to seal up leaking transmission fluid Friday as well (didn't know that one going in). That was roughly $500. I was also told that I will likely have $1600 and 10 hrs worth of an oil pump replacement sometime this year (there was "moisture" around it showing the beginnings of a bad pump). Finally, I need to replace the tires this year. I'm looking at about $3000 in repairs/maintenance and I still don't know the source of the engine issue to factor that cost in. Lastly, I've had two people hit the car since I've owned it. Both were low impact accidents, but did enough damage for a carfax report on both. Therefore, even though the car's been good to me, I know the trade in amount will be on the low end due to getting hit twice.

With this picture in mind, what is the collective opinion on when you're putting in too much money in repairs/maintenance versus residual value of the car itself. Also, if you were to trade out of the Acura for something similar, what car would it be? I love my TL, but hate the newer bodies. I assume a 535, A6, CTS, M37 would be comparables? Any thoughts? Please help!!

 

Or...do you bite the bullet, make the repairs, and have confidence the Ol Gal gives you another 100k?

 

It is almost always cheaper to repair the car you have than to buy a new one. 10 hrs. for oil pump replacement? Time for a second opinion. My vote goes to bite the bullet. Buying new is always a losing proposition. Buying used is just buying someone else's troubles.

 

I would fix it and drive it. As has been mentioned, it's a lot cheaper than a new/used car. A few new car payments and your repairs are paid for and you can keep on keeping on payment free. Probably wouldn't hurt to shop around for an independent shop to work on your car for some savings. You know about all 106,XXX miles on your car, that's a good thing.

 

^ I agree. The cost of getting another car will exceed the cost of owning what you have. There is a soft cost called depreciation that will cost you more than 3K if you should pop for a new car. Another cost will be increased insurance and registration. If the car is meeting your needs and you're happy with it I would keep it another year or two and see what is available then.

Those cars listed don't offer any quantum leaps in safety or efficiency that you don't already have. Perhaps in two years, there will be some more significant technological changes that make getting another car more advisable.

 

That's a tough decision depending on your needs. Some feel buying a new/used car is more expensive than repairs but that all depends on the repairs that's needed and how much repairs need to be done over the years you keep the car.

Cars aren't just cars anymore they all just can't be taken to joe the mechanic to get fixed all the time.

If your spending 2-6 k on repairs every year then is keeping it more reasonable than having a car note? Not really.

Now if you can get a thorough inspection of the car and get everything fixed and it lasts then of course it's cheaper and will be the smarter choice. Now if you go drop thousands into repairs and it dies soon after guess what that's money you could've spent on a down payment and the value of the car goes down even more if you wanted to use it as a trade in. So once again the decision is not just as simple as some might think but whatever choice you make your taking a chance.

If you go with used try to go for cars with LOW mileage and def certified pre owned.

As far as cars to get or look at leaving a TL all the ones you mentioned are a nice step up. I'm not a big fan of the audi A6 but that's my opinion. The other 3 are good.

They are all comparable as far as size and somewhat close in performance to the 4th gen TL but a big jump in price. Coming out of an 07 TL all of those will feel way different.

 

Let's back up to the first post. My car which I also bought new and currently has 124,000 had a couple gaskets that showed signs of seepage from 20k miles. You don't want oil getting on the timing belt but I doubt you have anything to worry about. How did they notice this leak? Have you had the timing belt done, you basically have to pull the timing belt and components off to do the oil pump. If you haven't done the belt yet, they should include most of the labor for the pump in the belt job. If the belt has been done recently they should have noticed then or they're flat out lying about the leak.

It absolutely blows my mind that they couldn't tell a loose plug from normal injector noise. Unbelievable. If the noise ends up being a damaged head from the spark plug hole being fire cut I would press them hard to fix it since you took it in once and it was misdiagnosed so it got more miles with a loose plug.

About new cars being harder to repair, no way. New cars are soooo much easier to diagnose and repair. That's why there are so many clueless "techs" out there. They e skated by with very little knowledge of how cars work because they rely on ECU codes for their diagnostics which is not the right way to do it. Mechanics are dumber than ever these days. They might want you to think they're harder so you take it to the dealer and they over complicate things making them seem harder but anyone who could work on the old stuff could work on the new stuff with some very basic reading. I highly suggest doing your own work. I just spent $1200 doing my own work that would have cost $4k or more if I paid someone to do it and I know it's done right.

 

I would recommend looking for a couple different quotes and go to a local mechanic that either you trust or friends or family trusts. They are normally cheaper and will be more honest than a dealership "stealership". 100k miles on this car is nothing, find a cheaper and better mechanic and keep the TL on the road!

 

Okay, so you have a p0305, misfire cylinder 5. If you had a spark plug come loose, it could have damaged your plug, the threads in your head, and even your ignition coil due to excessive heat. So even if they tried to reinstall a loose plug, the question I would ask myself is, "how did this plug come loose, and have any of the components been damaged?" Putting all that aside, you have to sometimes think more logically than the techs at the dealers. I used to be in one for five years. There were plenty of techs that were horrible at working on cars, just because they work there doesn't mean they know what they are doing. I couldn't deal with their BS and crap so I left to open up my own shop! As far as your oil pump goes, I have never personally seen a pump go bad on a TL, cause low pressure and internal engine failure. I have seen a oil pump leak though(not bad). I had mine replaced at a dealer with my extended warranty because it had a slight leak. In reality, it wasn't causing any harm except a leak. Any component with pressurized fluid behind it will typically develop a leak after some time of its life due to seals drying out and wearing etc. Now you do NOT want oil to leak on any rubber hoses or belts which can cause them damage over time. The pump is on the back of the motor near the top, kind of difficult to see, but not 10hrs in labor. I would take it back to the dealer and tell them to fix it. You paid once to have them look at it and they misdiagnosed it. So now the repair bill is 100% on them and they are liable for it because they told you what was wrong and fixed it already. Thats how it works in the dealer world when you pay for "experts" to "diagnose" and "repair" your car. I doubt your ticking is injector noise, that is stupid. You probably have some valvetrain noise which is common on these cars, which is why we adjust our valves. I would keep your car honestly. If you spend your money on the important things first, then you should be good. $300-$600 car payment monthly, or a few $$ now. Make a list of what you all need and are recommended and maybe one of us can help you determine what needs to be done, what YOU can personally do if your handy, and what can wait. Just remember, mechanics make commission. It is in their best interest to repair as much as possible, because YOU are paying their paycheck. So some/a lot are know to be crooks, I hear it every day and deal with other mechanics screw ups. I'm sure a fellow Azine local would be willing to help you with some things. Its what we do down here in TX.

 

honestly, it sounds like VERY minor problems and there is TONS of life left in the car.

However, it sounds like you just want to spend money and buy a new car.

your post is contradictory at best.
"i want to drive it to the ground, butt, I want a new car."

Your TL is no where near the end of its life.
you just want to justify a new car purchase.

 

Wolverine, the guys are right. I'd fix it and keep enjoying your TL.

 

yea don't be a retard like me when plug #5 blows out of the cylinder and you buy a BMW because you're sick of waiting for your TL motor to be built

seriously if you won't fix it yourself, then pay someone and you'll still be ahead compared to buying another car. Even if you needed a new engine, you can find plenty of TL motors for cheap with lower mileage.

Hell, that's how I learned to work on cars. My first car blew its motor so I ordered a refurb motor with 40k miles on it and swapped it myself when I was 17.