Looking at a 04 TL with 150,000 on the clock. Daughter needs another car after someone rear ended her Civic and totaled it. She was squeezed between two at a stop light and banged around a bit, airbag not deployed so she hit head and knees. She OK now, but I want her in a tank now. What do you think of buying a high mileage 04 TL from a $tealer? I will ask timing of new belt, tune up, tires, etc and get the 1 owner carfax. What else should I look for and or ask? Should I run simply due to the miles?

We have an 04 and an 00 TL already and love em. Thanks

 

Some of the earlier 04's had transmission issues like the 2G cars (I also owned a 00TL and it still is a great car- my brother now owns it)- if the price is reasonable given the mileage, it might be a good bet- check the links on the 3G forum for changing the transmission switches (3rd/4th gear)- if the car runs well, buy it, swap the transmission switches ($75 for the switches and 20 minutes of your time- I had Goodyear do mine for $27), and do the 3x3 transmission fluid change- the engine should run for quite a while.

Make sure the TB was done- if not, have the seller drop the existing price a bit to account for this needed work.

 

Thanks! It is listed at $7,995. I will look into the switches, good catch! Should do that on mine too. Thanks again!

 

Check the carfax, based on where it's been registered you are likely looking at all highway miles, which is fine. Take a mechanic or a mechanically-inclined friend and take your time checking out and test driving the car. Make sure vin sticker is on doors, bumpers, hood, trunk, etc. Just be thorough. The transmission is a big deal, and you need to make sure it is up to date with TSB.

Out of curiosity, why a high-mileage TL versus an equally if not newer Honda Accord with less miles? I don't know all your considerations, but you should make the Honda Accord a strong candidate and quite likely skip this 150k mile TL.

 

Price is a driving consideration. 03 or newer Accords with reasonable miles around here apparently have Gold Bricks under the hood My search is Honda products, at this point, Civic, Accord and TL's. Daughter still looking for work in her field of study while waiting tables....She will be paying above the settlement from the Civic.

Drove a Accord EX and the severe road howl was too much for me, probably just tires, but you never know. Also car was stolen once and front and rear damage repaired but not on Carfax. Needed TB done and some dash lights out, front bumber cover broken and several large parking dings with 110k on the clock and he wanted $9,800

 

If you are comfortable with the risks, then do it. If it was maintained and not beaten up, then you could get another 100K out of that car with little issue.

Check the production of the car and make sure that it got an oil jet modification to the transmission if it needed one.

 

+1

 

I wouldn't worry about a high mileage TL so long as it has a detailed maintenance history including transmission service and brake fluid service are recorded and the timing belt, water pump, auto tensioner, and idler pulley were replaced.

 

Personally? No. Money can buy cars with lower mileage for $10K. We all here understand very well that the TL is an awesome car and all and that its a Honda and such, but I just wouldn't be able to bring myself to buy a car with 150K knowing I can buy something newer and cheaper with less mileage. The little problems here and there along with maintenance items eventually add up, monetarily and mentally. And considering its a car for your daughter, its not likely she'll appreciate having a nice car over the fact of having a car that will roll past 200,000 miles at some point while she owns it.

 

I'd say do it.

I have a 96 TL with 257K on the clock and it's been a great vehicle. My RL has 143K on it and I think it has a ton of life left in it. As others have mentioned, as long as it's been maintained properly, go for it. A 04 accord with the same miles would cost just as much.

 

I did a quick search on Autotrader, and I noticed that there were quite a few TLs with mileage as high as 240K. That's a pretty good indicator that these cars are definitely capable of going the distance. I did, however, notice that Civic sedans MY2006+ are going for relatively cheap and with less miles.

In the end the choice is ultimately yours to make, we're here to help you make an informed decision.