I currently own a 2006 SRT8 Grand Cherokee and I am looking to trade off this nightmare of terrible gas mileage, countless problems and general hatred towards it. Yeah it's fast as hell but it's one problem right after the other and it's not cheap to buy parts for these Jeep's.

A local dealership has a peach of a TL sitting on the lot that I am interested in. 2008 with 29,514 miles and $20,880 internet price. I drove by and saw it one night and it looks like it's been garage kept and barely used. It looks brand new from every angle and if I had to guess it was owned buy an older person that never traveled a lot.

How reliable are these cars? I have never owned a Honda/Acura product before and what do I need to know before looking at it tomorrow? I'm not sure how much I like the idea of another automatic but at this price and mileage I can't complain.

Here's the link to the online ad:
http://chevytazewell.rameycars.com/p...98A010933.aspx

Thought's?

 

Not reliable. Buy a Ford escape if you want reliability.

 

I would hope you're joking. If not why do you say it isn't reliable?

 

I am. Honda acura are some very reliable cars. Though every model and year may have some small issues these can be identified and corrected via TSBs and recalls. Overall the 08 model tl is damn solid. That mileage is quite low though so I would ensure that the dealer has performed a thorough inspection. In the least I would change all the fluids.

 

Don't buy it for reliability buy it for prestige

 

that car in the Ad looks great!

generally, very reliable, depending on how previous owner treated her.
but at 30k miles, that car is a baby.

look for used car red flags, like bald tires, burnt smelling oil, nasty fluids, vin number on all panels, things like that...

 

A fluid change would be no issue if I decide to pull the trigger on it. I'm guessing the low mileage indicates an older owner because it's clearly been maintained. I am going by tomorrow for a closer look and a test drive after a job interview I have.

Also I live in an area that at times can see substantial snow fall in the winter. How are these on snowy roads?

 

I was very taken back by the year, mileage and condition of this car and used car's nowadays seem trashed out, over priced and high mileage. This one if it checks out tomorrow may be the deal of the year for me. I know I can get that price down to at least high 18's.

 

a clearly maintained car doesnt always necessarily mean an older owner.
just that the person cared for the car, with that low of mileage, it was probably a 2nd car. but at this point we're speculating.

these cars are FWD, so its already better off in the snow than your JGC SRT....plus, if you put a dedicated winter tire on it, it will be awesome. (provided you drive as fast or as slow as the conditions allow)

 

That's true about the speculation's. I'm 32 and a detailing freak when it come's to paint/car maintenance.

My Jeep is frightening on snow. When I bought it I thought they were full time awd like my STI I had. Well... I was wrong. It's predominantly rwd until it detects a slip, then it engages the front wheels in about 6 months time. So by the time the front grabs you are already sideways with the traction control /stability control freaking out and soiling your pants.

 

Welcome to the forums. If it checks out, then certainly pull the trigger on it. The condition in the pics, the mileage and the price are all pluses in my book. It's the best colour TL as well! Try to drop their price a bit. If they won't budge, it's not the end of the world, as it's certainly worth what they're asking.

 

Right now I am shopping... I have been going through all local dealer websites but I can't find anything that compares to this. I really want a 2006-07 STI but everything I find is 80-110,000 miles on the clock, modded far from stock, ragged out and they still want $21-25K+ for them. There's no way in hell I am going to buy that when I can get a practically brand new TL for the same price and 1-2 years newer... granted they aren't as fast or awd but I think with the TL I am getting more "car" for the money. I guess it's just me getting older.

 

Oh... before I forget. How is the real world gas mileage on these? I do all highway driving for work 25 mins in each direction. The SRT gets 12-14mpg city and 16-17mpg hwy on a good day treating the gas petal like a thin piece of glass.

Buying an SRT Jeep was definitely one of the worst decisions I've ever made. Kinda like seeing that double quarter pounder you know you don't need but you still buy it, eat it and feel like crap later.

 

I drive freeway to work everyday. On my 07 tls with snow tires and winter blend gas I see 300+ miles to the tank. Per the trip computer average mpg fluctuates between 22 and 24 mpg per fillup. This includes city driving as well.

 

That's not too bad then....

On the Carfax report:
28,378 miles
Power steering hose(s)/line(s) replaced
Cabin air filter replaced/cleaned
Radio/sound system checked
Interior trim checked

Does anything here sound like there could be an issue? Any known issues with these components?

For a 6 year old car with 29,000 miles I don't know if it's a deal or something is wrong and the mileage is a lemon indicator.

 

Only one prior owner?

 

Yeah carfax reports it as a 1 owner car. Purchased in 2007 and estimated 4,913 miles per year since.

 

no, those are just standard checks.
it doesnt seem like anything is wrong with the vehicle per ad and per carfax.

if you dont know how to look over a used car, you'll need to purchase a pre-purchase inspection.

these cars are bullet proof, and anything wrong with the car WILL BE apparent on an inspection/test drive

 

I've bought used before and helped friends before... I think I'm just overthinking it. The more I look at the pic's the more it seems it's had a nice life thus far. Clearly garage kept as 6 years of sitting outside in the weather would definitely show. Even the wheel wells look new haha!

I'll be anxious to get out of that job interview tomorrow! LOL!

 

Instant prestige

 

About 2 years ago, I found (for my brother in CO) a 2001 TL in VA at a used car lot with 26000 miles on it (it was owned by a 77 year old lady who really never drove it, and I think she was getting to the point that she couldn't drive anymore). I looked at it (was on the way to SC), my brother negotiated price over the phone and had it shipped to CO. It's his DD now and it looks very good and runs perfectly.

As for the mileage on an 08 with the 3.2L, I average 25 mpg and on highway runs can get 32 mpg or so. With that little mileage and with Nav, get it!

As for snow driving, with snow tires on it, it'll go pretty much anywhere (not off road or if it snows 3 feet) but if you're from VA (where the car is), I doubt you get that much snow anyway.

 

See that's what I'm assuming... old people car. Yeah snow isn't bed here but on those rare occasions we can see quite a lot.

What do you mean?

 

Power steering hose replacement was a recall so that's taken care of. Only other p/s issue that tends to pop up is the O-ring for the return hose. Costs about a dollar and takes 5 minutes to swap out. You'll know if it needs to be replaced by the p/s moan when its cold.

Other than that, TL's are solid cars. And the mileage might be low if owned by someone who traveled a lot.

 

Thank you.

 

Be prepared for an increase in social status associated with driving a high end luxury car.

Doves will scatter and light will shine down on you from above every time you exit the TL.

 

Thrace...if it checks out, buy it! That's a pretty good price for one with that low mileage but check KBB.com and NADA.com to get actual values. Don't pay any attention to Graf...he's just pulling your chain. He's carrying over his comments from some other silly threads on here. I have an 08 w/ 73K miles now and have owned it since 47K. I have properly maintained it and have had zero issues. The TL is a nice mid level semi luxury model that'll get you some where in the neighborhood of 21-23 MPG combined.

 

Cheers gk!

 

Damn... sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Throw in midgets riding unicorns and I'm sold.

 

Good to know and thank you. Only luxury car I've ever owned was an 06 SRT8 300C... that thing was nice.

 

Graf...

 

dude, your kinda fuckin annoying.





To the OP, based on the pictures and carfax being accident free and one owner, this could potentially be a very nice find. Nice low miles! Some other key things is it has nav which IMO completes the car. No offense to the non-nav guys, but the interior looks weird without it in this car. The seats look extremely clean. I see the VIN label on the back bumper still which is also a good sign this car has never been hit, tampered with, repainted etc etc. You woulid be surprised at how many of these used cars have all had bumpers repaired or replaced.
Im pretty anal with cars and have had my share and if I were in the market I would absolutely consider this one. The 08 TL is very solid car with NO common issues like already mentioned.

Most guys on this forum dont like the body side mouldings, me being one of them. They are easily just yanked off and only takes a couple minutes. It really cleans the car up since those mouldings just look tacked on and dont flow with the body lines of the car.

Lastly, I know what you mean about the horrible fuel economy of the SRT lol. I had a 2008 Jeep SRT8, and even though it was an absolute blast to drive, im pretty sure I was able to watch the fuel needle move down when I was driving hahaha. Unlike yours though mine was very reliable no issues whatsoever. Maybe the first year 06's had some issues I dunno. Since your obviously into cars and stuff and coming from the high end Grand Cherokee line, you sure you dont want to look into the Type S model? ;-) They arent crazy fast over the base model like the SRT was, but they sure look damn cool. Price wise they are out there in the range your looking at even with low miles. I bought my 07 Type S manual a few months back with only 4,900 miles on it for $23K. Whichever route you go, they are all great cars and you'll enjoy it.

Let us know what you do and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

My 2k5 TL nav that I bought brand new and put 114k miles on was damn reliable and only needed maintenance. Last year I needed to recharge the a/c unit with a $25 can of refrigerant and change out a power steering hose o-ring (15min and $3.00 o-ring). Those are the only major things that failed on me in the life time of the car.

You won't get stellar performance or luxury out of a used TL compared to a jeep srt8. If that is what you want then I would suggest a 2010-2012 CPO BMW 535 or 535x for about avg of $2k more. You will also gain a better aftermarket for upgrades if that is your interest as well.

 

 

I can fill the Jeep up and if I stay on it I can watch the gauge go down. Yes... it's a blast to drive! Gob's of power, off the line launching will pretty much kill most sports car's, my Diablosport tuner says my best 0-60 time was 4.54 sec's but the bad outweighs the good here. The mpg is beyond atrocious, the leather seats are crap, seat heater in the drivers side stopped working, adjustable petals are stuck all the way down, dash vents are broken, radio sucks, constantly changing o2 sensors and abs sensors, service 4wd comes on at least weekly, oil changes are around $80, tires are too expensive.... I could keep going about whats wrong with it.

I would like the type s but I don't think I could pass up this gem depending on how I feel after the test drive.

The WK1 SRT Jeep's are far from luxury imho lol!

 

I've had 4 07-08 series TL base models/5AT and 1 08 TL-S 6MT (current). this generation of TL (07-08) is the most refined... the ride quality in the base model is uber smooth.. yah I know some don't like 'floaty'...I love it but i'm an old geezer.

hell...i' wanted to trade my TL-S for a TL navi base auto (07-08) but there aren't any that are worthwhile to do so.

 

As far as ride quality... I enjoy the occasional mountain run as I live on the back of the dragon. I would probably look into some suspension goodies to make things more fun.

 

I drive an older CL-S and it goes like this for gas millage

city 21
mixed 24
highway 30

the 2008 TL that I drove for a week and a half while I waited for trans replacement got the exact same millage overall 22 city 24.5 mixed and 31 highway....but I drove it within the speed limit v.s. 5-10 over in my car on the HWY.

 

Wow that sounds like a ton of issues. One reason I went with the 08 is I liked the newer revised black interior compared to the older 06/07 gray interiors. Plus I liked the mygig radio a lot more. Overall just a lot better looking I thought. The SRT8 was a blast though and yeah from a stop it was unstoppable. I remember I ran my friends 08 LS3 Z51 vette for fun and I put an instant 5 car legnths on him. Obviously he reeled me in but it took him almost a 1/4 mile to do it. Sure was fun! We had a 2012 Grand Cherokee Overland and the new WK2's are phenominal, and now the 2014's are even way better than the 11-13's. We will probably get a 2014+ Overland eventually.

As for the TL I see what your saying about that silver base model over a Type S. I would absolutely consider it too especially with the shape that I think its going to be in. As for fuel economy, anything is going to be a singificant improvement over the SRT, but the TL's do pretty good for a sedan. I have a Type S and 6spd manual, but in the far suburbs im usually at 23 around town, and 30 hwy. Dont forget to use premium fuel even with the base TL. Not saying that you would cheap out, but these cars do not like to run on regular grade fuel. Its just not worth saving two dollars.

 

I haven't had a car that uses regular since I was in High School. HAHAHA!

Hows the sound systems in these car stock? Decent leather and paint? I have my Lexol and Griot's product's on standby lol!

 

you'll have to realize that every one comes from different backgrounds.
the TL is an ENTRY level luxury car, and the materials show.

with this being said, i bet its leaps and bounds better than the JGC SRT.