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Just wondering what some of you thought about the current car I'm looking into getting. It's an 08' TL Type-S. Its silver in colour and has about 112,000km on it. I got the car proof and its been in two accidents, one front end collision in which it had $9000 worth of repairs done by Acura themselves in 2009. The second was a minor accident to the rear end of the car that only cost about $800 to fix which happened more recently about 2 years ago with the cars 2nd and final owner. Other than that, for it's most current safety it needed to have the front brake pads replaced.
Having said all that, the exterior is basically mint, other than the side mirrors having some flaking near the bottoms. The wheels are a bit chopped up around the edges as it looks like the previous driver had driven up on some curbs. and the interior is absolutely mint, no tearing and wear is to a minimum. The car comes with 2 sets of tires, winters and summers. Both having tons of tread left.
They are asking 15899 for the car,and below I'm going to attach some pictures, please tell me what you think ASAP.
$9K in repairs to the front concerns me- it might be a decent buy but the money you specified might just be admission to the club. If you do decide to get it, it should get a thorough going over by a mechanic to make sure it's all good. If you're not allowed the inspection, walk
The wreck was in 09. If their were to be some major issue because of it, it should have surfaced by now. I bought a salvage titled car once, fixed it up and modded the crap out of it, often had it to 160mph and drove it hard. Granted, it all depends on how well it was repaired but I would trust Acura. Even still, perhaps it's a bargaining chip to get a few $$ knocked off.
$9K in repairs is a fair amount. As others have said make sure it is checked out thoroughly. I know the Type S is a little more on the rarer side, but you might want to consider moving on and looking for another.
Because I'm super picky, I would just move on to another one. I don't like previous damage that is that extensive costing. But that's just me since I buy only one car and have it for at least 6-7 years before I purchase another one. I feel the less problems in the beginning the better.
You may save some money now but I feel you can get even more knocked off the price of the car if you push a bit. Plus you really gotta look into exactly what kind of work was done even if it was back in 2009. Do your homework. If you know for sure it was done by super reputable repair shops that should ease your mind some.
Mileage is on the higher side so I would make sure all major maintenance repairs have been done (timing belt, water pump, tranny service).
Personally i wouldnt. You can find similar/better deals with tls's with no accident history.
But if you really want it then go for it i guess. Just know that if you ever plan to sell it, ppl will doubt once they see that history, ppl will hesitate and probably overlook your tl as well.
from my experience, $9000 in front end damage means the frame rails were swayed. not all shops know what they are doing when it comes to straitening unibody vehicles.
Yeah, definitely not looking to pay the sticker price. Quick question though, I took the car out for a test drive and it drove perfectly fine, except for one thing, I'm not entirely sure if the handling should be as stiff as it was at slow speeds. I was finding it was super stiff the turn the wheel going under 30km/h. Although when I went faster, the handling lightened up and became what I consider to be normal. NOTE: the winter tires were still on and we don't have snow anymore thank god. But still, it felt stiff.
TL/DR: Steering was stiff going under 30km/h during test drive today with winter tires on. Wondering if it's normal or just because of the tires.
Power steering issue. Happens "often" on our cars. Sometimes a quick fix with 2 simple o-rings, sometimes a new power steering pump or a rebuild is needed
even at 110,000km? that seems so soon for a rebuild.
Canada man, cold winter and warm summers. I got 150,000km on mine and it exhibits the same issue. I've simply been putting it off because it doesn't bother me much most of the time. Just annoying when you're parking.
16k for a twice crashed TL is a rip off. I can understand a couple minor repairs, like the second, $800 repair. But a 9k repair is a really big fix. I would never consider a car with that big of a fix.
If the weather is warm where you are, winter tires will feel a bit sloppy by now. The rubber becomes very soft and becomes overly elastic.
Also, has the timing belt service been done on the car and valve adjustment? Have the brakes been done, all fluids changed (coolant, transmission fluid, power steering, brake fluid), are the compliance bushings starting to rip (they likely are at that mileage), are the engine mounts in good shape? The car is at the point for likely needing some major servicing, so if it hasn't been done, expect to pay 2-3000 to get it all done, if you're not doing it yourself. Something else to consider
Hell no. The car has had multiple accidents one being significant, chewed to heck rims and who knows what else...look for a clean Type S man, not a rebuilt wreck.
He will be hard pressed to find one with 68k miles. I'm just saying, don't say no because of the accidents, say no because of the price. Get the price down because of the wrecks and it could be a solid car for years to come. If he planned on keeping it a lengthy amount of time expecially, if he wasn't goint to keep it long then perhaps not.
I would say get it checked out by a mechanic. If everything checks out, I don't see why not. I have had several people in my family buy salvage titles with similar previous damage and have had no problems aside from routine maintenance. My one word of caution would be to take it to a certified mechanic who knows what to look for regarding vehicles that may have frame damage and such.
In addition, I would definitely agree with you in terms of not buying it at sticker.
Last edited by Healingduck; 05-23-2015 at 01:32 AM.
I'd say no with that kind of damage done in the past to it, but if you really want it, have your own mechanic or someone very knowledgeable come check it out with you and see if they can drop the price a little.
05-21-2015, 03:08 PM
