EddieOnAZ

Which one would you choose? Price would be a little higher for the 08, but everything else is about the same: mileage, exterior and interior condition as well as trim levels (base with nav).

candrews

Do some reading on these threads. The 06 are known for expensive transmission problems. Not so much for the 07-08. Also why not get the newest car anyway? If the cost difference is minor it's an easy choice.

EddieOnAZ

I know about the tranny problems. Both those cars are in perfect mechanical shape. I'm not looking for a 200k miles TL, the 06 has under 50k miles and the 08 barely has 75k. The fluid on the 06 looks and smells good, the car hasn't towed anything, no reason for it to fail this early in its life. Price difference is about 2k.

GreenSpades

08 would be the easy choice for me.

EddieOnAZ

Thanks for your opinion Any reason in particular or is it just for the fact that its 2 years more recent?

JDM96specCTR

07-08 by FAR. Redesigned tranny with far less failures (mileage isnt a huge factor in the failures of the older ones, many failed with under 100k). Updated front and rear bumpers, updated headlights and taillights, updated mirrors with turn signals, Updated interior including a much nicer/modern looking gauge cluster and steering wheel, updated nav and rear view camera standard with nav, standard aux input, nicer stock wheels, compatible with hondata if thats something that interests you, same intake manifold thats on the type S comes on the base too

peter6

Google for interior photos. I love how my 08 looks. If you have non Navi 04-06 radio and climate display is just ugly (but easy to do nexus swap! ). 07-08 stock wheels are much nicer and the transmission. That's the biggest point for 07-08.

eastcoastguy

^^^^^ This

GreenSpades

Yeah they already covered it. Plus for me it has always proven true that years do more wear and tear than mileage. I have owned 5 year old cars with 150,000miles that were great and needed nothing and I have owned 25 year old cars with 50,000 miles that needed the engine replaced, shocks all around, belts, tires, and so much more. Lessons ive learned over time.

aIRpeACE

iTrader: (2)

08 for sure

EddieOnAZ

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks for sharing. I always thought that mileage was the most important thing to look out for..

eastcoastguy

I think it depends on how old the car is, 25 years old is old and things begin to deteriorate . I tend to find cars that are older and have really low mileage and things have worked out really well. Like i bought a 1997 Pontiac in 2006 with 23,000 miles on it and I had zero issues. Finding that balance of older and low mileage to get a great car for a cheap price.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

07-08 over 04-06 any day of the week. no brainer

good luck and update us when you purchase the 07-08

EddieOnAZ

​​​​​​
Lol I'm actually leaning towards the 06. I'll give you the exact details on the cars I'm considering.

06: Anthracite, 46k miles (75k kms), all original paint, 0 rust (in Canada so that's important), 6 speed manual, a-spec lips all around, aftermarket intake (sounds stupid good), OEM intake in a box, navigation, interior is pristine except for a tiny hole in the driver's seat, most probably from keys or a button or something because the seats are overall perfect, no cracks or anything. Asking $12.9k CAD, wishing to bring him down to $11.5k since it needs timing belt (10 years old) and I'd be doing all fluids and perhaps motor mounts too.

08: Black, 60k miles, all original paint, no rust, automatic, a-spec lips all around, navigation, interior is just as good, comes with type-s wheels. Asking $12k CAD, he says he's firm on the price. The car is stored for winter, kinda waiting for me until spring so I'm saving on insurance and storage with that option.

Anyone care to chime in?

Edit: forgot to add: this wouldn't be a daily driver. I have a 2015 fiesta I'm planning on using as a DD and a winter beater.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

If you really want a manual obviously go for the 06. But if you don't care I would go for the 08. They seem pretty comparable just depends which transmission you want.

however the hole in the seat would drive me absolutely crazy haha I'm OCD about my car's interior

EddieOnAZ

I wasn't looking for a manual but I've been test driving TLs for about a month now and I honestly can't feel the difference in performance between a base with a manual and a type-s :S the 08 would be a perfect cruiser but the 06 is definitely sportier ( brembos, LSD, etc). Honestly I was only looking for the cleanest TL money can buy in my area, definitely wanted navigation but other than that i was open to pretty much anything. Gotta admit I kinda fell in love with the manual ...

Also, I'd have the hole fixed asap, clean seats are really important to me but apart from this tiny hole the leather is 100% clean in the 06. The 08 has a tiny bit of wear but no hole.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

If it's not a daily and you like the sportier get the manual! You can get a nice heavy shift knob for it and install a shirt shifter and it will feel a lot sportier. I love my 6mt!!

dont put too much faith in the navigation they tend to crap out (mines been broken for over two years and I'm not paying $400 to get 12 year old graphics, I'm actually currently installing a tablet in place of it)

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

'06 manual > '08 base. The updated mirrors, front and rear bumpers are nice, but don't make up for the increased performance of the 6MT in my book. I like the '04-'06 wheels better too. But I like the '07-08 tail lights better. That's why I swapped mine out for them.

EddieOnAZ

I might be weird but I prefer the 06 tails and wheels. I actually also prefer not having turn signals on the mirrors. Only thing 08 has going for itself imo is the updated interior and the fact that the timing belt and various other rubber parts are still good for a while. Also it seems like 07-08 are a lot less prone to rust. Most 06 I've seen had major rust in the rear quarters

YungMoola15

GET THE 6MT. Be careful tho you'll be driving hard without knowing it 😁

EddieOnAZ

Yeah im pretty much set on the 06 manual for now. Only If i can get a good price on it though. If i can't I'll just keep looking for the cleanest low mileage TL on the market, manual or not, type-s or not. That was my goal from the start !!

GreenSpades

Agreed, 6spd vs auto changes things a lot. I am curious why you are looking to buy and old TL when you have a Fiesta ST you are DDing? Is the Fiesta auto? Usually people get an old car as their beater, not the other way around. That TL would have to be one perfect car for me to want to do that. Id rather buy a corvette or something.

EddieOnAZ

The fiesta isn't an ST. It's a pretty unknown trim level called SFE, 3 cylinders, 1.0L turbo, manual. It has the same amount of power as the base engine but a bit more torque. It also reaches peak torque at 2.5k rpm instead of 4-5k.

So it's not a sporty car by any means, not luxurious at all either. It's gonna be a great DD with a warranty, that's all.

I'm coming back to a TL cuz it's the only logical choice of a sporty/luxury cruiser for me. I tried looking elsewhere but nothing makes more sense to me. I looked at V8 mercs, Lexus, Infiniti G35/37, BMW 3-5 series, Accord V6, tried a couple Volkswagen and Audi. I can honestly say that nothing in the used market under 20k, (budget is around 15k) would be better for me sine I still want something reliable.. that's the reasoning behind my decision of getting back in a TL. This time around though I'm not buying until I find the perfect one.

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

You want a very clean, well maintained '06 that's much faster than stock, keep an eye out for mine in the Black Market in the next couple days.

EddieOnAZ

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