Hi all, I am planning to replace my car soon and the TL is on the top of my list of choices. It will probably be a 2004 because I can't afford a newer one and I don't like the pre-2004 generation.

I would just like to know if there are any issues that used 04 TLs have that I should look out for when buying one?

Also, is there a particular maximum mileage I should try to stay under when looking for a TL? I mean, is there a particular mileage after which this car begins to develop problems that are costly to repair? Is it worth paying a lot of extra money to get a lower mileage car? For example, if there is a TL with 120,000 kms on it that costs $18,000 and another one of the same year but with only 80,000 kms on it that costs $21,000 is it worth paying the extra 3 grand for the lower mileage car or would it be smarter to save the money and get the higher mileage car? In the past I have replaced my car every 2 years or so, and I'll probably do the same with this one too. I make about 20,000 kms a year.

Also how good is this car in the snow? I live in Toronto and do a lot of driving in snow, both in the city and on the highway.

Is premium gas a must, or is it only recommended?

The back seat does not fold down, right? Is the trunk big enough to fit a mountain bike (with its front wheel taken off)?

Is maintanence on this car expensive? For example, does an oil change cost $30 like on most normal cars, or $100 like on BMWs?

Those are all the questions I can think of right now, if anyone has anything else to add that I didn't ask about, please do, the more information I have, the better.

 

The TL is a great choice in cars. Very comfortable, handle nicely and maintenance is next to nothing. There are a couple of recalls out there, such as the power steering hose and I think the windshield wiper motor.

If your only going to keep the car for 2 years and drive it 20,000 kms, then I would think the higher mileage car that you pay less for would be fine. These cars are made to last.

Can't tell you much about driving in snow (I live in Florida). But I heard front wheel drive is best.

Premium gas is a MUST!!

The trunk is fair size, not sure if your bike would fit. Perhaps a bike rack is best.

Maintenance I find is not that expensive. It depends on what maintenance your doing and where you get it done. I do my own oil changes, so that is cheap. First tune-up is 110K miles.

Good luck on your quest for that TL!!

PS. Lots of members are in Toronto.

 

LoveMyTL-S pretty much nailed it.

If you do all of your own basic maintenance, the TL is very cheap.

 

there are some other recalls out if u plan to get a MANUAL TRANSMISSION im gettin mine done right now

 

Hey it's a Honda! It's a great car. I found it to be pretty good in the snow, about as good as any other FWD car I've owned. Plenty of power, all the goodies you could want.

Dave

 

Thanks for the info everyone. I heard that the timing belt needs to be changed at 100k miles and it costs $1000. Is that true? I don't suppose there is a maintenance schedule online?

 

Yes it needs to be changed around then. The schedule is probably here somewhere, look around.

 

Well I bought it, drove it home early today. I looked around at all the local car lots and chose the one that seemed like the best deal. An 04 automatic non-navi with 75,000 kilometers (that's about 46,000 miles) for $20,000. Did I get a good deal? It looks like new except for a few small scratches, and the rims look like they scraped the curb many times. There were some cheaper 04 TLs I could've chosen (including some with navi) but they all had higher mileage so I chose this one. I bought it off a used car lot so it's not certified pre-owned, and I declined their warranty, which I thought was too expensive, because the car still has factory warranty on the powertrain for another year (or perhaps only a few months, I need to fidn out the day the 1st owner bought it). Is there anythign that is still covered by the factory warranty after 5 years?

Anyways, so far I'm reasonably pleased. I am noticing a few issues though:

There is a pretty loud buzzing noise coming from the dash, it only happens for the first 5 minutes or so while the engine is cold then goes away, and it only happens while the car is in drive, if I put it in neutral it disappears. I assume this is because the engine is sort of shaky until it warms up? I don't mind the buzzing noise too much (I just drown it out with music), but is the fact that the engine is shaky while cold indicative of a problem?

Also the engine sort of shudders when I turn it off. Is that normal? I don't recall any other car doing that, although I haven't driven that many cars.

Other than that I am not noticing any problems. The car pulls very strongly at full throttle and the ride is very comfortable and it looks great in and out. I plan on getting a tint on it, and before winter comes I will have to get some snow tires. I will probably put the snow tires on the stock rims, and buy some aftermarket rims and outfit them with summer tires. I also would like to get a CAI, I heard they improve mpg quite a bit.