davinci73

Thanks in advance for all that can give some good inputs.

I'm going to be looking at a 2005 TL Desert Mist Metalic, Automatic today. i did quick test drove a couple days ago and it drove fine, i'm going to get the car today for a longer period of time to put up on my lift for a closer look. My question:

are there on this model/year that I should look out for?

Do this generation of TL's have any known issues I should look for?

the car has a bit over 56K miles on it and we settled on the price of $15.4K. owner just bought new tires for it. Original owner since they special ordered it from dealer. The condition seems to be at least 9/10.

I'll have it for a few hours to check it out so any advice or help would be really appreciated.

just found this TL community and seems great! if i buy this car, i'll definately be looking forward to a LOT of reading here.

Italiano

Get it...thats a steal....

truonghthe

AT trany maintenance record these trany well know for issue but with early production model but I am sure it will be fine. I would asked the owner provide maintenance record (paper work), please spend some money in Carfax and/or Autocheck (I recommend Carfax) for extra measure (I did subscribe to both because I just want to be extra careful). check for recall(s) Acura had for that year and ask owner if it had been done. start the car and listen for excessive vibration, chatter noise, take a reading on oil dipstick and look at the engine oil, check coolant color it should be green. check brake fluid to see if it is really dirty. Drive it and make sure the steering wheel does not vibrate. If you are able get the on the lift then check for any axle leaks, CV boot leaks, engine oil leaks, suspension component damage/rust (if any). It just me and IMO that how I look when I buy used car, GL with the buy.

callahan

Trounghthe pretty much summed it up, seems like a good deal. Let us how how it goes.

gofasttl93

That's a great price, rare color and low mileage, too.

JJH

iTrader: (1)

I don't see how everyone thinks this is a good price, I paid $16k OTD for a 2007 TL type-S (NBP) with a 2 year Powertrain warranty included. It did have over 100k miles, but all of the major service had already been completed 10k miles before I purchased (timing belt, water pump, etc).

Maybe I'm delusional though.

Edit: To sweeten the deal, I got a set of new Blizzaks that were installed on 1/25/2012, and full window tint all included. Window tint was already done, tires already on.

wojo1988

Yea even to me 15.4 seems a little high. Id offer 14.5 and go from there. It is a 7 year old car

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

No offense but at least a few of these threads are started each week. Search around and you'll find what other people are saying to check.

hleapha

That's close to KBB value. I would offer $13.5 to $14k and go from there.

truonghthe

sound like a good deal to me, don't be listen to people who said you should go lower because most of the time you get what you paid for, good deal happen sometimes but for most of the time it turn out too good to be true.

davinci73

Thanks for all the helpful inputs guys. Well, I bought the car for $15.4K and am very satisfied with the purchase. the car has tint, brand new tires (costco receipt about 50miles ago), and also a pretty much new set of studded winter tires too.

I did check KBB and edmunds (i think edmunds is a bit lowballing cars) and feel that the price I paid was very fair for the condition it was in. I put it up on my lift and found zero leaks/stains/ or anything. It had some minor door dings and scratches but those are expected of a car of this vintage/milage. it came from Idaho where the guy I bought it from has had it since day 1 when he ordered it from Acura. Also the car has a clear bra and window tint already too. he has every maint record from the dealer also. I did check CL around the NW for this similar year/milage car and nothing comes close. around this price range cars are typically having 90K+ miles and it's from the "small" dealers or it's one of them bad title cars that had a "minor accident but was fixed by professionals" (those ones make me laugh everytime and its always some guy that speaks russian too).

Anyways thanks again for the inputs, i'm very satisfied with my decision on this car in this prestine condition.

truonghthe

now we demand some pics

hleapha

Congrats on the car, I know you will enjoy years of use. Just spend a lot of time in here, especially in the maintenance forums, and you can get the most out of the car. But as with any forum, use a slight filter b/c not everything is confirmed factual information although it may be stated that way!

Not a negotiator, huh? You are getting the same car whether you pay $20k or $5k. I'm not commenting on whether or not $15.4 was a good deal or not. I am saying that in the car market, the seller will always come down from their asking price.

If I am selling a car, I will set my minimum at say $8000 but will ask $9500 but might could be pushed to sell at $7500. To get me there, you would have to start the negotiation lower than $7500 on a $9500 asking price. That's just a general example, but you can always bring someone off of their asking price. That's the buying and selling market coming together.

BaucE

Its a different ball game when your dealing with the original owner, keep in mind what they paid for it before they pulled it off the lot.

hleapha

He kept that in mind when setting his asking price. That's how much he is wanting but 95% of the time they will come off of that SOME. You always try to negotiate. Worst case scenerio is he doesn't budge and you decide if you want to pay full price or not.

But for the OP, this is really just a side bar conversation. You probably got a good deal on a fantastic car. An '05 with that kind of mileage is rare! You should be happy with your sweet new ride.

Jbat

good job man enjoy the car. And while that may not be a smoking deal...it's not a bad price. I paid $14,7 for my 05 last fall, really clean, with 73k on the clock. Its one of those thing, at least for me, if it is in really good shape and all the maintenance records are there I am more likely to pay more for it.

truonghthe

it is not so much about negotiation, its all about how serious the owner and buyer interest of the vehicle. I mean if the market value for A car is $14k and you got listed for $16K I won't even take a look at it and you can have that add for awhile, but if serious seller want to get rid the car asap then seller willing to ask above market value by +/- $500. Don't be expected a good condition vehicle for a cheap deal because most owner won't do it, they would rather trade that vehicle to the dealership so they can get better rate with financing or better money for trade in (KBB trade in value) (I know Acura of North Heaven did this way with 3g Type S). When owner expect to know the price down by couple $K there is only one reason, the car must have problem and you did not see it yet. This scenario happened all the time buyer though he got a good deal of the vehicle then about a month or two later all kinda of problem starting then that person gona rant "I have bad luck with used car".

truonghthe

I was hunting for the TL and yes they mostly in the condition that you described, high mileage goes for high price. Title had issue, accident and/or happened multiple time. I got my with accident free and all the maintenance was performed at Acura dealer.

Acura_Dude

I skipped everything, but if you decide to shop around you may find a better deal, or if you're ok with what you're lookin at and satisfied with all the maintenance records (if it has any) plus the colors rare, you should buy it.

davinci73

I did shop around in the NW area (from Portland/OR and Seattle/WA area) and this is definately the best condition '05 TL for the price. KBB shows Retail as $18,654 (nobody would pay that but just a guess that A**hole dealers would definately try to start at or above that price), Private party sale as $16,504 in excellent to $14,303 in fair condition and i'm definate this car falls in that category since it's been taken care of so well by the sole original owners with all records/all original keys and came with clear front bra/window tint/extra set of snowtires. Snowtires are prob worth about $200 used in the condition which I prob would not normally get nor need cause I have my 4X4 F150 for all winter driving. But the Clear bra is something I would have gotten anyways which is at least $500 or so for the front bumper/hood/side mirrors, and the window tint is something I would have also gotten and that'll cost at least $200 to $250 for a quality install. So $15.4K is not too much for this car at all. I've been in cars for quite a long time and find that this price is quite fair to pay for this conditioned car. Like i've stated before, i could pay less for one but it'll have a shotty history or even no history/high milage/accidents/bad titles/corrosion/flood/mech problems/extreme wear and tear on insides... this one is nothing like that.

Thanks again for all the inputs guys! Great forum here.

snowtrax

Some people just aren't good at negotiating. Sometimes it's not worth the chunk of change he could have saved.