tonyatkayak

I'm flying out tomorrow morning to Tucson to check out my future car. If everyone works out, then i'll be signing on the dotted line~! This is a dealer purchase.

Question:

Anything I should go inspect when I get there? I heard someone bought a car and realized the rims were bent.

What should i pay extra attn to? Since it's a six speed, how do i know if they performed the 3rd gear TSB? Is there a way I will know by driving it? I never owned a manual tranny before so i'm screwed!!!

just last min jitters cuz i'm finally doing it.

any response will help.. thanks AZers..

hotgrease

i'm not sure on what to check, but good luck on the purchase! did you buy a return ticket or are you in trouble if things don't work out?

probably make sure to check for rust and check gaps in the doors and trunk to make sure they line up right. then maybe the fluids and stuff i guess? also, check the headliner for marks and stuff. i always seem to forget to do that.

wonton

check carfax and kelly blue book price. also make sure to drive both city and highway. that way you'll know if you have bent rims. also inspect the car top to bottom and make sure all the electronics work, windows, radio, navi, etc. wish you well on the purchase!

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

Bent rims are so uncommon when buying a car :lol

Check CarFax (and AutoCheck Report). KBB is a bad way to judge the price of our cars at this time.

GL!

My family is going to Tuscon soon (this weekend), if I went, I would help you out!

Paintballny

Funny you should say that. My recently purchased CPO 07 TL had a bent wheel that I didn't notice till after I took the car home. They ended up replacing it for me but if you have to fly out to pick up a car its definitely something you want to double check before you leave.

shooter

Good luck OP ... def. take it out for a spin before you sign the dotted line & keep your eyes open for those spots which hopefully won't be any ...

JwongTLS

Check for any interior lights out and dents/cracks on paint. If there are any cracks, ask them to touch it up with clear coat.

As for the transmission, when u shift it should be smooth like butter. Before u take off, shift around. Put it in 3rd then 1st before u take off. That way u save the synchros in 1st gear. You'll know what I mean. Good luck mang!

erick3

nice! checks all the lines on the car. make sure all the pieces line up; look at it from an angle. also, make sure to check the paint in the SUN; you know the misconception - acura has different looking paint color (metal vs plastic). check the steering wheel lights (mode, cruise, etc.) to make sure they light up still. have them lift the car up, and check the exhaust. CHECK THE BRAKE PADS!!! good luck man! update us later!!!

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

Wow flying out to buy a car, nice! Just do what the guys above me mentioned and you should be fine. Good luck and post up some pictures later

1fsthatch

congATS MAN why would how many miles on her

Izzy-Type-S

iTrader: (1)

Also, pop the trunk, hood, doors & look for unmatching paint & changes etc to see if it has been in an accident. of course the CarFax is a better bet but it can be a little behind. Test drive of course in city & highway. How many miles & how much are you paying?

6spdtl-s

iTrader: (1)

lol everyone is calling this person a guy.......I THINK its a girl given the user name.

Anyway, check

carfax
maintenance history (call acura with the vin and see what they have in the system for it)
check all body panel seams to make sure everything is aligned (aka no accidents)
check all gears when driving
be sure to redline the car a few times
listen for rattles
unusual tire wear
windows/sunroof

basically check to see that EVERYTHING works. if not, talk them down.

also, it might be worth your while to have someone from acura come check out the car and do an inspection. I think they charge 100-200 but it will definitely save you money down the road as well as give you some peace of mind.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

lol i didn't even notice. oh and if it is a chick driving MT, that's hot!!

arrogantbastard

LOL I was thinking the same thing - is it "tonya t..." or is it "tony at..."

Anyway, to the OP (tonya? tony?) - Good Luck! I think everyone else has pretty much summed up everything you need to look at.

tonyatkayak

haha i'm just cracking up. I'm a guy. tony is my name. Kayak is the company I work for. You can see those banners on the board. haha so funny.

thanks for the advice guys. the carfax is all check.

i'm just more worried about the gears. I never owned a MT car so I don't know what is supposed to feel right or not.

i'll keep you guys updated. It'll be another 5 hours before i get to see it at the dealership.

tonyatkayak

what happens if i'm already at the acura dealership?

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

oh alright lol thanks for lettin us know tony anyways good luck on the TL. dont worry about learning to drive manual, it's pretty easy and way better then auto

6spdtl-s

iTrader: (1)

is the car a CPO? if not find out why and what its going to take to make it one.

it might be smart to negotiate a 24 hour test drive so you can take it to a shop and have them look it over.

arrogantbastard

"i'm just more worried about the gears. I never owned a MT car so I don't know what is supposed to feel right or not."

OK...Tony...
Shift action should be smooth. You should feel a positive engagement of the gear without any "grinding" or "crunchiness." If a particular gear has an issue, say 3rd gear, it will feel "different" than the others when you engage it. It should also stay engaged - if you feel like you have to give a little extra push to keep it from popping out, there may be an issue. If the TSB has been done, it should pop up when you have them run the VIN for maintenance records.

wonton

I purchased an 05 TL with two bent rims. luckily i lived pretty close to the dealer and they replaced them for no charge.

Babnik

Open the trunk and make sure the key for the locking lugnut is there. I forgot to check for it when I bought my car and sure enough it was missing.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Make sure it has had NO previous collision or body work done. Ask them to confirm that EVERY panel has original paint. If they say they cant do that they are full of shit because any dealer will have a paint depth gauge meter. Also, inspect to make sure that every panel has its original VIN label still attached to it.
All of them are visible when opening the doors or trunk. The front ones on the bumper and fenders are hidden.

Since you cant drive stick have someone else drive it while you sit in the passenger seat and try to observe everything about the car. How it feels when he shifts, if the car is smooth at speed etc etc. Not sure why bent wheels popped out at you thats not a very common thing and if it does have a bent wheel you will know right away especially if you get it up to highway speed. The car will shake or vibrate.

Goodluck.

James

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

lol that sux

tonyatkayak

alright. it's done! I am finally part of the TL AcuraZine Club!!!!!!

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

Congrats Now post pictures and start modding

arrogantbastard

^+1
So how did the deal go down? After all your questions, I'm curious how it worked out for you.

tonyatkayak

I'm proud to finally be able to start a thread like this after joining AZ for about 2 months and reading every topic like 20 times a day. I want to say thank for all the help everyone to making this possible because all the information I learned was from here. Thanks! Now I can finally be able to relate to you guys and start playing with it (when i have more money). As you guys know, it was my first car purchase and it was the most expensive thing I bought to date so it was pretty important to me.

I went to the Tucson Acura dealer and picked up a 2007 WDP Acura TL Type S 6speed MT Taupe interior with 47k miles for 26k which is quite high but it was the car I want.

The dealer offered me acura care for 1450 and I was like. no way. Then I pulled up my iphone and logged into AZ and searched the "acura care" thread and someone said they paid about 850. So I said no thanks, way too high, people sell it cheaper. he said where? I'm like. other acura dealers and it's not third party. He said. how much do you want to pay. Then I said 800 and then he said I can do it for 850 so I took it just in case.

It wasn't that hard driving the manual transmission but I'm still having trouble with first gear. I still can't really figure out when the point where it engages. It feels pretty high and i'm not used to the gas pedal. So far I drove from Tucson to Palms Springs and only stalling once. not bad.

anyways. I know this thread is worthless without pictures but I will upload some when I get home. It's stock.

I have so many questions on this car so I will be really active on this forum. Thanks again everyone here!!!!

I just can't wait to get money for my JNC headlights and ASPEC kit and everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tonyatkayak

Dealer said its not done and they never heard of it before. I was like WTF? but since i have extended warranty, I figured I can research more and then take it to a local acura dealer.

BUT YES, 3rd gear feels like shit. It's so much harder to shift in. It's like not smooth like every 10 shifts. Sometimes i feel like i'm forcing it in or it's not fully in or it slides out. not sure if those are common problems. fudge how do i fix that?

LoveMyTL-S

Sweet! Exactly what I have, but mine is an 08. No difference in the years. Oh, I see you already love the car. So do I. Well, congrats and welcome to AZ

Oh btw, I'd update your signature........

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

^^^ Damn 6spd cars, my automatic sure doesnt have that problem ;-)

Hahah im only kidding congrats on the new car what no pictures yet????? Did you use any of our suggestions? Did you check to make sure it had all original paint and no previous damage history? Give us more details.....and pics!!

Congrats,
James

Edit: n/m I saw your new post about getting the car.

Thanks

arrogantbastard

Since you're still under warranty, you should definitely take it in to have it checked out. I don't know what the VIN/year ranges are on the TSB, but if there's a problem it should still be a warranty fix. Read your extended warranty carefully to make sure it covers the tranny.
Post up some pics and details when you get a chance!

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Congrats!

JMooSeR

iTrader: (2)

Hello to the New TL owner.

Goodbye to your money!

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

congrats!

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

congradulamation!

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

congrats

SouthernBoy

These are symptoms related to the TSB. You can try the GM Synchromesh Friction Modified trans fluid, but since the car is new to you and there is a TSB out there, you should probably do in that direction first.

Every gear should feel smooth when shifting and there should be no undue resistance. Since you're new at this, there are a few things you need to know.

Never hold the car on a hill with the clutch by balancing the it and throttle. Use the brakes - that's what they're for. Once again, never do this.

Don't ride the clutch.

Don't start out in second gear - use first gear, that's what it's for.

Do not over rev the engine and slowly slip the clutch when starting out. This is one method of riding the clutch. Use as few RPMs as possible to get the car going. And don't hold the clutch partially engaged too long while doing this.

Don't sit at a light with your transmission in gear and your foot depressing the clutch pedal to the floor. If you are going to be there for more than just a quite moment, put the transmission into neutral and get your foot off of the clutch.

Never rest your foot on the clutch pedal while driving.

Avoid downshifting until you know how to do this correctly. If you want to know more about this, PM me.

Learn how everything in there works. This knowledge will serve you well. Learn component names, how they relate, and what they do.

JwongTLS

Congrats on the pick up! Enjoy the 6spd mang!! get a feel for the car before u do any racing! jus to save some clutch life na im sayin?

tonyatkayak

I need a lot of help on knowing how to drive it the right way because I don't. I only enough to get the car to point A to point B.

So far, I need to learn how to get out of first here without having to rev it higher and then feeling the car wanting to move but still holding the clutch until i slowly release it. It's not smooth.

I also don't know how to downshift correctly or at all. for example: i'm on six gear and then the light turns red and what do I do because if i just hit the brakes, it's harder.

I just need to learn how not to ride it. oh mannnn... so much to learn.

JwongTLS

Take southernboy's advice. Those are good tips for diving a MT car.

When u take off from 1st, u want to like double tap the gas and as u tap it the 2nd time slowly realease the clutch. That way u dont ride the clutch that bad. As for downshifting, I think the easiest way is to double clutch. That way u dont ride the clutch as well.

Should watch some youtube vids