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I'm really interested in this TL i'm looking at. It's a one owner car that looks like it's been maintained really well. Driven by an old lady since new and said maintenance was kept up to date religiously. Only problem is it has 144k on the clock and I'm just concerned about the trans since they're somewhat weak points on these cars. Fluid looks fine but I may do a 3x3 change anyway just for the hell of it along with changing the pressure switches. I'm buying it as more of a comfortable daily driver if anything, but be spirited at the same time and intending on some light cosmetic mods too. The asking price is $7500. Should I be too concerned with the trans? Anything else I should watch out for? Any help is appreciated in advance. Here are some pics of the car.
^^^lol true. But regardless the interior doesnt look like 140k miles on it. I would check the carfax in it ti see which dealership she brought it to then call the place and ask for AT service.
Also too expensive. $7500 US for a 144K miles car? I got a '04 5AT with 87K miles for $8600 Canadian.
That concerned me too but she was sensitive to sun light from what I was told. Car runs and drives fine, and the exterior is in great shape aside from the front bumper peeling a bit. Interior is decent too..
Is this from a dealer or private owner? If its from dealer i call it BS.
It's from a dealer, but I'm dealing with the owner personally, and he's a good friend of mine. I've bought cars from him in the past as well.
This car was taken in on trade in, and the lady is a long time client of his too. So i'm not sure what to think of it at this point. I just dont want to end up buying the car and having to replace the trans on it right away or anything else like that. Brakes/plugs/etc are easy enough but I need to have a car in commission where the trans wont blow up on me.
It's from a dealer, but I'm dealing with the owner personally, and he's a good friend of mine. I've bought cars from him in the past as well.
This car was taken in on trade in, and the lady is a long time client of his too. So i'm not sure what to think of it at this point. I just dont want to end up buying the car and having to replace the trans on it right away or anything else like that. Brakes/plugs/etc are easy enough but I need to have a car in commission where the trans wont blow up on me.
Nobody knows about the transmission. If the car seems to shift fine with no shudder or flaring while in sport shift mode then your guess is as good as mine.
That said, I still think the price is too high for the mileage. This TL has nothing spectacular or particular as opposed to all TLs on the market and I'd be surprised if you couldn't spend a bit more and find a lower mileage one or a 07 with a more reliable transmission.
From my understanding there is no old lady in the world like the dark tints and my mom is no exception. As far as AT concern test drive the car and see if it slipping or shutter. Drive in both mode D and in ss mode to see if the symptom arise. My mom has a 00 accord v6 which notorious for AT failure, we bought from original owner taken good care of the car she had like an inches thick of dealer record. The car now has 150k miles with original AT.
From my understanding there is no old lady in the world like the dark tints and my mom is no exception. As far as AT concern test drive the car and see if it slipping or shutter. Drive in both mode D and in ss mode to see if the symptom arise. My mom has a 00 accord v6 which notorious for AT failure, we bought from original owner taken good care of the car she had like an inches thick of dealer record. The car now has 150k miles with original AT.
Ironic how you say that, my mom has 5% tints all around on her car with 50% tint on her windshield lol
but yeah I'm going to ask for the carfax and see what she did. I do know for a fact that the t-belt was replaced at 95k though. Just the trans being the big issue at this time.
I'm at 108K on my original tranny with no issues, but I did the original 3 x 3 ATF change at ~ 50K and have been doing a 1 x 3 every other oil change since and did the switches at 60K (and drive it pretty 'normally', not abrupt on takeoff or too hard on the car). You might be OK with the car but it's impossible to predict. The car you are considering won't likely have a warranty of any kind, so you're on the hook for any unexpected issues. I'd offer a bit less, say $6500 and see how you do. Otherwise your friend/ the dealer will probably have the car on the lot for quite a while (since such a high mileage car might not sell so quickly). It can't hurt to ask for a lesser price and the worst he can do is refuse your offer and then you both either negotiate the price or walk away from the sale.
Be careful with using Auto Check. I've run a lot of cars through both Auto Check and Car Fax before. I found that Auto Check is not 100% accurate - the latest one I ran was a 2008 base TL. Car Fax reported it had two accidents ($5387 claim and $0 claim), while auto check had ZERO accidents reported. I can dig up both reports if anyone is interested.
This issue might only pertain to Canadians though, I'm not sure how accurate it is with USA.
I'm really interested in this TL i'm looking at. It's a one owner car that looks like it's been maintained really well. Driven by an old lady since new and said maintenance was kept up to date religiously. Only problem is it has 144k on the clock and I'm just concerned about the trans since they're somewhat weak points on these cars. Fluid looks fine but I may do a 3x3 change anyway just for the hell of it along with changing the pressure switches. I'm buying it as more of a comfortable daily driver if anything, but be spirited at the same time and intending on some light cosmetic mods too. The asking price is $7500. Should I be too concerned with the trans? Anything else I should watch out for? Any help is appreciated in advance.
To answer your concerns, the asking price is a bit high, I would counter at $5,500 and come to an agreement from there
Second, no, you shouldn't be too concerned about the transmission at all. Like you said, it's a one owner, elderly woman driven, all required maintenance done TL
I was just shopping for a 06 TL back in January & February, I don't think the price is that out-of-line with what I was seeing for one in that good of shape-assuming it drives & works well. It is a little high for the mileage, but it depends on what else you can get.
Of course, try to get it as cheap as you can or look for a better deal if you can find one
04-09-2015, 10:23 AM
