So I was supposed to buy an 05 TL 6MT and met the seller at my local Acura dealer to get the Maryland state inspection done. The seller is from VA... which apparently has much more lax inspection requirements. I didnt buy the car based on the results and need to get more info.

Issue #1
Turns out the car already has an AES cold air intake (I was not aware of this). and one of the reasons it didn't pass the inspection was that the original owner (not the seller... the seller is the 2nd owner)... had cut away a chunk of the wheel well cover to let the intake "breath." And this will not be allowed to pass.

I have no knowledge of aftermarket performance parts. The seller told me that in his experience he didn't think that that cut away was necessary and that everything would still work fine if I replaced the wheel well cover with a full one. The Acura service adviser wasn't really sure one way or the other.

Whats the scoop?

Issue #2
The dealer also told me that the car had 3 rims dented. 2 of them in such a way that a rim repair place could fix it and one of them that already had a weld on it and the adviser was pushing for a new rim. The seller, who recently had the B service and 2 new tires put on at an Acura dealer in VA says that this is all news to him... that no one mentioned any of this during his service. The seller seems like an honest dude so really I think either the VA dealer is trash or my dealer is trying to rip me off. I guess the most straight forward solution is to get a 3rd opinion.

 

sorry, I meant AEM

 

keep looking

 

+1, I would keep looking. Too many strikes. This isn't baseball, I think one or two strikes and that one is out...lol. Good luck on the search. I don't know how long you have been searching, but it took me 6 months before I found mine.

 

Yup keep looking. I didn't find a navi car, but at least I got one at 30k miles in near mint condition

 

So let's take the rims out of the equation. Let's say the seller drops the price enough to pay for a new rim and 2 resurfaced ones. And the new wheel well cover. What's up with the intake? I know a lot of people have them. Isn't it a pretty normal aftermarket thing?

 

the fact that the guy hacked the car apart and did not maintain it is enough for me not to want it............

 

I probably wouldn't cut out the fender lining for a CAI... Don't need another passageway for water to spray in, esp. from a spinning tire flinging it and grime all over the filter. I'd keep looking until you find the right one, there are thousands of TL's out there.

 

I wouldnt buy it. Beware

 

wouldnt buy the car ... but damn i didn't know maryland inspection was so tough