Sup everyone!! I am new to the acura community and this is my first post. I have always been in love with the Acura TL. I am in the market right now of getting my own TL but all these TL I am finding for the 3rd generation has over 100k+ miles. Now i have never purchased a car that had over 100k+ miles so the scene is new to me. I been talking to people about it and they said is a acura lol. My question tho is what are the pros and cons of getting a TL that has over 100k+ miles. Is it worth it or should i just keep looking and searching till i find one with lesser miles if that is even possible.

I just love the way that the 3rd generation looks. The body style and the way Acura design it.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

There's plenty of threads talking about this subject mainly. 100k miles is nothing for a Acura/Honda in general as long as the car was well taken care of by its previous owners.
Here's a few quick questions, what condition is the car in? the interior/exterior. Is the maintenance up to date on the vehicle? How many owners has it had? Clean/salvage title? There are many factors that play into this. The biggest and most common question for you to find out is if the 105k service has been done on the vehicle.

I'm sure others may chime in, but those are the common questions asked.

There are other threads here that can you give plenty of advice if you just search it up. These types of threads pop up at least once or twice a week so you could imagine how many more others are in existence. Wouldn't hurt to browse through those while you wait for some feedback from the other members on here.

 

Appreciate the feedback. Those are def somethings I didn't know.

 

Cons: The car will likely need a bunch of maintenance done.
Likely: T-belt, valve adjustment, spark plugs, compliance bushings, serpentine belt, water pump, tensioner
Probably: air filter, cabin filter, transmission fluid (3x3), coolant flush, brake fluid flush, ebrake adjustment, thermostat
Maybe: Brake pads, ebrake brake shoes, brake rotors, swaybar end links, tires, other bushings, engine/transmission mounts, Bluetooth thingy, alignment


Pros: Once you do that maintenance, the car will run for another 100k miles.

 

I have never bought a car with LESS than 150k miles....LOL

No easy answer....you have to look at each car's record.

There can be immaculate 200k TLs...and there can be totally beat up 50k TLs.

I found a 06 TL with 160k on the clock but it was 1 owner and lady had it serviced at the local acura dealer ALL its life with STACK of dealer/repair/service records. I was confident about this car.

Look for tons of records and google ways to inspect used cars. It's a Honda so 100k is really where it starts to break in.

But in general with 100k+ cars you may need to do some maintenance: timing belt, brakes, coolant, spark plugs, etc. etc. Get all that done and you'll be good

 

You're going to have to accept the fact that the newest 3G TL's are now 8 years old, and average annual mileage tends to hover around 13-14k. Do the math.

That said, 100k is just getting broken in for a well maintained J series. Look for the 105k service to have been done and look for overall details. Most people who keep their cars clean, tend to maintain it mechanically too. Check the compliance bushings and engine mounts. (Two weak spots on the 3G) Look for a 6MT; they're more reliable.

 

I just picked up an 05 6Mt Tl with 91k. Big thing for me was taking it to mechanic. Everything looked good but there was some maintence needed/ Coming up. Big one is the 105k service. Car also needed new passenger side engine mount, new front brake pads and power steering pump has a very small leak. All these issue seem to be pretty common with these cars.

 

I'll let you know when I figure out why the hell my 170k 05 is throwing P0300-P0306 after owning it for 130 miles. I had it inspected, had head work, timing belt, blah, blah, blah. I'm just having a shop handle it so I'll be very interested to hear what exactly is wrong since almost everything has been taken care of.

 

If it makes you feel any better my 04 has over 280k and it still running strong on original trans. When I got it from my brother recently with 280k it was still on original timing belt and suspension. Replaced timing belt, water pump, pulleys, tensioner, drive belt, pcv, brakes front and rear, etc... Was $1700 to do everything at mechanic. Just did not have the desire to do it myself. Car runs mint. Changing out suspension this weekend and hope to get another 100k out of it.

 

Forgot to add, at 280k everything in the car still works 100%. Heated seats, windows, stereo, ac, everything.

 

i can't think of any pro comparing to new cars. cheaper i guess

 

I bought my 08 TL with 96k miles @ 105k did all the major maintenance required..

I have 130k now only problem I have is the oil pump seal is leaking.

 

i Hope you know misfires could be because of the timing belt and head work.....
hope you didnt repair your car only to have the same problems again, due to a mechanics shitty job.


matter of fact, why dont you list or give us in detail what happened first.
if you had head work done, that means you blew the valves!!!!!!!!! either by over heating it or by performing the money shift if its 6MT.
the valves can also come in contact with pistons if the timing belt snaps.

so, in conclusion its not the cars fault this stuff happened

 

Why would your brother run the car 280k without changing the timing belt? That's like playing Russian Roulette.

 

It was just a bad #5 coil. Not anybody's fault at all, just an old part that died. It should have been replaced during the head work and the owner indicated the coils were new, but all thins considered not a big deal at all.

It's had its second go over by a mechanic now and the only additional thing they turned up was an old power steering hose that hasn't started to leak but will in the future.

All things considered a pretty damn good trip to the shop for a 170k mile car. I'm confident it's going to run for quite some time now.

 

pros:

Cheap compare to newer car
nicely equipped

cons

insurance can be a pita depending upon age and record (considered high performance by most companies)
age related issues like rubber parts wearing out
leather ages badly in these cars
it isn't cheap to fix if you do not do it yourself
mechanical issues like AT about to asplode on certain models (mainly 04-05)

 

whew! I assumed because you didnt add any details to your prior post....

you know what they say about Assuming?
I make an ass out of you and me... errrrrrr something like that

 

206k miles on my Accord, J30 V6 still doesn't use any oil during 7500 synthetic oil change intervals. J32 should be similarly reliable assuming proper maintenance.

And that's the key to a higher mileage car, proper maintenance and an owner who addressed problems quickly.

Main suspension issues seem to be the LCA (lower control arm) bushings and struts last 80-100k miles. Engine? Really not much, other than maybe coils. As long as the timing belt/water pump changed along with regular oil changes no reason you can't get 300k out of the engine. Engine mounts, not so much. Passenger side seems to be the main one that goes out. Transmissions are the biggest issues if you have the automatic. Supposedly the problem was fixed during the '04 model year so a late '04 build or later you should get more typical transmission life of 150-200k miles.

FWIW, had no problems driving to Kentucky and back in late October and Phoenix and back right after Christmas.

 

I read on here some having cracked LCA at 50-60k miles. I never replaced mine and I am at 206,000 miles. No uneven wear on tires but I do drive like a grandpa LOL

 

Because that's how he rolls. He drives cars till they fall apart then moves on. I don't agree with it but that's him. He figured once he got to 150,000 however long it lasted after that was a bonus. He never figured it would run another 130,000. Outside of normal maintenance that I finally did, timing belt, brakes, alignment, etc..., the only things I had to replace were the front and rear sway bar end links which were shot.

 

Bought my 05 in 11 with 93k on it. Haven't had to do much. Brakes and routine stuff. At about 150k motor mount went and cv started clicking. At 165k finally got to timing belt, cv replacement, and water pump. Honestly low maintenance in my experience and layout/design is decent for home wrenching.

 

Not to get too far off the subject but how does one know if you need a new motor mount?

 

I buy cars with higher mileage because with my knowledge of cars it costs less to replace maintenance/repair items than dealing with depreciation. It is also more reliable buying older/higher mileage cars vs. Cars with too many go go gadgets.

 

This might come as a surprise, but I have had my 2006 TL for 10 years now. Bought it new and only have 63000 miles. keep looking you might just might find one. just saw a couple on auto trader.

 

found this on one of the threads ," if you feel the engine rocking and/or kicking..examine your mounts! Have someone switch gear (drive/neutral/reverse) while holding brake...pop the hood, see if the engine jumps"

 

Got my 06 TL with two previous owners with 93K miles. It now has 121K. What I've had to take care of so far:

105K maintenance
APP sensor replacement (failed)
Compliance bushings replacement
Starter motor replacement (failed)

Preventative maintenance:
3rd and 4th gear pressure switch replacement
1x3 ATF change every other oil change (to extend the life of the transmission)

Also, my Bluetooth HandsFreeLink died, and my navigation system died.

Other than that, the car runs just fine.

 

I've got a 2005 tl with nearly 240k. The only problem was busted engine mounts. They are pretty reliable cars