I just test drove a fairly beat-up 2004 TL (automatic), and the engine, brakes, and transmission felt absolutely solid. But, there's a few red flags:

ABS, Airbag, and check engine light are all on. One HID bulb is out, and the car is in serious need for an alignment (at least), and tires. Guessing there's also going to be some need for some tierod end loving as well.

Believe it or not, the title is clean. The seller doesn't know much about the car, or claims not to. 170,000 miles..

$2500... good idea?

 

Thats pretty cheap if your doing the work yourself. However, I would also add the price of a new trans because I am sure your going to need one.

 

I was worrying about that. Do the TL automatics give any indication before failure, or is it typically sudden? Seller has basically no knowledge of the car's history since he bought it in June on a whim. The foolish/optimistic part of me wonders if maybe the transmission was already replaced or rebuilt.

 

I would never buy from someone who neglects their car.

 

Not sure if this current guy has had the chance to neglect it (unless he's neglecting to mention something).

To load on a supplementary question: Just how serious is the situation of basically all of the dash alert lights being on? We're talking VSA, Engine, Airbags, and ABS. Makes me wonder if someone got tired of the 21st century and decided to disconnect the wheel speed and airbag sensors.

Normally these things would make me walk away.. But, $2500 on a clean title and running TL....

 

Yep. Stay away from it.

 

I'd rather drive a decent Civic than a thrashed TL. You may think you're saving money here but the tranny is going to cost you more than the car. Not to mention everything else.

If you have around $6k you can get a TL in much better shape.

 

i don't think with what disclosed i'd get it

chances are, there are going to be alot more hidden issues

if for some reason you still want to get it, get a PPI (pre-purchase inspection)

usually about $100, but it'll give you a run down of what to expect in terms of maintenance/repairs

 

If the CEL is on, read the code(s) and see why. I know with BMWs, you can read the airbag computer's code(s) as well. If there is a tool to do that for Honda stuff, read it.

My knowledge of VSA and ABS is supremely limited, but I'd guess they tie in to each other.

AutoZone will read the CEL codes for free. You'll probably need the airbag scan tool from Amazon or somewhere. How many miles are on the car?

This could be a giant money pit, or it could be an opportunity to invest not-a-ton of cash, a metric ton of elbow grease, and end up with a pretty decent car.

I would seriously recommend doing the math though. Tires are what, $600 installed? HID bulbs are $100 or so. Alignments are $100. Tie rods are cheap but still can add up. With just ^ those items, you're almost a grand above the $2500 asking price, and you haven't diagnosed a single lightbulb.

I'm not firmly in the "yes" or "no" camp yet. I want to know what the codes are for.

 

Thanks for the detailed posts, all. I was willing to drop the money for those initial repairs, but the seller is unwilling to have me take it to do a PPI on it... Yeah... That has dramatically increased my mental estimate of what's wrong with the car, so I will say "pass" for now.

 

If they won't let you take it for a PPI... nope nope nope.

Hell, I would have let someone take my rustbucket $1500 328i for a PPI if they had asked. Although I could've saved them the time and just said "it's a giant POS."

Guy who bought that one rode the Metro for an hour and his biggest concern was how to load the 6-CD changer in the trunk

 

I'd say that's a good decision on your part. Are you actually interested in buying a TL, or did you just want to jump on that one because of the price?

Hopefully you'll be able to up your budget a bit and we'll see you kicking around the boards here on AZ!

 

This.

Sometimes the neglect of a previous owner isn't worth the potential headaches in the future, even if the price tag seems like a good buy.

 

Mainly I was just hunting around in the cheap price range, and decided to use you guys for research . But, I will say that I can imagine a TL in good condition would be a sweet ride. I would want a manual version, but it sounds like they're the ones everyone wants!

 

They are, but they aren't THAT rare. I'd say at any given time, there's at least 2 or 3 for sale in my city... In a sea of 70 autos, lol. Low numbers, but they are around. I was looking at TLs (mostly Type S, but Base also for about 6 months before I jumped on the one I have now. In that time I probably considered a dozen other manual TLs, but they weren't exactly what I was looking for). People will disagree with me, but in my opinion, the type S with the 6MT is a bit easier to find. I think more people wanted a manual with the sport version of the TL, as opposed to the base.