oste

I have a tough decision ahead, I have been shopping for an 2005 TL for a month or so and I have found a great deal. The only trouble is that the car has a reported accident that nobody has any further information about.

The TL is a 2005 with 47k miles and Navigation. The asking price is 14k dollars. This would be a no-brainer but when I ordered the carfax I saw that the car has been in a "collision".

Here are some images from the carfax report.

http://img52.imageshack.us/i/carfax.png/

http://img714.imageshack.us/i/carfax1.png/

What kind of advice can you offer? Should I be concerned about this accident? They say 75% of accidents are not serious, but how do I know if this one falls into the 25% that are...

To make things more complicated I gave the seller a 100 dollar deposit to hold the car after he told me the carfax comes back "clean". I purchased the carfax and now I have a big decision to make.

Thanks for the advice/ help on this, and when I do get a TL I look forward to browsing/ posting in the forums more.

cjTL

iTrader: (2)

Everyone here will tell you to get the car inspected and looked at by someone who knows what they're doing, but I honestly wouldn't buy the car. It's been in an accident, who knows what type. Could be a fender bender or it could be an accident that was just barely shy of totaling the car. The fact that the car has had two previous owners would bug me also.

Just my opinion. Don't compromise on such a huge purchase. The deal (which isn't really outstanding by any means) isn't worth it.

jpgayan

Low miles but old car which means it probably spent a lot of time sitting in traffic jams and just as many cold starts as a car with double the miles. The accident report is kind of a wild card. I ran the carfax on a car I bought from by best friend just for the heck of it and it came back with an accident on it. All he did was swing a little too wide while backing into his driveway and snag his front fender on a boat hitch. He drove it with the damage for about five months before caving in and having it fixed through his insurance. $600 fix but since he went through insurance it showed up on carfax. Like cjTL said, if your heart is set on this particular car go ahead and take it to a body shop and ask them to look it over for you. They can easily spot signs of body work that the average person would never notice.

oste

The vehicle has actually been owned by an older women for the past 3 years and she has only driven it an average of 3k miles/year. Before that it was a NYC car which is not ideal...

After looking on Cars.com it looks like around 30% of the "free carfax" reports have some sort of damage reported. Some have more information than others. Unfortunately mine just says "

Accident reported
Vehicle involved in collision".

I think I will try to take the car to a local Acura dealer and rule out any serious issues. If everything checks out I think I will have to pull the trigger on what appears to be a clean 05 TL in Anthracite Grey with low miles.

93SHOcar

I really don't like the idea of the seller telling you one thing and you finding out something else. I would probably walk away. My

oste

He is claiming that when he purchased the vehicle for his mother that the accident was not visible on the carfax report...

Joelito2983

^^^ + 1..... If the dealer is not able to be honest in the sale its probably not even worth to deal with them in the first place!!

Chad05TL

if the frame is not bend and the alignment is good and all the fenders have the right amount of gap (not too much on one side vs. the other) and IF all the doors close really nicely, then the accident was probably fixed. My car was hit in the rear before I got it.. I didnt even check the carfax. I got it for a little less too though.. so maybe that is why.. But if the guy is lying now, then you can expect pretty bad service later. Such as, I wouldnt trust them to keep their word about fixing this or that after you take possession of it. I have seen lots of TL's for sale in the Dallas area.. Not sure why other cities would be any different.. Can you find another? By the way, check the paint too. If one side is all orange peeled or blurry and then you can tell where the accident occurred. Now, these TL's do have orange peel from the factory.. So, what you have to look for is if some area is not consistant with the rest of the car..

oste

It's a private party sale. I will take it to the same dealer that he went to.

There are plenty for sale. I do a large search radius. I did just recently find an 06 with 50k miles for under 15k. Will prolly be taking one of these deals.

oste

Thanks for the good info tho.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

My friend just picked up a wrecked UA6(3rd gen TL) and hes currently getting it fixed. He bought all the fenders and what not.

but i see that you're gonna go for a better deal. Good choice.

sogellagepul

$14,000 for a car that's been in an accident is a ripoff. It should be $12,000, at most.

IGGUS

I'm also looking for a used TL. A couple times that I thought I might have found 'the one' I called an Acura Dealership to see if they could check it out.

They typically want you to make an appointment, it will take about an hour, with a cost of about $100. I would say to the guy your Carfax came up differently - so he should take the $100 holding fee and spend it on Acura making a full diagnosis, and if you're happy with what they have to say you buy it. If you want, have Acura give you a trade in value as well.

OperationDarkie

iTrader: (1)

I say 10000 at the most if it has been in a accident.

Lowball them and see what they say after you show them the carfax or walk away...softly.

218TL

As long as it's fixed right is all that matters. Looks like whoever owned it during the accident kept it over a year after so I'd be willing to bet it's fine. People overreact when it comes to accidents, it could be simple or it could be major, but again if it was fixed correctly then no big deal. Given the year and miles, I'd offer 12000 or 13000. If not, no dice, walk away, no harm done - there's other cars.

IGGUS

In the same situation as OP, looking at a manual 05 ASpec w/ navi, for $13.5k

I've made a listing on ebay as if I'm selling the car, taking the info from the seller w/ vin and some pics. Ebay is great as you can create a listing, and the Experian AutoCheck (similar to Carfax) is FREE. I've been using this quite a bit while looking for a new TL - just click the link below and then the 'FREE History Report' tab.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...hicle-glossary

Listed on the Carfax is an accident from the 2nd owner (I would be 4th). I have test driven this car and besides a rubbing/clicking sound when cutting the wheel all the way to make a U-Turn or similar maneuver, it looks in pretty good condition.

Accident listing is - LEFT REAR IMPACT WITH A PARKED VEHICLE(Case #:11230246). How can I find more details on this case?

What do you guys think I should do - forget it?

ez12a

just throwing this out there, i got my 04 for 14k flat, 52k miles and 0 accidents. I say wait for a different one.

Chad05TL

Make up your mind without the $100 as a factor. Then, if you want the to look at other cars, ask for the $100 back.. But If he says no.. then I would still let the 100 go. $100 is replacable. I wouldn't get stuck in a car you don't want for a little $100 bux. I leave change at the car wash.. I damage things accidentally that cost me money. $100 is recoverable. So, I would not let that complicate your decision. Just next time, learn from your actions.

DarkBlue2005

I bought an 05 with an accident on the carfax also,had about the same milage as yours and I noticed the accident was reported withing 2-3 months of original ownership and there was only one owner. I went for it and dont regret it.No weird wobbles or anything either. Was going to trade it in and still got an offer of 12500 and they knew of an accident