Felk27t

I'm new to Acuras; I was big into Audi's and have since moved onto Merc's (German Car Fan). Regardless, I'm thinking of buying a 2005 TL from a private seller for my son (first car); should I have my head checked by a professional or is this a sound choice? Since you only have a first car, once, it mind as well be pretty cool. Luckily, he drives like a grandma, but, does this car have too much power for a 17yo? From everything that I've read, this is a pretty safe car and it is moderately reliable. The car is a 2005 TL with 141k miles, the transmission was replaced 2 months ago and comes with a 2 year warranty. I'm verifying/checking if the timing belt/water pump was replaced; however, is there anything special beyond these items that I should be concerned about? If the timing belt/water pump was not replaced, approximately, how much will it cost?

Unfortunately, my son have zero ability when it comes to turning wrenches and I'll end up doing any/all DIY repairs; which is fine because I like working on cars.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

pretty safe and awesome first car!! (it can be pretty quick at freeway speeds, but sounds like your boy is level headed)
timing belt service can range anywhere from $400-1200..depending on who you take it to.
the Acura dealers will be on the high end of that price...while Honda dealers can do it for less..
the cheapest will be either Doing it yourself or taking it to an indie mechanic

Felk27t

Inde shop for me... I usually, sway away from the stealerships, unless it's paramount,

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

there's nothing too intricate or special about the timing belt service....the J-series engine has been in production since 1996 in various makes...Accords, Odysseys, Pilots, TL's, MDX's..
A good indie will know how to do it.

LoveMyTL-S

The TL would be an awesome first car. Very reliable and easy on maintenance. My son has a TL-S, but he's 36 Welcome to AZ!!
I recently had my timing belt, water pump, spark plugs, etc. done and under $1400.00 at an indy shop.

MikeTC

Great first car, my '06 TL has been handing down as my DD to my daughter and now to my son as their first car. So far so good. In addition to timing belt, water pump and spark plugs, check if the compliance bushing on the lower control arms and the three engine mounts were replaced, they usually will need replacement at that mileage.

Jackass

Also...don't fear all dealers. They aren't all bad. I had my TB service done at a local Honda dealer for roughly the same amount some are posting from indy shops. In my area, the indy shops were charging the same amount as Honda and they weren't going to use OE parts. There are gobs of threads that discuss in detail the possible cost and level of effort for the timing belt and water pump maintenance.

Does this car have too much power for a 17yo? Ummm...maybe. It really depends on the 17yo. If I had this car at 17, I would have been dead or in jail. Lucky for me, I didn't have a car with more than 170HP until I was in my 30s.

Not sure if needs to be checked by a pro or not...just treat it as any other used car and do your due diligence enough to make you comfortable with your purchase. I have never had my used cars checked by a pro...knock on wood....we have been good. Check the fluids, get it up on a lift and look for old damage, rust, worn parts....look at the tires on the wear patterns, look under interior panels for dirt/mud/rust...you know..the normal stuff.