i'm seriously looking into buying this 2007 TL (base), and I'm in Canada. I took the car to my mechanic who says it's not mint, has some maintenance that should be done (check calipers, hand brake may be worn, evap cap code) but that there doesn't seem to be anything seriously wrong, seems about average, doesn't seem like the seller is trying to get away with something and priced pretty well. the guy seems decent too.

but i just saw the carproof from when he got it from a dealer, and the first (previous to current seller) owner claimed an $11,000 accident claim when the car only had about 35,000km (22,000 miles) on it. that's not a typo...$11,000.

i'm no mechanic, but that seems high, and i'm concerned about the safety (even though my mechanic says the car looks to be generally in good condition).

any thoughts about that? should i be concerned about buying this car?

 

Well, as long as it checks out fine it's a good deal. The only thing that might hurt you, is when you try and sell it. But if the vehicle itself truly is in good shape why not.

 

is the title clear?

 

maybe I'm missing it.. but, are there any peekchurs???

 

the title is clear no liens, he got it checked by acura when he bought it too, says it hasn't given him any problems. i do understand about the possible difficulty selling...

i looked around at expensive repairs, and i don't even know how one can rack up $11,000 in repairs... some heavy engine work seems to top out at 3-4k.... or is that not the price point for acura repairs?

 

i a hit a curb and my damage exceeded $13k.

its not hard to rack up a big bill.


the great thing about these cars is that they are designed to replace everything.
the subframes I bent were replaced.
a frame alignment machine showed us that my frame was straight.

I have no ill effects from the accident after its been repaired correctly.

 

how many miles on it currently then

 

It's weird that almost every should I buy this car thread is about a car that's been totalled and rebuilt. I'm not sure why anyone would want a car that you know has been smashed before. Sure you may save some money now, but you have to live with the fact that your driving a rebuilt car, then go through the hassle and pain of trying to sell it later down the road and you will likely get squat for it. I say pass on that one and find one that hasn't been smashed with parts laying all over the road.

 

^^but this isnt about a salvage/rebuilt car. he said its clear

 

Oh, I just saw $11,000 accident claim. How is that anything else besides a collision? If it was a blown engine or something why would it say accident? And that would be a very expensive Honda V6 if that were the case. At any rate, why even mess around with a car that has such a story? Its really not hard to find a no story clean one owner car for a great price.

 

not hard to find a clean TL-S....but those are usually priced much higher because if you took good care of your car wouldn't you want a premium for it?

 

Pass, plenty of other uncrashed cars out there.

 

it's got about 110,000 km (62,000 miles) now.

justnspace, what was the nature of your damage, what got replaced?

there wasn't anything that said it was salvaged/rebuilt and there's a piss poor description, something like "adjacent panel replaced"....meaningless, but the $11,000 bill is concerning

i didn't know about this extent of damage until a couple days after i test drove it, and during an inspection by my mechanic. if it was something like a bumper from hitting an ice bank or something at low speed, might run a couple thousand at the dealer with the inflated pricing, but $11,000...what kind of repairs run that much, and how much time is spent, and how expensive is the part that's replaced....is that... a door, some subframe parts, an axle?? i don't know, anyone know?

i am becoming more concerned about the prospect of selling in the future..it may be hard to explain to a diligent buyer, though there may be some less diligent buyers out there too. i want the best deal i can get, no one wants to pay more than they have to, but i'd be willing to go a little higher for something solid and safe, my family is going to be carried around in this car

this accident is something i didn't find out about until somewhat later in the process...that's why i'm asking for opinions as to how big a deal it is, or any way to get more assurance?

seems to be a shortage of black on black where i live right now...it's kind of frustrating because a couple months ago there were more options

 

I slid into a curb at 30 mph in my 07' TLS about 3 years ago. It went to the shop & they replaced the subframe etc and the repairs cost nearly $9,000. Ever since then my alignment goes out after 1,000 miles, I've taken it back to the same shop & they installed an aftermarket ball joint so they could get it aligned, that lasted about 2 months. I've been to the dealer & 2 other shops, the car takes to an alignment & then goes out. Sell my TLS? Not with a carfax accident & 96,000 miles I'm not. I'm stuck with it.

 

^your shop is missing something that is bent or broken.

the shop that repaired my curb-fuckup replaced everything.
or everything that was damaged.
front and rear subframe
crack in tranny case; transmission was replaced.
air bags are about $1200.00
etc.

its pretty easy to rack up a big repair bill.

my car does not eat tires; alignment is spot on.
frame alignment is spot on.

if I havent told you; you would never know it was in a accident

with that being said; I dont know if i would purchase an already wrecked car.
there are thousands of clean examples running around waiting to be sold, and there is always a better deal.

grab a clean, unmolested one.

 

A good repaint could hit 6000.00.

Not hard at all to rack up 11k in damages anymore. Especially if it was replaced with genuine Honda panels and parts.

62k miles and damage. How much is his asking price??????

 

I got sideswiped last month. Kinked my left fender and lf door in a few places. Left rear door and rear quarter panel has some minor dings. So i had to paint my entire left side and my wheels that got scuffed. Guess how much... 5k! Its very easy to get to 11k if it was done right. I would check and see what all was done. if there was no frame damage and the paint looks good then your fine. A car will never be the same once wrecked unless they do a SUPERB job, which most dont. Take it to a body shop and have them look at it for any poor quality work. I can spot stuff easily since i used to do body work. You might be better off with a non wrecked car though... my

 

it seems the point of impact was the front centre, and rear damage was also reported. damage reported as "moderate." carproof states no salvage, total loss, structural damage, airbag deployment, or odometer rollback. insurance claim, so i'd imagine the original owner would not have cheaped out on repairs.

the current seller seems decent enough and has been very forthcoming with whatever information he has. i don't think he's lying about anything, it's just about the car itself. first owner is listed as a honda finance company, so likely leased?

any ideas about how to get more information? i could be wrong, but i feel like there is more of a selection in the US, but where I am in canada, there haven't been too many car candidates to my liking over the past couple months that i've casually looked into it. i know that's not a reason to rush, but keep that in mind.

however, all your suggestions of concern are duly noted

 

Be concerned when buying any used car, but if you do body work, you'll find that the $11k cost is easily attainable, depending on the impact area. A used nose is @ $4000 and that doesn't include installation and painting, but just be cautious as to the repair/repaint quality. If nothing was found to be improper, and if the price is right, go for the car. Some can be enamored with the exterior and an accident free vehicle, but drop the ball when it comes to the mechanical condition. Personally, I’d prefer a car that has an accident free record, but once again it would be dependent on the condition and price.

Just an example, but a few years ago a friend bought a Porsche Boxster Special Edition with 300 miles on the odometer and the cost to do the repair was $37,000. He owned a body shop and did the repair for his brother and when finished it was perfect.

If you've ever attended a car show, some of the restored cars will show pictures of the before, during, and finished product, and you'll see that the before is a vehicle that was destined for the scrap heap. The '70 Firebird I did was a total wreck before beginning, but dropped in a 455, repaired the frame, floors, qtrs, glass, major body work/replacement, and when finished one couldn't find any imperfections.

Good luck!

 

i think everyone would otherwise prefer a car with nothing on the record. that being said, the seller got the car checked out at acura when he bought it, and i got my mechanic to check it out mechanically recently as well and overall it seems to be in good condition, no sign of structural damage, the car is not in mint condition, but what you'd reasonably expect from a car that age.

i didn't have a body shop look at it, but the body work doesn't immediately strike me as problematic. i didn't go through with a fine toothed comb, but it looks no worse than other cars i've seen and better in a fair number of cases...

price is pretty decent, not so low that you'd be suspicious, but a pretty decent deal.

 

did you purchase yet!?

 

I had a Z24 with $10,500 in repairs from an accident. I kept the car for 5 more years after that and you would not have known it had been in an accident by looking at it or by driving it. A close friend had a BMW 325i that got rear-ended and had $22k in damages and was absolutely perfect after repair. It really is all about how well the repairs were handled and how well the car was maintained throughout its life.

- take a close look at paint matching across various body panels in various light sources/angles
- get the car up on a lift and look underneath, especially around the bumpers and sub-frame
- flex the bumpers to see if the paint cracks/flakes
- check the alignment of the hood, trunk, and all light assemblies to see if they are even

Those at least are the easy checks to do. If your mechanic has already looked it over and doesn't have too many concerns, I wouldn't really worry too much about the accident.

 

I'm currently looking at getting a TL (in Ontario, Canada) and I would stay away from this car unless it was a killer deal.

I think it will definitely hurt you if you plan on getting rid of it in a couple years.

I plan on buying a 2007 TL (Base) and it has low km's, 1 owner, clean ownership and is at the lower price point of the TL's that are out there.

I plan on changing the TL (if needed) for family purposes in a few years and am hoping that being the 2nd owner of a lower mileage TL helps me out when I need to sell it.

 

I say buy. that 11,000 could have been 3-5k fix car rest in the pocket

 

I would usually agree with some of the comments here that it would be better to hold off and find another one that has a been in no incidents ... but what kind of deal are you being offered on this one?

 

I bought my TL that had a $6000 claim on it (fr damage) and actually forgot about that until I read this post...it hasn't given me any problems (35000kms since). Buying a used car is always a gamble regardless.

 

I would personally pass and wait for a better deal to arise.

 

For the price he is asking, you can get a known non-wrecked TL with same criteria for same price or less.

Unless that car is around 10k for having known damage I would walk away and keep looking.

 

seems like the replies are pretty polarized, but it seems like some of you have a price at which you'd be willing to play ball. now considering mechanics report no structural damage and overall good condition, carproof has no structural damage, accident happened when the car was 2 years new (4 years ago), what would you be willing to pay (be reasonable)?

110,000 km (62,000 miles) now, looks in better condition than a good/fair number of the others i've seen, comes with set of decent winter tires on wheels. i'd hope to drive it another 200,000 km (another 124,000 mi) as i'd driven my previous 2nd hand Honda Accord to nearly 350,000 km (217,000 mi) and was still pretty confident in it.

if it were to be sold in 4-5 years, it'd be a 10-11 year old car...i don't know how harshly the resale market would view a properly repaired car 8-9 years earlier if the car had been running since then and hadn't fallen apart. what would be the price difference between no accident and fixed accident at that point? maybe $1000?

i also find it funny when people list 'no accident' but when you talk to them, they say all they did was replace the bumper...i went to one dealer that showed me a carproof that had an accident reported but not claimed...isn't that potentially worse? i dunno, that's the thing with used cars, you try your best to be diligent and hope everything works out, or pay for a new car and flush 30% of the purchase price down the drain as soon as you drive off the lot.

 

Is that TL on autotrader?...I want to check it out.

 

All the relevant info is on my post, so what do you think the car is worth?

 

The guy has put 75000kms on it since the accident and I'm guessing he hasn't had any problems relating from it. You looked at it and drove it...go with your instincts. Avg 07 base TL with around 110k's is $14000 (in ontario), I'd try for $10000 or just wait for a better one to pop up.

 

i spoke with an Acura parts department and they agreed that it was pretty substantial. it would cost them $5,500 to replace the front bumper, 2 headlights, and the hood....plus add whatever for the rear end damage, regardless, that seems pretty substantial.... if it was just a bump front and back bumper together would be $1700 at the dealer....that's er...not great

 

i couldn't do it. feel bad about backing out too, but i couldn't picture what kind of damage might have been involved, and what might have been missed. 5500 to replace front bumper, to headlights, and hood...couldn't picture what 11k damage would look like, probably back was kind of smashed too. the carfax said front end collision and damage to rear. search continues...

 

Sometimes patience pays off.