so my parents finally came to the conclusion that since ive been putting all my time and effort into studying for AP tests and the SAT's that all that work justifies the extra price of choosing an 07 type-s over the base. you have no idea how excited i was when they told me this after my day at school today lol i think my 97 for a final grade in calculus pushed them to that conclusion
now this is going to be the first time my family is buying a used car so idk what to look for lol. i think we are going with an acura certified car but is that enough? should we bring a mechanic to check it out also? anything is specific to take a look for? any problems in a specific VIN series that should be addressed?
what color do you guys think looks best on the type-s? i was thinking either the NBP or the blue (not sure what its called). dealer is charging from their website like an extra grand for all the type-s's in these colors, is it because of demand? what's the easiest to maintain? what interior/exterior combinations looks the sharpest? im looking for a sharp, sporty look, not one to blend in with other cars in the lot. my previous tl was black exterior, black interior and i liked it a lot. unfortunately, ive only been able to find the black exterior type-s with a cream or parchment color interior. sigh.
anyone know what the avg. price for an 07 type-s with around 38k-50k miles should be around? has anyone bought this car used from a dealership and had any leeway in price? dealer online is asking around $26.5k-$28k for the type-s's they have in stock? is that too much or about right? how much could it be brought down to (if possible)? i dont want to be paying sticker price but im not sure on how much it goes for. buying new is easy, just get the consumer reports and make a judgement from their, used cars have a few more variables
thanks in advance guys, planning on going car shopping in two weeks, so its coming down to crunch time. upgrading from a base 03tl so im really excited for the more sportier ride along with the faster car.
as you can tell im not too good at buying cars, i can do a pretty good job picking one out though all feedback would be appreciated, as it might be saving me a lot of money
after getting it im planning on doing some exterior mods to it like blacking out headlights, might be clearing the taillights, tinting windows, debadge.. some stuff to make it stand out. will be posting pics once i get the car though

 

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the car. Inspect it yourself.

No, you should narrow it down to the one car you're going to buy if it's OK, and then swing it by the shop of a mechanic you trust for inspection. I don't know a whole lot of mechanics who'd want to make a house call at a dealership

Check for any sort of visual flaws - - paint, leather, center console, etc. Repairing those is expensive if you catch it later, but they'll usually take care of it for you in order to make the sale. Carfax it (obviously). Look at the radiator fluid and make sure it's not foamy or milky. Drive it (duh) and really put it through its paces. I don't mean you have to pretend you're at a race track, but floor it a few times, get the brakes warm enough so you can detect any warping, make sure it tracks straight, and make sure you get the engine fully to temperature, because that's when any coolant leaks or spilled fluids (power steering recall) will make themselves known by smoking.

Check the exhaust to be sure white billowy clouds aren't coming out of it.

Check the wheels for curb rash.


Yep.

White, gold, or silver. Any dark colors look awesome when clean, and look dirty about 20 minutes after you wash 'em.

I personally hate fake burled walnut, so that means the ebony interior for me. But, this isn't my car. What do YOU like?

You're in high school. Somehow I doubt there are a lot of TL's of any color in that parking lot. The TL looks sharp, but at the end of the day, it's a sedan. And it looks startlingly similar to other sedans. Want something unique, get an MR2 (-duck-)

Without knowing where you're from, that'd be pretty hard to say. But the prices you quoted sound pretty average for my area. Usually it's pretty hard to get a dealer to come down from an online price. They generally set that as a "no/limited haggle" pricepoint. In fact, don't be surprised if you get to the lot and find the car you saw online with a sticker that's 2-4 thousand higher than the price you got. They're assuming internet browsers are shopping around and so are setting the price closer to their bottom line, but hoping someone will walk in uninformed and give them more.


For the love of god, why? They're head LIGHTS. They're supposed to make a dark road bright so that you don't hit things like, I dunno, me. Don't cut your light output

 

buy mines lol

 

thanks man, really insightful read. as for the headlights i shouldve been clearer, im planning on blacking out where the turn signals are so it just shows the actual hid's. i live in central nj, so idk how much that influences the price. there are a couple tl's in the lot, but either 2g type-s, or just 3g base ones. one or two cl-type-s and one 09 tsx.
disappointed on the no haggle price point. seeing the online price of my preferred one being 27k, i was hoping to be able to bring it down to around 25k, but i guess that was just wishful thinking. the wheels from the pictures online have scuff markings on the outer edges of the wheel, nothing major but is apparent when looking straight at them. should it be a concern? i feel like 27k is a lot for a used type-s, as i know people are buying new 2010 tl's without any packages for around 32k. my parents have a 2010 tl-tech package but i just like the styling on the 3g type-s better lol

 

I too am from central Jersey, and after looking at TLs last year, a type-s with about 30K miles, was about $30grand. So I would expect, a year later, that they will be roughly $27k and up. It was more than I wanted to spend so I went with a base, very happy with it.

Check Springfield Acura. They had the best service and selection from any other Acura dealers in the area.

Hope this helps in someway. Good Luck and keep us updated.

P.S. What high school you go to?

 

hey timb227, my family has been buying from bridgewater acura since my 03tl, but will def look at springfield. so $27k isnt too bad i guess? pretty much seems to be following the trend.
how do you like the base tl? that still is a choice i have to fully clear up. always liked the styling on the type-s with the different taillights and the rims but the base might be financially better since i have to save for college and stuff lol
i go to somerville high school

 

Your parents taking applications for more kids? Im interested!

 

haha il ask lol
really comes down to the fact of me finally applying myself in school. ive always seemed to get things and never put in any work in middle school so i applied that samed ideology in high school and lets just say it didnt work out well haha. this year after a lot of things that made me realize a lot of stuff ive finally began working hard in my studies and i guess my parents want to encourage that. thats the only conclusion i could come up with since both my parents are extremely hard working like my younger brother. ive always been the lazy one haha

 

Dunno. Can you live with it? If so, then it's a haggle point. "gee, 27k sounds fair for a car in really good condition, but look at those big scuff marks on it. Not only does it look bad, but it shows me that someone was scraping it up against curves. You should either fix them or bring the price down."

Well, the dealers around here I've been talking to say they've had a hell of a time selling the 4th gens. First off, the looks are off-putting to a lot of people, and second, the economy crashed and hasn't recovered enough yet so that all the middle class and higher people who used to buy TL's have found jobs to buy more of them.

Oh, and regarding deciding between the base and the S, also keep in mind that the insurance company knows what a type S is, and will charge you accordingly

 

depending on the mileage and condition it will vary how much you are gonna pay but id say starting prices for most TL-s should be about 24-26k

i paid 20k for my TL-s with 63k miles WDP which is high in demand in my area. next price on a WDP was about 25k with 45k miles. id be willing to sacrafice 15k miles to save 5k on the price. fortunately for me, tires were brand new and rims were MINT engine bay was pristine, no smudge or marks on the carpet. there was just the typical signs of human touch on the shift knob and a light scratch on the inside of drivers door panel but no one will see it but myself.

Honestly when you start driving the dam car, you wont even realize what you paid imo. Plus for whatever price you end up paying. you get a TL-s fully loaded automatically compared to G35 and BMW and such. Navi is topnotch over its competitors and you get some nice bells and whistles standard. perfect win/win situation.

If theres a color combo YOU really like and its the only one available, haggle as low as you can and just take it. nothing is worse than regrets about not getting a diff style. I am extremely satisfied with my combo: WDP/ taupe.

 

oh and the no haggle price point , TRY to knock em down at least another 500 if thats so, or maybe even more. Dealers will want to make the sale. The advertised price for my TL-s was no haggle but i still managed to talk them down 500 but 20k for my car was a deal that would definetly be swiped up if i passed it.

Also i think the TL-s stands out alot over the base mainly in part because of the rims and quads and HID's

 

Take some mod money, or your parents money, and go to driving school.

Your Acura ain't nuthin' if you wreck it.
At 17, you need some expertise behind the wheel of that much car.

I'm not kidding, and I'm not putting you down for your age. You did well in school, and you are obviously quite intelligent.

This advice could save your life I hope you or your parents take it seriously.

 

Not all teens are bad drivers...

 

But all teens are inexperienced drivers...

 

well said

 

OP is not the only young driver. We have others in here with a TL. Let's stay on topic and help him pick a good TL-S. Sounds like he's earned it.

 

thts like sayin old ppl drive like toddlers, they need their license revoked

 

nice job with the calculus test!

there are a few tl-s in my area with miles in the 25-40K range, asking price is about $26-28K. just to give you an idea

btw are you getting a 6MT or 5AT?

 

Make sure you go during the "DAY" vs after dinner.

 

say it isn't so.. damn. What are you upgrading to?

 

thanks for all the words of wisdom guys, prob gonna be getting the automatic transmission cause of price and so everyone in my family will have the ability to drive it lol.
KBP type-s with 21k miles is going for $28k on dealer's site
Silver type-s with 34k miles is going for $26.5k on dealer's site
WDP type-s with 32k miles is going for $26.5k on dealer's site as well

all cars have clean carfax report.

i like the kbp the best, but $1.5k for just color seems a lot. most likely going to go for the wdp as it still looks good and isnt marked up for color like the kbp. how do those prices look? all of them are for the 07 type-s

 

see if you can get the price down on the KBP, i think it's worth it! one of the hottest colors on a TL...ever

less miles too!

 

not like ur paying for it lol. get the KBP

 

I absolutely love my WDP... it's an awesome color. Looks AMAZING clean and good dirty... unlike black which looks INCREDIBLE clean and like poopoo dirty.

But I DO like the KBP color, and with the lower mileage I would say it justifies the 1.5k price difference.

 

it isnt my money but i want to be sensible. not trying to buy something thats clearly overpriced on account that its a gift from my parents. i saw someone's white type s here on the forum and all i can say is that it is beautiful

 

Also, on KBB.com, assuming they're all 2007's, it looks like your prices are about 1.5k less than blue book value for the KBP and about 2k less than blue book for the other two. This is a rough estimate because I don't know the exact specs.

BTW, those estimates assume a certified pre-owned.

 

So be sensible and get the KBP. It has 10,000 miles less than the other cars, which means 10,000 miles more of warranty for you. And you WILL need it because these cars have a lot of fancy electrical toys in them that are expensive to fix when they break.

 

true. now just hoping its still there in two weeks when i can actually go car shopping lol. how is maintenance on the kbp?
i want to keep my car looking clean and all, but i dont have time to wash and wax every other weekend. my old nbp tl was originally my dad's and he didnt care about cleaning the exterior other than the occasional car wash and the swirl marks looked horrendous in the light. what ever color i get im trying to keep from having any marks in the paint and keep it looking as new as possible.

 

Both KBP and WDP will hide the scratching and marring, however white will hide it better. KBP is a much more rare color than WDP. WDP looks classy while being sporty, KBP is more of a "loud" color that screams sportiness. Either way the TL looks amazing in those colors, and the parchment interior on a TL-S looks amazing depending on the exterior color. KBP + Parchment = and also WDP with two tone Black/Silver interior =

 

im waiting for this rainy weather to clear before i can clean the WDP. If you can settle for WDP and save a couple bucks(1-1.5k lol ) then go for it. IMO i see it as a honda brand= reliability. i wouldnt mind the extra 10k miles on the car. of course to each their own. also im 20 years old and i think im pretty sure ill get something else in like 5 years so i dont necessarily need an all new (or slightly used) car. maybe in 5 years the 5th/6th gen TL will be good looking again. If anything should break it would be a good time to learn to be self reliant but some things cant be fixed but im willing to take that risk.

 

first, the type s doesnt come in parchment...its taupe...

kbp doesnt hide scratching....kbp is no better then having a black car...it shows everything!! i should know, i have been living with kbp for almost 3 years, and i am a slave to keeping it clean

 

lol... i was 17 when i got my tl. and 2 years later.... it looks legit plus im a really good driver lol!

 

If you don't wash it every 2 weeks it will look like shit, really thats not that much effort to keep a really nice car looking good for years to come.

Im sure you think you are busy in High School but you're not. Enjoy life before it comes crashing down on you lol
Seriously Im giving you good advice, I remember those days and they are great.