Back at it again fellas. So my never ending search for a Type-S has landed me at a dealership in Ohio this time. The dealer has it listed at $7995 with 107k on the odometer. It doesn't look beat to shit, but the lack of engine shots leads me to believe the engine may look pretty dusty. Is this deal too good to be true, or should I make the 5hr drive up north? Thanks!

Here are some dealer shots.

https://imgur.com/a/gpvd2

 

How's the CarFax?

 

Looks like they didn't even clean it properly. A lot of wear on the interior.

If you don't have anything better to do go and see it, otherwise I wouldn't bother.

Ask them for more photos, and for service history. 99% timing belt was not done.

 

Check the underbody, ohio has some nasty winters.

 

No carfax, but I do have these other bits of info.

Autocheck report
AutoCheck

My carfax service history
https://imgur.com/a/m17EW

Vehicle history
https://www.vehiclehistory.com/pagin...UA76558A042777
(this says there's a junk /salvage title, but I asked the dealer and he said it was never in an accident so I don't know)

 

My two cents:Iwould rather see a car with a dirty engine room, than a clean one. Much easier to spot potential issues such as leaks, recently installed parts, etc. Three things would concern me about this car, #1. Co-Part sale issue. I would be concerned about any car that Co-Part ever had anything to do with! #2. This car always commands a premium price. Why is it selling significantly below market value? #3. The car shows past use in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. All rust belt states! You indicated you are considering driving 5 hours north to see this car! If your not familiar with rust belt cars, and what to look for, I would not recommend a ten hour road trip to look at this one. NEVER, EVER TRUST WHAT THE DEALER TELLS YOU REGARDING THE HISTORY OF THE CAR, especially when it concerns a Total, Salvage, or Rebuilt history.
Stick with a car from a state which used little or no road salt, you will thank me later.

 

Thanks, your input is greatly appreciated, just for future references though, what is the issue with co-part?

 

Co-Part is an auction house generally associated with vehicles that have been written off by the insurance company. They wind up on this site in a category depending on their state of disrepair, I share Franks reluctance to acquire a vehicle with this history . See site below

https://www.copart.com/

 

The front "V" grill trim piece is missing, and has an aftermarket base front bumper (fog light angle)...I don't see the ACURA imprinted into the bumper where the front license plate would go...AND the bumper inserts next to the fogs should be a honeycomb style for a Type S.

 

Out of curiosity, what kind of sketchy dealer is this? I like the loading dock and barbed wire backdrop.

Also, as general rules with any 3G TL:

• 100-ish K and low price? 105k service has not been done.
• No dealer photos of dash? Shit's cracked.

 

PASS

The front bumper is NOT oem. If it was, it would say ACURA in the center. Chances are, it was involved in a front end accident. Besides that, it is in rough shape. Like I said before, save up a bit more and spend it on a cleaner TL-S that has records.

 

Ok, thanks everyone! There's a newly listed one with around 116k about 30 minutes away from me at a honda dealership. Hopefully I'll be able to go check it out this week.

 

Of course, your going to pay more at a Honda/Acura store, but in my opinion, in most cases, its worth it. Branded dealers, normally, want nothing to do with "negative" history, or poorly maintained and poorly kept cars. 1. such cars, many times, end up being a headache for the buyer and the seller, and, reputation wise, it's just not worth it. 2. Branded dealers, also have access to the highest quality used cars, just by virtue of brand loyalty. Sub-standard cars, and those with a negative history, are hustled off to the nearest auction, post haste. Regardless of how knowledgeable one is, automotive wise, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS obtain a pre-purchase inspection.

 

Yeah, they're wanting WAAAY more than I was hoping to pay. Their sticker price is $12,995. I still haven't had the chance to physically go and look at it yet. It being a new listing, they haven't uploaded pictures of it either.

 

That car is junk

 

The unfortunate part of obtaining a very clean 3rd gen TL with records, is having to pay a higher price. Not to say that you will pay $12,995, the price will be negotiated. Maybe the timing isn't right for you. Save up 2-3K more and wait. A few of these rare gems do pop up. Like I always said, even the rarest of the rares with a crazy price, always gets sold. There is someone out there that would pay the higher price for a cleaner vehicle. No sense in buying a dumpster on wheels because the price was "too good to be true" and end up investing $$$$$ more to make it safe or bring it up to speed on maintenance. I've owned my TL for 10 years now. Back when I was looking I was very set on WDP, 6MT, NAVI with the tan interior. I looked for 7 months and couldn't find one in a manual (mostly local). One day while browsing through Ebay, there was one 2 hours away from me. WDP, 6MT, NAVI but gray interior. Only had 18,000 miles and the price was about 26K. I saw the car in person, drove it, fell in love right away. Over the years, the gray interior grew on me. Recently, I redid the interior to a two tone (gray / black) and I love it! Glad I didn't do tan / wood grain after all this time. Point being, the right one for you is out there. Just keep all options open even if the cost is a bit more. You have to be happy with the investment. Don't make payments on something you're not happy about.

 

That's true, thanks for your input. Personally, I just can't justify spending over 10k on a 9-10 year old car with 110k+ miles, but that's just me, that being said I love the car and will remain patient in my never-ending search for a TL-S.

P.S. I just realized the car that the dealer had listed was white, which wasn't my first choice in color anyway.

 

I remember those days where you can't even find a 3rd gen TL for under $21k. OP just look at today market for a new car within the same class as TL-S car now these day avg $45k. I go with the market price and not KBB nor any other books.

 

Yeah, I know given that the new TLX A-Spec goes for about the same price as the TL-S back in the day (~$45k). I haven't done the math, but just from the 2 months of searching I've done. Roughly, the average price for a TL-S in the Eastern US is about $10k with ~100k miles, and that's the range I was hoping to stay in. I understand I'll probably have to pay extra to get it mechanically sound, and it won't be perfect because it is a 9-10 year old car.

 

last listed for sale 8/4/16 for $14,999

why in a year would that be cut in half?

 

Dealers are very smart when it comes to pricing cars and making profits. At my old dealership the owner is 82 years old and he knows the difference between a 04-08 TL base, navi and Type S pricing.
With that said This Dealer is no different I'm sure the car price reflects whatever is actually wrong with the vehicle.
I say pass on this one