Guademate

Hey guys,
Sorry I wasn't sure if this is the right section. Well I have an 05 tl. I was wondering if it was worth it if I should sup up my first car. The car has about 168,500 miles, and the body has minor damage. My cousin friend gave me a quote for 300. I am not going to give it a new paint because it is expensive. But I am going to plasti dip my car once spring comes around, and also change the rims. I want to get a the sanora front and back bumper. I have also learned how to replace the breaks, and do maintenance work on my car. Its about to be a year with the car, and I love it. But is it worth it with the high mileage? The previous owner of the car never got into an accident, but I want to keep the car till the wheels fall off.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

since you are just beginning your modding adventures, take it slow.

learn how to do the maintenance first. once you are not afraid to tackle maintenance items, modding will come as 2nd nature.


so, slow down.
and research and get your hands dirty, first.

you gotta learn to crawl before you can walk

Guademate

Well I did figure out how to do an oil change, replace spark plugs, cabin filter, air filter. I am trying to pick up stuff from time to time. I am also going to do the plasti dip myself so I can learn. It's not going to be all at once.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^that's the advice Im giving you..

you asked in your Original Post, what you should do to your car, or if its even worth making it look cooler.

it wont all be at once....so, you're going to have time to look at what you want to do with the car.
when some one rushes with modding, it doesnt look good. it looks like some one tacked on a bunch of parts.


I started off the same way as you.
I had a dodge ram 1500 that needed maintenance done. I couldnt afford what shops were quoting me for the work, so I learned how to do it myself.

now, that I am seasoned...I know what I want and dont want on my car.

this is the advice im giving you.
keep doing maitenance until you learn ALL THE INS AND OUTS of the TL.
then modding will come easy.

Guademate

Haha, thanks for the advice. I will go slow with it, all I got done to the car so far is changing the tail light to th type-s lights. Got a viper installed on it because it was cheap when I was working in best buy at the time, tires and breaks because I needed to, and the maintenance stuff I was talking about. So I will take my time and learn more about my car.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

in the mean time, get comfortable browsing acurazine, as there's LOTS of information here!!!


congrats and welcome to the club!

Guademate

Thanks for the welcome.

dezymond

I'm with justnspace. Though learning maintenance isn't necessary (even though it saves money in the long run), I got a friend who does just mods, but he has it as a side business to his day job. The mods he does are amazing, but he's told me he just goes to the dealer to get oil changes done. He knows how to, he just doesn't like to get his hands dirty that way, but he has no problems taking out a dashboard if he needs to

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^i view any kind of work from dashes to oil changes, experience.

and that's what the OP simply needs. a little bit of experience underneath his belt.

I remember the first mods i ever did to the TL, boy was I scared that I was going to fuck something up.

except, you dont learn until you get your hands dirty.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

I personally would fix it up and make it as clean as possible prior to modding (and any service it may need). Sure it has a lot of miles, but I would rather have a clean car with no mods than one with dents and scratches and dirty with mods. Just another members input on the subject.

NBP04TL4ME

I'm with JTS

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Make sure your mechanicals are working well first (with that much mileage). Then move on to aesthetic/performance mods.


Then you won't have to worry about the breaks when you replace your brakes.

binridge

I agree.. take it slow and learn more about your car, and keep it clean. Then worry about modding it. I learned the hard way. My first car was a Honda accord and I started putting mods on it before I even new much about it. I didn't keep it very clean either and it started to have problems. I bought my 05 acura tl a year ago and I love it. I keep it clean and do all of my maintenance. It has been running great.

Guademate

Thanks guys, I have been slowly trying to fix her up before I move into ascetics. I found a few issues with the car:

- Sometimes when I accelerate at the rate of 4000 rpms I notice that the car squeaks a bit from the rear, when I did the research I learned that it could be the timing belt.

- My Bluetooth module needs to be replaced (I took it out and tested it on my friends car, and also used his Bluetooth module on my car and it worked.

- The body needs to be fixed, it is just minor dents, I am going to get it fixed by the end of this month or the middle of next month.

Haha I see what you did there.

I was thinking the same, but my main concern was to make sure that she stays afloat.

EvilVirus

iTrader: (8)

Maintenance over mods

Only you can truly decide if modding is worth it or not.

03sixer

Not sure what research you did to come to that conclusion but I have never heard of a squeak from the rear that indicated a timing belt issue. Possibly a serpentine belt but not a timing belt. Might double check that before you shell out big $$ on a timing belt replacement that doesn't need to be replaced. If it is the original timing belt, however, that many miles would dictate that it needs to be replaced but squeaking isn't the prelude to TB failure.

Brake_L8

If you like the car and plan on keeping it a while, then sure, mod it. A nice set of wheels with some good tires is always a good start.

Don't Plastidip it. 9 times out of 10, it just makes a nice car look like shit.

Chisel

I think everyone has given some solid advice. Blue tooth modules tend to go out in these TL’s. You did a good job troubleshooting that.

I would make sure that the car has had the timing belt replaced. If it hasn't, replace it soon…and replace the water pump and spark plugs too while you’re at it.

I wouldn't worry about the mileage…if the car is mechanically tight; you have another 200K left in it if you take care of it. My last (Honda) went 365K with an oil change at recommend intervals using Mobil-1 and an OEM filter.

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

*soup

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...rm=Souped%20Up

NBP04TL4ME

^+1 No disrespect to anyone, but had no idea what that was supposed to mean.