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Convince me not.....(We convinced him instead. Pix pg 3)
....To buy a TL.
I test drove a couple of them today. I found one I really liked. 2005 TL with 62K miles. Gray with Navi. Dealer wants $16K out the door. I'm going to keep looking to see if I can find a slightly newer one.
I really like my I35. It has given me good service but it has 186K and climbing, and it looks like it will start costing me some serious cash soon to maintain. I was OK with the oil drinking, but now it looks like some more serious issues are starting to come up.
I don't plan on trading in the Infiniti. I will keep it as a third car.
12 years later the TL is still ticking away. Never really modified it. I just drove it. Much less than I did when I first bought it. It's never really let me down. To be honest it has been my best car purchase. I think I paid $15K for it when I first got it and it just went over 300K miles on my way up to drop my kid off at school. Drove about 500 miles that day like it was nothing.
Best return on investment....the car, not the kid. He's a money pit.
The Infiniti is making a lot of mechanical noise. I don't think I will be able to sell it. Plus I like the idea of having a 3rd car. It's not part of the issue. There is no real value in it.
Should I try to find a newer one that is Certified? This one is not. No real warranty. The Certified ones are about $4K more but are 07 or newer with less than 50K miles.
Last edited by RaviNJCLs; May 12, 2011 at 04:54 PM.
you should talk to shoofin, he's relatively local to you and can probably cut out some of the nonsense in dealing with dealers. He's great to work with, I bought a van from him last year.
Last edited by The Dougler; May 12, 2011 at 05:01 PM.
3G TL is a very good car, if its in your budget, and your i35 is dying then I say go for it!
I sold my 07 Tl type S for 17,500 3 months ago, so I would suggest look for a deal like that, I prefer the slightly updated interior and exterior of the 07 vs 04-06.
I test drove a couple of them today. I found one I really liked. 2005 TL with 62K miles. Gray with Navi. Dealer wants $16K out the door. I'm going to keep looking to see if I can find a slightly newer one.
I really like my I35. It has given me good service but it has 186K and climbing, and it looks like it will start costing me some serious cash soon to maintain. I was OK with the oil drinking, but now it looks like some more serious issues are starting to come up.
I don't plan on trading in the Infiniti. I will keep it as a third car.
Originally Posted by RaviNJCLs
Should I try to find a newer one that is Certified? This one is not. No real warranty. The Certified ones are about $4K more but are 07 or newer with less than 50K miles.
'
DO IT!!! Stick with an 06+ model, 07-08 if you can afford it! The 07 base models have the softest suspension, the TL-S has the firmest, the 04-06 models are in the middle.
Getting a certified car is worth it! Poke around the 3G section and you'll find some things to look out for, and if you find a car you like post it and we'll try to help out with seeing if it's okay!
Originally Posted by dallison
ash dash? what years don't have it?
The ashy dash is an issue with a chemical migrating through the surface of the vinyl. My new dash has this issue and a simple cleaning gets rid of it for a while. My old dash had this issue and after a bit of cleaning it came out. But fast forward a few years and then it started cracking (nothing major like the ones I've seen).
Acura was good to me and replaced it for 100 dollars and they paid the rest. Then honda came through again for me with my transmission on my 04! I hate to say this but honda rocks with customer service when something breaks out of warranty!
Love the look of the early 3rd gen TL's (didn't like the updated tails as much as the all-red and don't like the wheels on the TL-S). Very nice. I think it'd be a nice DD.
Just a question though - I know you said you will keep the Infinit as a third car, but in your OP, you mention that there are a lot of more expensive repairs creeping up that you don't want to throw cash into. If you keep it, won't you have to put out money for them anyway? Doesn't that negate your desire to put anything major into it?
Convince you not to? The only negatives I see with my car are the amount of interior rattles, my navi unit is failing- needs to be sent to Alpine for repairs, and the sloppy 5AT transmission. If you really want to get picky, you could argue more minor things, but those are really the only things I wish I could change about my car. The interior rattles sound like a petty, useless thing to be bothered by, and they are, but they are noticeable and complained about on nearly all 3G TLs. And I will advise you to look into some of the threads in the 3G section- numerous owners are needing new transmissions at 90,000 miles+ but there are dozens of threads about preventive maintenance that can be done.
So if thats all I can find wrong with a car, I say buy it. It's essentially a dressed up Honda Accord; it'll last for ages. The gas mileage is good, about 30MPG on the highway, I've had trips where I average 32-33MPG even. The Elliot Scheiner sound system is stunning, beats most cars new and old. And overall, the car is a pleasure to drive.
Buy the 3G. I love mine. If it could cross off any of the wants on my list, I'd be keeping it without question. After seven years, I still like it...and unheard of concept for me.
Convince you not to? The only negatives I see with my car are the amount of interior rattles..... The interior rattles sound like a petty, useless thing to be bothered by, and they are, but they are noticeable and complained about on nearly all 3G TLs. And I will advise you to look into some of the threads in the 3G section- numerous owners are needing new transmissions at 90,000 miles+ but there are dozens of threads about preventive maintenance that can be done.
So if thats all I can find wrong with a car, I say buy it. It's essentially a dressed up Honda Accord; it'll last for ages. The gas mileage is good, about 30MPG on the highway, I've had trips where I average 32-33MPG even. The Elliot Scheiner sound system is stunning, beats most cars new and old. And overall, the car is a pleasure to drive.
I think it would be cool to fix up the Infiniti and see how far you could take it It would be cheaper than buying a new car (now anyways), and there's a special kind of respect for high-mileage cars that are in good condition.
If the TL (or whatever car you get) becomes your DD, what purpose would the I35 serve?
Now if you were to get a weekend car instead of a TL...
32-33 highway mpg all day long.
It would be cheaper than buying a new car (now anyways), and there's a special kind of respect for high-mileage cars that are in good condition. 
