sabbo334

I'm currently leasing a 2012 Chevy Volt....thankfully the lease isn't up until January 2015. I've decided to go that more frugal route with my next daily driver - which leads me on my search for a creampuff low mileage 06-08 TSX w/ Navi and 6MT.

I've been trawling Cars.com, Autotrader, and AutoTempest with no luck, but I've got time, so I'm not too worried.

For any of you who have patiently waited for the perfect car to come along, how long did it take you?

NBP04TL4ME

Some of this is completely dependent on the car, color and options you are looking for. If the 6 speed 1G TSX is anything like a 3G TL Type S with 6 Speed, it may take quite awhile.
Acura sold roughly 103K TSXs from 06-08 in total. Don't know how many were 6 Speed and Navi though.

mrgold35

It is a combination of how long can it take, how far are you willing to drive to get it, and how much are you willing to pay. I'm fine with waiting/traveling because I usually keep my cars for +8 yrs and I rather get what I want instead of cheaper price on something I don't really love.

It was really easy for my 06 TSX because I purchased it new off the lot. It took me about 6 months to find the combo I wanted for our used 08 RDX tech in 2010. I looked about the same time for our 11 MDX adv/ent. I was ready to purchase a one-way ticket from NM to So. CA to look/purchase one of two MDXs. Lucky for me a Colorado dealership called a day before making my flight reservations and lowered the price of third MDX to my internet offer. I paid a little more in Colorado; but, save more time/money because I didn't have to make a 3 day trip to So. CA.

The TSX is a very good vehicle. I have +115,000 miles on our 06 TSX and it has been routine maint, tires, brakes and battery for this car. You can almost find a 07-08 TL Type-S within the same price range.

Carmax has 5 TSX with 6MT from $13,000 to $16,000 with 65,000 miles and up to 125,000 miles. Carmax also have 21 TL type-s starting at $17,000 (Carmax will ship).

sabbo334

But none with navigation in the years I am searching for - trust me, I've been watching them too :P

mrgold35

My TSX is now a commuter car my son uses for high school and around town. We still get some pretty good use from the Navi system since he is a new driver (still making update disks every fall). I think the dash looks better with the Navi system. There are enough upgrades with the +06 TSX to stick with them instead of looking for an 04-05 6MT.

I've notice when I was searching not all dealerships list used cars on sites like auto trader. Internet searching the used cars inventory at dealership like MB, Infiniti, Lexus, Acura, Honda, BMW, etc... might have your vehicle. That is how I found my MDX advance with Ent at a Pueblo, CO, Honda dealership. The owner was using the MDX as his daily driver, reason why he priced it $4000 too high before I talked the price down.

NBP04TL4ME

What is your definition of low mileage?

http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/de...2928/overview/

sabbo334

Salvage title tho, lol

NBP04TL4ME

I didn't look all that closely And you didn't answer the question...........

Simba91102

It takes as long as it takes, and since about 5% of 1st gen production was MT cars (no breakdown on NAV cars), the OP will be waiting until he gets lucky. The newest, shiniest 1st gen TXS is now close to (or is) 7 years old, the odds of the OP finding what he's looking for diminish daily.

305tsxchico

That's very true they are hard to find lucky I got an 08 navi 6speed haha jk I waited like 5months til I found one at dealer check craigslist as we'll u can probably find someone selling there's good luck

miner

I may be trading in my wife's '08 6MT Nav Milano Red w/82000 soon. We ordered it and took delivery Sept. 13, 2007. I'll let you know when and where it happens. Fully dealer serviced and new Mich tires. Only upgrade has been Boston Acoustic speakers all around and dynamat doors.

NBP04TL4ME

OP never answered what they considered "low mileage"

sabbo334

Well shit guys, you're not going to believe this: I found one. I found the seller on tsxclub - he was a retired gentleman who drove it as his second car (he also owned a Corvette). It's a 2006 6mt Nav in Royal Blue, tan interior, and 80k miles.

The only reason he was getting rid of it was because his wife recently had a knee replacement - it was too low to the ground for her to get out of the vehicle comfortably.

The maintenance records were pristine - oil changes every 5k miles, serviced at their Acura dealer. Exterior literally has one dent - a rock impact the size of a quarter on the hood. No oxidization on the paint due to being garaged it's entire life, interior looks brand new outsize of some slightly worn mats. Hell , even the leather
has no imperfections.

I spoke with his extensively over the past few days and decided that I couldn't let this unicorn go - I drove from Florida to Nashville today with a cashiers check for $10.8k. I am pretty much flabbergasted that this all happened so perfectly.

I'll have more pictures later...this was taken after the title changed hands...

sabbo334

Also, the car was in his family since the day it rolled off the lot

NBP04TL4ME

Congrats!

Guess this didn't take that long

Out of curiosity, where/how did you find it?

305tsxchico

Nice find that dark blue rare in 6speed navi take care of that baby & also if u modding keep us posted see how it goes!

sabbo334

The seller responded to a want-to-buy ad from another member on TSXClub.com, but it turned out that they already had found the car they we're looking for, I contacted the seller directly and went from there...

NBP04TL4ME

Congrats again!

miner

Congrats on finding the one. I just traded my wife's '08 6MT Nav in Milano Red to a dealer for a 2015 TLX Adv - trade-in value was $10,875 at 81,966 miles. Fully dealer serviced since day one (ordered the car in 2007 since we could not find one). Only mods were replacing stock speakers with Boston Acoustics and dynamat on doors.

305tsxchico

Congrats very nice hope u plan to mod it I know it's late but there's one on autotrader in central florida 2008 acura tsx 6speed navigation black interior $9.500.00 115k miles article blue pearl it probably got listed right when u went to get urs

CoquiTSX

Congrats.

sabbo334

So.....I'll repost this from another forum about my experience buying this car:

Finding a replacement for my Volt has been pretty agonizing (for a car enthusiast anyway). My lease isn't up until February, but I figured a few months of car shopping would lead me in the right direction. At first, I was dead set on a 2015 WRX after the first test drive. Then I thought I wanted a 2015 Outback after test driving that. Then, along came the new GTI....that was a hoot too.

Then last week my SO reminded me that I used to be the biggest supporter of buying used cars. He was right...when I was younger, I tried to convince everyone that used was always the best route - let some other sucker take the hit on depreciation, yadda, yadda. So I started going down the line of used, reliable, and semi-sporty cars I would consider buying....and for some reason I kept coming back to Acuras. The first gen TSX always had a soft spot in my heart, but finding a well maintained refreshed model (06-08) with low miles, a manual transmission, and navigation seemed to really limit my pool of applicants. On top of that, I'm a little picky about certain colors, so black and silver models weren't an option.

I ran across a WTB ad here from an individual who wanted a similar model as myself. At the end of the thread a new forum member (one post) had replied to the ad...but the OP came back and said that he was sorry, but he had already found the car he was looking for. As weary as I am to contacting people over the internet, especially ones with limited information and very low post counts, I gave it a shot.

That was one of the best decisions I ever made - It turned out that seller was a retired gentleman and the car had been in their family since it rolled off the lot - only 80K miles (great for a 2006 IMHO). He was asking $1K under the KBB private party estimate. He's an avid car enthusiast who split his driving time between a Corvette and the TSX. The only reason for selling it was because his wife just had knee replacement surgery and the car was too low to the ground. It has immaculate service history with their local Acura dealer and was garaged. Outside of a dime sized ding in the hood and some slightly dirty floor mats, it's perfect. The catch, he was in Owensboro, KY....and I was in Florida. He offered to meet me in Nashville, TN....which pretty much sealed the deal- saved me some time and gave his wife the chance to go antiquing. After an extensive test drive yesterday morning, I wrote him a check and the title was signed over. It was one of the best transactions I have ever had, and they turned out to be some genuinely nice people too (my SO was just glad they didn't turn out to be scam artists or serial killers, lol).

It drives incredibly well considering it's age - I just had 3M Crystalline 40% tint installed on the doors, and 60% tint installed on the entire windshield. I have a set of summer tires being installed on Friday. I'm going to be replacing some slightly worn engine/transmission mounts soon, but I plan on keeping it pretty much stock. I might swap out the wheels for some other Acura/Honda 17" wheels. I also plan on grabbing the a-spec suspension kit, an OEM spoiler, then doing the backup camera mod. Trying to go for the OEM+ look......

Here are some pics from the day I picked her up:









Bonus Material: I guess the talk of buying an Acura gave my mother the appetite to trade her MDX in....for an new 2015 model



Bonus #2: Bloody Mary from 55 South in Franklin, TN. Never been to a bloody Mary bar before....so we loaded up on a few drinks after sealing the deal on the car.

mrgold35

Congrats on the new ride! I still have fun driving my 06 around whenever I get a chance to steal it from my son. The only annoying issue I've had was the brake calipers starting to rust. I found a local shop in ABQ that repainted them for $15 per wheel (I purchased the paint). Add the a-spec suspension+RSB and I will bet you will stay on the bumper of the +$30,000 TLX I-4 with P-AWS.

NBP04TL4ME

Certainly does look clean - expect for the aforementioned dirty floor mats. Congrats again.
The seller must have had a good feeling/vibe about you as well. Driving a couple of hours to meet some he doesn't know and then to accept a check and sign over the title on the spot. All you ever hear about nowadays is how CL deals go bad or how folks get scammed. Glad it worked out all the way around. Enjoy your new ride!!!

Boulder TSX

Congrats on the new ride! I have almost the same car, only in NBP.

The rear sway bar is something that is already bigger on the manual cars. (My memory is that the OEM auto RSB is 17 mm, while the manual is 19 mm.) --In which case, the auto, (like Mr. Gold's son's car), would benefit more from the upgrade...not to say you wouldn't notice a slight change, just not as pronounced. The upgrade in suspension helps...as do tires, which it appears you have already addressed.

Boulder TSX

A follow-up question I meant to ask yesterday: What is causing you you to want to replace the engine/transmission mounts?

sabbo334

It just feels like there is a ton of slop in the drivetrain when taking off and shifting from 1st to 2nd and to 3rd. I ended up purchasing an Ingalls Torque Damper to handle the issue - I installed it two days ago.

e713

Nice find, I found a 2007 accord sedan v6 6 speed with 43k miles 1700 miles away, a great price aswell. Very rare.

louislagerfeld

Sorry to bump the thread, but I'm in the same boat as OP. Except that he got real lucky, I've been searching for about 2 months now and have come up empty handed. It's hard to find one under 100,000 miles at a decent price.

panamera125

Nice TSX, love that car so much! Still very sad that Acura had to cut it out of the lineup, the TLX (while closer to the TSX than ever before) still seems like a TL replacement.

Is it okay if I jump back to the original question, how long does it take to find your car? My dad has always taken forever to find a car. My mom had 1995 Jeep which literally began falling apart after about 8 years and 110,000 or so miles (We still have it!). Despite this, it took 5 years to find a new car, as I remember test driving a 2004 MDX with my dad when I was quite little (I'm 16 now), yet we didn't buy a car until the 2008s came out! Again with his car, he drove a 1999 3-series for 16 years until buying his Porsche (still have the Bimmer too!). Wasn't a money issue, and he had driven at least 5 3-series cars through test drives and loaners, yet wasn't sold. He had been looking for 6 years to find the right thing! Looks like the RDX won't be replaced for quite a while... Trouble is, this time we bought a car that won't be falling apart for a very long time.

redpoint

Looks like a heck of a deal, and the interior colors are my favorite. I wish mine had it.

That said, it took me 3 years to find my car, and I ended up purchasing from a stealership since it was even harder to find a 6-speed '06+ private party. I really only looked hard for about 6 months, and had considered purchasing across the country and making a road trip out of it. For some reason cars on the East coast seemed to be cheaper.