Nightmare

Hi all, first time speaking and making a thread in this forum but I've been browsing here for about a week now since I've been interested in purchasing a used TL as my next vehicle. I've been eyeing at this TL for about a week now but I'm not sure how I feel about the mileage? Any opinion or comment would be greatly appreciated!

carbonTSEX

55,000 miles does seem excessive. The average driver puts around 12,000 to 14,000 miles each year. Of course some drive more depending on commutes or road trips. Some drive less like myself with 10,000 miles since the end of 2013 when I bought my 2014 TL brand new.

Price should definitely be reflected by the miles. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing as long as the maintenance is up to date and the condition is sound.

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

Could be highway mileage... Are you able to get service records on it as well?

CTNYC

The average according to the DOT is 13,476/year. Since the TL could have been purchased between around 2.25 years to 3.5 years ago, if driven on average, it should have between 30k to 47k miles, if driven on average.

That being said, as long as you don't personally mind the miles, I think it's a fine car at that mileage (and I'm sure price is adjusted for the mileage). I personally put over 8k miles on my ILX in the first 2 months of ownership. Similarly, I put on around 4k miles in the last month on my TL. IMO, mileage shouldn't be a concern as long as the price reflects the miles, all the maintenance was done in a timely manner, and the car is in good condition (mechanically & cosmetically)

GR 6 spd

I have 59K on my 2014 six speed and had 104K on a 2010 6 speed before I traded it. But, I am just crazy and these cars eat miles.

JT4

I agree with everything you wrote, because if well maintained 55K is not a lot of miles for a TL if everything checks out.

OP- How much is it being sold for?

Nightmare

As far as the price goes, it is currently listed for 20,500 which is why I'm kinda iffy on it. It has a clean carfax with oil and filter changed at every 10,000 miles. Do you think it's worth it?

jim_c

Yes, but it should be pristine.
Put it on a hoist and inspect it underneath.
The dealer did this for me when I bought mine.
Drive the car and make sure it feels tight and responsive.
Check all the controls to make sure everything works.
Good luck!

hadokenuh

My 2013 currently reads 45K after 3 years. It still drives like the 1st day I picked it up.

Down here in Texas, I don't think ~50K for 3 years is high. Some of us put 20K+ a year

ITSJESTER

Could be mostly highway miles, just make sure to get it inspected by a mechanic you trust!

Carfax is nice but not everything may be reported on it. Example, my bosses Infiniti had its driver door ripped off when another car hit it while it was open. He had to get the whole driver side of the car worked on. Still shows a clean Carfax 3 years later...

I would also test a few different TL's even if you are not interested in the particular cars. It will help you get a feel for if the TL you actually want feels as its supposed to.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

I'm at 57k miles on my 2013 TL....

I bought it Jan 1, 2015 with 17k miles on it.

CTNYC

Is it a Tech model or base? If it's tech, I'd say it's roughly a good deal, assuming everything else checks out

For reference, when I was shopping for my TL about 1 year ago, I was looking at off lease CPO'd FWD Techs - They were going for around $22k to $24k for 2012s with 30k to 36k miles on them. I ended up buying mine for around $17800 IIRC - 2010 Tech with ~85k miles. The CPO'd off lease cars all had dings/scratches/etc, but TL I got was in great condition (I later found out it was in a somewhat serious accident and my right rear tire does not wear correctly - It is chopped)

Nightmare

It is a tech model. Did yours show a clean carfax too haha?

csmeance

I have 70K miles on my 4G currently and love every second of highway driving.

Here's some pricing info to help out:

Nightmare

I suppose my concern is would I have to replace anything in the car any time soon since so far on record it has only had oil changes and filter changes? I'm currently a college student in my third year so I don't really have the time or money to do heavy maintenance on it.

Also while we're on the topic, do you think I could get a better deal on this car?

csmeance

Check the conditon of the tires, if it needs new tires that lowers the asking price, can be as much as $1000 for new tires.

Same with the brakes, feel for a lip at the edge of the rotor. If one is there you will need to buy/resurface rotors and new pads for around $400 for whole car.

At 55K and being 3 years old, this is what maintenance I'd recommend:

1. Brake fluid change (change every 3 years)
2. Transmission fluid change (change every other oil change)
3. Cabin and Engine filter (every 30K miles)

Other than that, make sure it drives well and there aren't any issues.

Since it's a private sale and the numbers I posted are dealer retail and dealer trade in, its a bit hard to say on better pricing.

If the car needs new tires and brakes soon (which it may) the max I'd offer is 20K. If the car can wait on those items, max I'd do is 21K since it's a private sale.

Most dealers charge an additional $200-$700 dollars during the sale as processing fees hence the slight deviation from #'s

JT4

Even if the CarFax checks out, as others here have said have it inspected by someone you trust..

For example, the car could have been in an accident and the original owner had repairs done at a local body shop. He paid cash and a receipt was never written. It would be as if the repair never happened.

Not saying this is the case with the car you're looking at, but stuff like this happens all the time.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

JESUS!

I'm doing transmission/differential/transfer case every 25k miles (5 oil changes) and that is fairly excessive. Every other oil change? That's crazily excessive.

I agree with the brake fluid and filters though.

lbotez

Our 2013 TL had 20,000 miles on it. We bought it at the end of January. No tech package. It's clean as a whistle though. We paid $23K for it. It also was an Acura Certified car... So that sounds about right ($20.5K).

csmeance

Since you can only do 1/3 of the fluid at a time this way you end up changing all of the fluid more frequently and plus the car is already in the air for the oil-change. Open the fill bolt for the ATF first and leave it slightly screwed in, drain the oil and the ATF and refill one at a time. Takes an hour with tire rotation but well worth the piece of mind. Fluid is cheap, a trans rebuild is not.

CTNYC

Yup - Clean carfax, all maintenance done at one dealership (Exactly to the book, including the "inspections" that run up the bill considerably). Mine had 4 brand new tires, and the dealership just did an oil change, transmission fluid drain & fill, replaced some leaking hoses, etc. so it seemed like it was a great deal. I don't regret the purchase at all - Do I think it was as great of a deal now? No, but I still think it was a solid deal at the time and mechanically it is sound (and still clean carfax )

I definitely agree with doing a brake fluid FLUSH (not drain & fill, the flush is around $160 at my Acura dealership IIRC), tranny fluid FLUSH (I do every 50k miles, around $230 at my dealership. Just do the engine and cabin filter yourself - you can buy parts on amazon or Walmart/Advance Auto/etc - Should be around $60 to $80 for both and maybe 3 mins of your time.

I know there's some people who might not agree with me on flushing fluids, but if your Acura dealership is equipped, I found that my ILX and Accord ran significantly better with a flush as opposed to a drain&fill.

Not only that - My Accord has been in 4 accidents, all went through insurance/police, but only 1 shows up on CarFax. Similarly, my ILX has been in 3 accidents, collectively around $10k in damage and clean carfax. My TL has had some extensive work done, and again, clean CarFax.

CarFax is a tool to supplement your inspection. A good body shop will usually be able to tell if a panel has been repainted from a mile away.

hadokenuh

I agree. I don't trust CarFax a bit, but the problem is when I look at a used car and the dealership doesn't show me a clean carfax voluntarily, it would raise a red flag right a way. Messed up, I know lol

CTNYC

That simply shows how brainwashed we are with CarFax's incredible marketing. I really hate CarFax because it can significantly bring down the value of cars that has a repainted bumper and is reported as an accident, while cars like mine might have been in multiple accidents but still show a clean CarFax.

But as a business person - wow they are geniuses lol. And pretty much they hold all of the power - Autocheck does not give "piece of mind" to consumers like CarFax's incredibly expensive reports do.

jim_c

All of our last 5 vehicles ("Japanese brands") have gone well past 200,000 km (125,000 mi) with very few issues. However with all the new technologies (i.e. computers and sensors for everything) I wonder whether this will continue to be the case.

PKROCKT

A lot of people put on a ton of miles but these are likely highway miles. Get it inspected!

csmeance

Only issue I'm seeing with my 4G TL vs my 3G TL is that the shocks have worn much faster on my 4G @ 70K miles than my 3G TL did at 70K miles. 4G TL feels like the 3G TL @ 120K.

ressling

Bought my 2012 SH-AWD CPO with 52,000 miles back in December 2013. Negotiated $30k out the door with extended warranty, and they wouldn't replace the tires, so that was my only "sunken" cost.

Car now has 75,000 miles on it now and runs great. People comment all the time on it, asking if it is brand new. I wouldn't worry too much about mileage, as a well-maintained TL can last forever. As others mentioned, get it inspected.

Only issue I've had with it is the propeller shaft, which was replaced around 65,000 miles, fully covered under warranty.

ChunkyDA

It also depends on how many miles you intend to accumulate. So the previous owned put more than average, are you going to drive less so when you are ready to move on the car will be back to average use?

ressling

This. This is the main reason why I was OK buying a higher-mileage TL. I drive on average 10k or less annually.

GYac

I wish I only put 13k a year, more like in 6 months. I drive ALOT, 47 mile commute one way. I have a 2012 with 76k so far so good aside from TC replacement at 45k.

WNY PAT

Honestly, I think the 3.7 motor with the 6 speed transmissions are the last of really durable, high mileage motors that'll be made. With direct injection, cylinder deactivation and new transmissions, I don't see them being trouble free for awhile. I grabbed a 2013 TL AWD with tech and a 2013 MDX with tech, AWD and RES. Love them both. No regrets.

mrphilipanderson

get a better deal. Use the website called Carguru. Trust me, you will thank me later when you find your dream car. I live in CA and had mine shipped from Omaha. 800.00 bux is all it costs. It was seamless and I am INCREDIBLY happy. Mine had a clean carfax, 2012 TL SH-AWD advance for 24,500.00 thats a GREAT deal. I spent months looking for this car and ONLY carguru had it at the price I needed. If you cal also, finance through a credit union. My interest rate is 8.9. If you need any help let em know, i'll help you find a great deal. But Carguru will be how you will buy your car. Im almost certain.

CTNYC

Not trying to start anything but....

8.9% interest rate is horrible... and Carfax is useful to a degree, but many incidents are not reported to them (only 1 out the 7 accidents my cars were involved with were reported to carfax, three of which were relatively major damage with $5k+ in damage, and 2 had slight from damage) Use Carfax as a tool to supplement common sense and inspections.

On another note, Caravana has a similar set up, and there are at least 2 or 3 different startups essentially offering a "brokerage" service for cars between owners and sellers for a cut of the selling cost that are supposedly popular. I do see that becoming a larger percentage of car sales relatively quickly.

mrphilipanderson

I AM trying to start something. HOpefully I can stay on track.

8% is excellent. And it all depends on your credit score. My The ONLY time less than 8 is done is with LEASES. I am not trying to LEASE a USED acura.


And What would make YOUR suggestion better than mine? What you stated is subjective. My experience was exhilarating. And I simply suggest he TRY carguru and carfax. They worked PEFECTLY. And while Carfax is NOT only ONE company that provides you with vehicle history. Carfax was FREE for me. The others you pay up the yin yang for. None the less car fax is tried and true. I use it. I trust it.

Car guru is awesome. Ive tried almost everyone car finder out there. And in the few months i searched Car guru gave the prime yield. To the guy who had to toss some negativity, its okay to share your preferred avenue, but you dont have to put others down to do it.

OP try car guru. Whats the worst that can happen? You find the car you want, haveit shipped to your front door and be happy?

WNY PAT

8% interest is high for a car loan IMO. Buying a CPO from an Acura dealer, in spite of a lot of people believing it is all hype, does extend the warranty for the drivetrain. They are supposed to really inspect the car (checking for matching vins on all body panels, checking for accidents, extends to 100K the powertrain warranty, etc). Personally as CPO programs go, I think it's worth looking in to. There is still a stop sale for any car that doesn't have the driver's side airbag inflator recall completed. My dealer has two 2013s online now so some of the recall parts are showing up. I still don't have my TL fixed and am still driving my rental. But 55K is nothing, especially if they were mostly highway miles, to finally get back on track to your original question.

Cygnus_X1

CTNYC is right, 8% is terrible. My 2013 TL is at the end of it's lease and I'm going to buy it (once they fix the airbag, Acura can't even sell it to me until that's done). Both my credit union and Acura are offering me 1.9% for 4 or 5 years. I'm at 838 for my credit score though. You'd have to have a really low credit score to get 8%.

mrphilipanderson

okay perhaps I should have prefaced my response with (for me, this scenario worked best. For those of you with PERFECT lives, GRAND incomes, and 1.9% APRS solicited by ACURA themselves...8% is beneath you. You deserve better. For the common man, the hard working, student loans has my credit screwed 8% is excellent. Im not sure what 700 credit score is to you, but based on your what you say at 838, 700 must be terrible. MAny factors go into interest rates. Not knowing the OP's credit score, income bracket 8% could be GREAT, so can 1%, and in some cases 20% is as good as a person can get.

Either wat OP, CarGuru. You have probably moved on from the conversation by now, but Was just trying to help you with my experience.

Georgiey22

My 2013 just rolled 26K and it feels like we don't drive it much. in the big picture, 50K miles isn't much.

Beak14

I think where you went wrong is that you made a blanket statement, that 8.9% was a terrific interest rate, when it fact, for some, it's terrible.

When I bought my TL, last year, I got 1.69/1.7% interest. In reality, 1.7 is much different from 1.99, but, whatever.

Anyway, all's forgiven, as I know that you're trying be helpful to the OP, and I respect that. And, giving an account of what's going on in your life/your neck of the woods, so to speak, is helpful, when someone is trying to get an idea of what's going on out there. So, I'll be thanking you for your post, as I think you've earned it.

Anyway, to the OP, if the car goes 200k miles, 55k is not bad, IMO. But, if the car only goes 75k miles... Essentially, if you get another 150k miles, and pay about 1/2 price for the car, how can you argue it was a bad deal? Can you do better? I bet you can. But, after driving other vehicles, and then, returning to the driver's seat of my TL - it's hard not to love the TL. Plus, at 6'2", I fit into my car really well. This is not true, for other cars. Plus, the sound system in the TL, tech/ELS, is really nice. I didn't appreciate it at first, but now I do! I wouldn't get the base model, after owning the tech model.

Good luck!