pb06

Today, 10:48 AM
pb06
Registered User

Post #1

Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1
new member seeks advise: would you buy this car?
New member here. Not a CL owner yet, but possibly as soon as tomorrow!

After my Camry was totaled in an accident, I happened across the CL on a car lot and fell in love. Am on a budget (accident was very bad timing financially) so I'm looking at 01's with relatively high mileage -- 75-100k. Have found one at fair price but almost 90k miles. Transmission was changed at 55 miles, it was dealer serviced, etc.

Q's:
Am I crazy to think about buying a CL w/ this kind of mileage?
How much more life can I expect from this "new" transmission last? Concerned by all the tranny problem posts I've read here ....
How expensive are these cars to maintain compared to say an Accord or Camry?

Any thought appreciated; the sooner, the better.

thanks!

furious1smitul

What is the price? And what is your budget?

Maintenance is fairly reasonable so far.

pb06

my budget is around 12k.

but is it smart to buy a car (this in particular) w/ 90k miles at any price? (I know very little about cars ... )

Stealth CL

well you got a 100k mile warranty on the tranny. but after that your gonna be on your own. if the price is good then id say go for it?? Still what are they asking??

blk2001tlon19s

Where are you getting the car from? An acura dealer? Does the car come with some type of warranty? If the car comes with a nice warranty, at least 3 year/36k on the drivetrain ...I would say yes. Personally, I think you can overlook the transmission issues as long as you have some "backing" as far as a warranty.

clpassenubye

iTrader: (20)

Is it a CL or a CL-S? I would say 12k is too much if its no CL-S. As far as the tranny goes you just never know. Some people never have problems with their tranny you just have to take a risk if you really like the car that much.

furious1smitul

Yeah, if it's around 12k I would say that's a fairly decent deal. However, I wouldn't recommend it without some kind of warranty. The tranny is a hit or miss.

Oh and only if it is a CL-S like ^^ said.

pb06

No, it's not an S-type but it does have the navigation option.
It's a private seller. He's the second owner, only had the car 7 months. He bought from original owner, who seems to have bought thru corporate lease.
The transmission is warrantied for 7 years/100k miles; he mentioned the drive train is still under warranty but I have to verify that.
He was asking close to 13, came down to 12,250. Still too high for that mileage?
I've only bought new before, so I'm a little nervous about buying used, esp. with this high mileage. Am in SoCal so that may affect price as well.

CL'er 1st & 2nd Gen's

I think I'd keep looking. The tranny after 100k will be a crap shoot. There is also a rather costly maintenance for timing belt, water pump, etc. at 105k.

F900

How much are we talking ?

furious1smitul

Keep looking my

GreenMonster

Depends... dealer cost could range from $800-1200 (or at least that's what I remember members quoting)...

Independant Garage around $500-$800

DIY

Searching for - water pump timing belt - will turn up a bunch of threads like this:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...elt+water+pump

GreenMonster

pb06, there's a reason why you're finding alot of CL's forsale w/ close to 100K miles...

Owners are dumping 'em before they hit the 100K mark. That's when the extended warranty on the automatic transmission runs out, and the 105K service is due soon too.

We've got a forum dedicated to auto transmissions:

https://acurazine.com/forums/automotive-news-6/

I've got a 03 6spd. After discovering the above sub-forum on the auto transmissions, I wanted to avoid the auto tranny issue all together. I can't blame anyone for selling an auto CL before it hit 100K

furious1smitul

I am planning on getting rid of the CL-S right before that 100k mark... 40k miles left that should get me 2 years.

clpassenubye

iTrader: (20)

Theres two sides to every story I am the original owner of my 01 CL-S and I have almost 60k on it and haven't had any tranny problems yet (knock on wood). This particular vehicle I would take a pass on because I live in Socal also and I have seen 01 CL-S in that same range give with less mileage that what you should be looking for.

pb06

This is all very helpful, thanks. Would you say it's worth another $1500-2000 to get the same car with 10 or 12k fewer miles? Or go for a 99 3.0 w/ 30k fewer miles but a grand more?

And does anyone have any experience with LA Public Motors or other auction type dealers?

pb06

PS: I work at home, so I only put 6-8k miles/year on a car, if that makes any difference (altho in this car, that mileage could shoot way up! )

clpassenubye

iTrader: (20)

Yeah get the same model with less miles for the same or maybe a little more. I had a 97 CL which is the same body as the 99 3.0 your talking about and they are good cars also but not for the price you just asked about. You can get those for much less than 10K if you look around. I would still opt for the 3.2CL-S.

VWNOWHONDA

i dont think the warranty is tranferable

pb06

On the transmission? Or anything?

agranado

if you're going to get the 99, there's no way you should pay more than 10k for it just like CLpassenuby just said. It's a nice car yes, but you cant justify paying that much for one.

csondaatje

i have had 3 honda/acuras in the past, and i currently own a 01 CL-S with 72k miles on it. in my experience, these motors last more than 240k miles with few problems. as long as you keep them maintained, you shouldnt have any problems. i have had my CL for 8 months and put 12k miles on it. no issues at all.

the tranny has an extended warrenty on it. i believe it's 7years/100k miles. Anyone, correct me if im wrong.

Good choice with the CL! enjoy!

Rod

Keep looking!

Black03CL-S

I've only had my 03 CL-S for about 6 weeks now but I love it. I bought it certified so the powertrain is covered until Oct 09 or 100K miles. I just turned 45K and don't put much more than 15K a year on a car so I should be ok for a few years. I think any car is a crap shoot after 100K miles. I would check the internet and see what similiar cars are going for with the mileage you're looking at and make your decision based on that. Acuras and Hondas tend to hold their value very well. I'm in Maryland, and it seems most of the newer (04-05) used TL's with reasonable mileage aren't much cheaper than a new one. Sorry I don't know more about the year you're asking about, but I had a 94 Camry until I totaled it a few months ago so I've been out of the loop as far as newer cars until recently. I always liked the look of the CL's, and I would recommend the car to anyone.

F900

Thanks...I'm At 80K right now so aleast i know how much its going to cost me

pb06

Just reviewing this thread & thought I would update. I did buy the 01 Acura CL. I think I ended up paying around 11 for it; it had about 85-87k miles.

Last year I ended up putting about 5 grand into the car -- new tires, new timing belt, new transmission, engine mounts, battery, spark plugs etc.

I'm now at about 138,000 miles. Other than the voluminous problems last year, and an occasional problem with the relay, I've been happy with the car. But I would never buy a car with that high mileage again. And I've been disappointed with Acura service, so I'm not sure I'll be a loyal customer.