speeddemon0712

What's up guys... new to Acura's so I have a question.. I'm looking at an 07' TL Type S with 171k miles. It has a clean carfax 1 owner, though it's being sold from a dealership so I don't have any records for it. But the carfax does show pretty much every oil change done between 5-8k miles at an Acura dealer since new. Timing belt and water pump were done at 95k miles at an Acura dealership too. I test drove it, it seemed just fine. No rattles, no weird noises, no leaks. The only thing I noticed was a slight vibration with the cold start, but was gone once the car warmed up. And the driver mirror wasn't a fan of being moved when I put it in reverse (the mirror popped and seemed like it was caught up but eventually moved down). Other than that, it was in near perfect cosmetic shape.

I'm just concerned about the miles. I know these cars can run 250k+ easy, but I've also heard the transmissions aren't that great (5 speed auto). The dealership is firm at $6k, which seems like a steal compared to other Type S's being sold. I can't find one within 500 miles of me (DFW, TX) under 150k miles. Most are 180k miles and dealerships or even individuals are asking $7500+.

What do you think? Should I pull the trigger? It's going to be a 2nd car to go along with my F150.

Thanks!

Acura TL Builder

Could the vibration be a bad mount?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

yeah, but the OP is just looking for assurance...
he's asking...should I buy this car?

but we dont know. we havent inspected it. we dont know the history, we just cant give the OP the assurance he needs...
since he does have an F150, and if the TL's tranny does decide to shit the bed, he's in okay shape because he has a 2nd vehicle...
but since we do not know the OP and his financial situation, no one can tell him if it's the right move...because we just dont know.

if the OP has mechanical fortitude and can replace the tranny or repair the tranny or whatever it needs, then there is no problem...
IF there is even a problem, we dont even know.

Acura TL Builder

How’s your mechanical fortitude OP?

Do you have a running engine bay vehicle vid?

Midnight Mystery

This car is probably cleaner than most you'll find, but it needs a really good look over before anyone will encourage you to proceed... Don't get super excited and jump off the cliff like I did, 3 times...

Acura TL Builder

Being a buddy to give unbiased advise. This way you don’t buy it solely on feelings.

speeddemon0712

That was my first thought. I've also read a good full synthetic oil change can tone down or even remedy the vibrations. Not sure what else it could be.

Yeah I know it's hard to give assurance without knowing much about the car or myself. I just wasn't sure if there was something Acura fans knew about the Type S that I didn't.

I'd say I'm probably about average for mechanical fortitude. I do most of my own maintenance and some repairs, but I would never tackle a transmission job. And no, I don't have any videos of the car. When I started up the car, I popped the hood and looked/listened to the motor. It sounded really healthy, so noticeable movements or odd noises.

Oh I've been there plenty times myself haha.

Yeah. I've gotten a few opinions from friends, and they all think the miles are too high. I agree with them to an extent. I know these cars can run 250k + miles easy, but that doesn't mean something can't or won't go wrong tomorrow. It would suck knowing the car is already pushing 175k miles too.

Jackass

Ummmm....no. That isn't how oil works. If that helps, you have other major issues within the engine.

Mirror - Normal, have to either try to clean and regrease the mechanicals, or just replace the actuator itself.

Cold start vibration - if just a mild vibration for the first 30-60 seconds then settles down, I call this normal. Mine has always had a slight roughness to the idle on cold start. Even when it was 3 years old with 35k miles it did it.

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

Cold start vibration is almost there in any car. After sitting awhile everything settles, once loose and the mounts are pliable again, they go away. I bet it vibrates more in winter when all bushings are stiff/frozen.

If you don't like the mirror tilt in reverse, set the mirror adjuster to the middle.

speeddemon0712

I agree. I had a 2005 Camry a few years ago and it had a slight vibration as well. I read most do and figured it was normal.

That makes sense. I'm not used to cars like these, I usually have trucks or mustangs. And yeah, I'll just set the adjust to the middle so the mirror doesn't move automatically. I don't need the mirrors to move down to back up.