perilousp

So I'm still shopping around for an Acura TL, and yesterday I went to look at a '04 silver. One of the first things that caught my eye was that the front bumper was missing the word "ACURA" at the front, yet aside from that it looked identical to the standard front bumper. Even though this vehicle has no history of accidents, this is quite a red flag for it possibly being in at least a minor one.

I guess my question would be should this be something to worry about? Or just assume they bumped into something during the winter, and paid to get a cheaper bumper? OR maybe some people just don't like the "ACURA" at the front and replace it?

Would appreciate your guys' here

Bit more info:
This is the second owner, and he has only owned the car for 1 year. When I mentioned this to him he legitimately seemed clueless as to what I was talking about (the whole part with there being a "ACURA" on the front bumper).

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

only the OEM bumpers have the ACURA indentation (perfect for domed decals)

so you are correct, it does indeed have an aftermarket 3rd party bumper on it. why is it there? who knows. many many many vehicles have a clean carfax but have been in accidents, not everything gets reported to insurance companies.

in any case, i would have an indy mechanic look over the car and see what they say.

good luck to you.

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

+1 CARFAX SUCKS!

My car was indeed in an accident even though it said it wasn't.

Mrtastygoody

iTrader: (1)

Are any of those aftermarkets any good?

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^not really. there is no ACURA indentation on them, so there is nowhere to put the domed decal.

www.domeddecalz.com

honda_nut

Your car talks. Damn, that's neat.

perilousp

Yeah I was really looking forward to doing that as soon as I got the car, but I guess I'd need to get a new bumper first!

Shoot2Thrill

I would be less concerned if the paint job was good. I would have zero interest in replacing the bumper. Good sales volume and excessive oem part pricing opens the door to competition.

dontTL'em'nothing

iTrader: (3)

i have an aftermarket front bumper overall fitment and paint is pretty good, but when it came to putting my aspec on, have fitment issues. ive took it off and put it back on multiple times to try and fix the small gap issue but have had no luck and have lived with it for a while. Might buy a new one after christmas or find one used somewhere.

BeezleTL85

I put 2 new front ends on my Titan due to me smashing them into things. Sold it on Craigslist in 30 min with a clean carfax

truonghthe

same thing happened with my dad 2nd gen TL, you can see thh car been fixed by a shaddy body shop work and yet it indicate clean carfax.