TVL65

It has nearly 150,000 miles and needs new motor mounts and upper lower control arm bushings on each side, a friend of mine who is a Honda Tech recently did valve adjustment, serpentine belt, belt tensioner, power steering pump and drive axles. The car drives fine, burns no oil but now needs rust repair in passenger quarter panel due to crappy replacement by body shop in 2007 when it was hit (improper prep work). I got a quote for $1,000 to repair the rust Today I came across a TL with the technology package and FWD with 64,000 miles asking $12,000.00. I'm tempted to buy it, but not sure what to do? The thing that concerns me is how much longer the Trans will last in the TLS, I'm sure that's a $4,000 repair itself.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Most folks will tell you the transmission (assuming automatic here) on the 2007 and 2008 models is pretty reliable; that's not something I'd worry about (assuming you've kept up with the fluid service every 30,000 miles).

Regarding the body work; many shops guarantee their work for the duration of ownership, you might want to go back to who did the work back when the car was new had have them fix the rust.

TVL65

Franks Auto Body in Fairfield NJ, yup he guaranteed the work for LIFETIME as long as I owned the car, he previously repaired the rust 4 times & this is the 5th time it came back, now he said he wants to call Acura and file a claim under their corrosion warranty & also file a claim with the paint manufacturer, which I know both will be denied. So in other words he's telling me to take a hike. He replaced the quarter panel & door skin, both are rusting. Body shop I took it to said it was because of poor prep work, quarter panel was improperly sealed internally and rust will probably come back again. FRANKS AUTO BODY is horrible.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

I suggest you contact the Better Business Bureau and/or a lawyer; is shouldn't take too much leverage to get Frank to honor the warranty.

01acls

Some insurance company warranty repairs for the life of the vehicle if it was repaired at one of their Direct Repair Facilities. Assuming it was an insurance claim and you are the same owner when the repair was made. You should check with the insurance company, it's worth a shot.

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

That's some bush league shit..

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

4x repaired and the rust still comes back, you're right, Frank's is a shop to bypass.
As it has the lifetime guarantee, have them fix the panels and then sell the car.

DMZ

Go see or call Paul, our star mechanic in Clifton, 201-562-8576. He'll refer you to another Paul on the Clifton/Passaic border who does my body work. This Paul's main business is rebuilding show cars and does spectacular work! He's got a whole room in his house filled with car show trophies.
He's worked on my car with incredible results. This guy can and will fix it so the rust won't come back. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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TVL65

At the time I was insured by Allstate and Franks Auto Body wasn't technically an approved shop by them. The first red flag that this shop wasn't capable was that when I stopped by the shop unannounced the damaged quarter panel was off and the rear glass was out, several parts were laying directly on top of new rear seat, covered in dust. To this day the seat is still deformed. Nobody was working on the car either, it took 3 months for the repairs to be completed and it gets worse: When they removed the rear glass they chipped and scratched the side edges of the body along the edges of glass, all they did was use touch up paint. The rear glass wasn't installed properly either, the bottom rubber molding strip well underneath that on trunk panel is severe rust and corrosion, when humid out or raining rear glass fogs up. The rust got so bad I had to apply POR 15 the entire length of panel under glass. Even the receipt I have says in print: We warranty all of our work for as long as you own the vehicle. So last time they repaired it Frank says: The rust won't come back again, we cut out a section of the quarter and welded in a new piece of steel. Body shop I went to and looked at it said that's BS, there's no new piece welded in, all he did was fill it in with body filler. The sad part? the body shop which will be repairing it is located 2 blocks away from where the accident occurred in 2007, but I listened to another friend and took it to Franks. I'm out of luck now, got ripped off.

thoiboi

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'd make a report to the BBB, yelp, etc. I hope people in the area will know to avoid Frank's

Acura TL Builder

Franks?! I put that !$&@ on everything!

TVL65

I wouldn't be allowed to post the email I sent to Franks Auto Body a few months ago, my patience was done & I wasn't nice to them. He had the gall to say "Well all cars eventually rust" I replied: "Really Einstein? then how do you explain the only rust on the car is the quarter panel you replaced and repaired 4 times and the right rear door you repaired also rusting? Considering the original left side quarter panel & door isn't rusting? It's because you did inferior shit body work and poor quality that's why. I ranted on & on and concluded: I wouldn't let you paint a die cast model of mine, you'd screw that up too, no wonder your business is sinking faster than the Titanic.

TVL65

In 2007 my then new TLS with 18 miles was T-boned in the RR quarter panel and door. I took it to Franks Auto Body in Fairfield, NJ and it took nearly 6 months to repair it. I brought it there from the suggestion of a friend. After I got the car back the replaced quarter panel started rusted from the inside out 8 months later. I took the car back and the shop repaired it. Over the next few years it continued to break out in rust, the entire inner lip of the wheel well. The shop repaired it 3 more times and the last time Frank assured me they cut out the rust & welded in new metal so it won't rust again., but he wouldn't tell me WHY it was rusting, the LR factory original quarter panel is perfectly fine & no rust. Well last fall the rust returned but this time Franks Auto body refused to repair it and said they would have to file a claim with Acura under their corrosion warranty and the paint manufacturer. I sent them some pretty negative emails & Sunday I dropped it off at another shop and yesterday got a call saying I need to come down and see it in person. Today I did and I am in disbelief of what I saw. Huge rusted holes along the entire wheel well of the quarter panel, even the rocker panel is rusted and partially missing, in the rear of the panel underneath where the trunk is its gone and a large hole into the trunk, which explains the water I would find on occasion. So, why such bad rust? The dumb ass who installed it at Franks Auto Body never applied primer and sealer internally to the quarter panel, rocker and other areas! That's right, all BARE metal. How stupid can somebody be? Franks never cut out and welded in new patch panels, they simply grinded it and applied body filler. This is costing me nearly $2000! FRANKS AUTO BODY, FAIRFIELD, NJ does absolute crap work, Stay far away from them! They've ruined my car. They also improperly installed the rear glass and the panel between the glass and trunk is rusted, I had to apply POR 15 to stop it. Bunch of clowns at that shop.

truonghthe

I know your pain man, improper body work will led to rust especially for car locate in northern state. However if a shop mess up and fail acknowledge its their f***up then its a bad business, at this stage what are you planning to do with the car?

thoiboi

Merged with your existing thread with the new title