Psybin

Hi guys, I知 new to the threads. I致e been lurking a bit but no posts.
I知 flying out next week to buy an low mileage 08 TL-S 6MT garage queen.
All the finances etc are lined up. Basically guy picks me up from airport, I test drive the car to the bank, look it over then go through with the deal.
Is there anything specific I should be on the lookout besides the weird random 3rd gear problem?
Tires were changed at around 20k, which may be typical for those bridgestones.
I致e never done anything like this before. I had a 06 STI in which I drove across the state to purchase, but never flown anywhere to buy.
I知 in my low 30s, the guy is a bit older, sounds very legit and competent over the phone and email, well spoken, etc. I知 very mechanically inclined and know what I知 looking at on a vehicle, just looking for any pro-tips from the pros.
Thanks!

Sotiris

Hey welcome to Acurazine, i hope everything goes as smooth as possible and you get to drive your TL home Obviously you should run a carfax on it. The best you can do right now is just drive it around before you buy and listen for any strange sounds. goodluck!

Psybin

Thanks bud. Yup, clean carfax. I'll be the third owner. First owner put 15k on it, 2nd owner not a ton more. All in all a rare find. I figure it is time to have a grown up car for a few years =)

Sotiris

Post some pics when you get back, what color combo is it?

EATSLEEPRACE

iTrader: (1)

You are flying out there,minus well just take the car to a shop ,put it on a lift and see how's everything under.....
Only thing I would look out for is the infamous vibration at 60mph


My axles were done,when I bought mine,but I didn't care because I was in love,it was everything I wanted...lol

Psybin

Will do.
Its white with black interior.

Already put a deposit down and purchased the plane ticket. I'm looking forward to the 500 mile drive back

Aside from poor balance/bent rim, would the vib at 60 indicate anything else?

gwiffer

iTrader: (7)

Where did you find it? Craigslist? Autotrader?

Psybin

Friend who works at a dealer doing some hunting for me.

And sorry for the excessive post, no ninja edit feature it seems.

EATSLEEPRACE

iTrader: (1)

Cool I have the same exact one...!


Well my type s ,when I bought it,I had the wild vibration and while I would accelerate at high speeds I will feel it even more....changed them and gone

Beforey type s I had a 05tl and I had the same vibration replaced with new axles(they were clicking when turning) along with set of new wheels and vibration was gone....

Psybin

Changed with what brand? OEM or a NAPA type remanufactured? I dont foresee an issue but good to know for future ref.

EATSLEEPRACE

iTrader: (1)

Both times I bought them from advanced auto.....but of coarse if I can go back I would buy them oem for my type s,since I'm a "spirited driver"..lol

I have never had a problem with them but I don't know what's the life span on them

Sotiris

Usually it would be something as a wheel needing to be rebalanced. Could also be a bent wheel. Worst case but i don't think because you said low mileage it could be the axle like eatsleeprace said

EATSLEEPRACE

iTrader: (1)

How many miles does it have?what price are you getting it for?.....if you don't mind me asking

Psybin

Will post everything after I get it, early next week =)

truonghthe

my wheel is slightly bent you can feel it when driving but when you take the wheel and inspect for bent there is no visible on the rim. There is no major problem with these Type S except for rattle and interior light bulb love to going out one after another.

UA6

Congrats

triax37

iTrader: (1)

OP - I would suggest you have an Acura dealer (or otherwise knowledgeable Honda technician) take a once over. It's worth the $100 and 1 hour. A few years ago I flew 1,500 miles to buy a car, very similarly to what you're doing. It was a little leap of faith, but I was able to have it "checked" by the Nissan dealer (I paid) while we waited and before I handed over the cashier's check.

Outside of that, hopefully you already have a used car buyer checklists in hand. It doesn't need to be perfect on all of them, but if there are too many problems, it might cause you to rethink:
http://www.dmv.org/buy-sell/used-car...work-sheet.php

For the 3G Acura, here are some common problems:
- 3rd gear in the 6MT can grind - make sure it shifts smoothly
- Cracks in the dash - look closely for any signs of this..it's a $1.5k+ replacement
- Hands free link - try to see if the owner will pair his phone and make a call to confirm it works
- Dash LEDs - may be hard to check all of these during the day, but some burn out quickly. It's a pretty easy fix...
- Excessive squeaks and rattles - some AZ'ers have found this irritating
- Compliance bushings on suspension - most people's are cracked, and that's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world.

Best of luck to you.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Yes, best of luck! This is a very cool adventure....just enjoy it all. Let us know how things turn out.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Great looking car and if it's the one I think it might be, new Bridgestone 760's and all looks to be perfect, but hopefully the negotiated price was slightly lower than asking.

Good luck, I certainly don't forsee any problems and it's still covered with the manufacturer's basic warranty until August this year, and naturally the power train until 8/14.

Just hope I've got the right car.

Smunderdog

Pop the trunk and look at the barcode for the rear bumper panel to see if there is any overspray on it (if so, the rear bumper has been repainted). Wish I had known this when I did exactly what you are doing (fly out, test drive to bank, pay, drove 500 miles home) - the bumper had been repainted and whoever did it didn't have the right mix of paint and elastisizer so the paint eventually cracked and is peeling.

Wouldn't have been a deal breaker, but I would have used it to negotiate the price down a bit.

I hate cars

At least you're buying it in the summertime. If it's going to act up it's probably going to be on a hot day.

flyromeo3

nice words of encouragement when he has a 500 mile drive back home

I hate cars

You're right, it's much better to cover up problems for half a year, once the car is paid for and it's too late to do anything about it.

Psybin

heat soak that big of an issue?

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Lot of threads going around on the subject, but never had the problem in ours. Of course I never tried 1/4 mile sprints in 100+ heat, but with "normal" driving, once again, never noticed any problems.

Psybin

I figured with normal highway driving it should be fine. Even the STI I had never had any noticeable issues.

turbo_oxide

Take it to the dealer as others have said... might as well do the PS hose fix while you're there.

TheLowLife

SouthernBoy

When he picks you up, let him drive for several miles and observe how he operates the clutch and transmission. If you are intimately knowledgeable about driving manuals, you should know what to look for. If not, pay close attention to what he does.

Does he ride the clutch when starting from a stop? Does he keep the transmission in gear when sitting at a traffic light? Does he hold the car on a hill with the clutch (very bad)? Does his quick shift (not the same thing as speed shifting)? Does he skip upshifts? Does he downshift properly (double clutching or at least rev matching)? Does he rest his foot on the clutch pedal while driving?

If any one of these that returns a 'yes', then this is a flag.

vp55

iTrader: (6)

.

I hate cars

Only for some. You have to figure any message board is going to have a higher concentration of problems, you don't get people coming on here to declare how their car doesn't get heat soaked lol. If it's hot outside and you drive it in a little stop and go for 20 minutes or more and don't notice anything bad, you will be fine.

Psybin

Everything went as planned.
There was a curb rashed wheel and a small scuff on the front bumper that weren稚 disclosed, or I somehow missed. I was a little pissed about it, but four year old car with 20k I can稚 expect perfection.
I cleaned it inside and out today and didn稚 really find anything else.
I took it in for the MD state inspection. Everything else looked great though, no sign of weird repairs, etc. I went out in the bay and looked it over really well when it was up on the lift. Assholes failed me for low front brake pads. I ordered some Hawk HPS pads from Amazon, putting them in Friday so I can get my inspection paperwork and get tags next week.

Are the Brembo pads that meh? I changed mine out on the STI at 30k and they were pretty worn.
It took me 8 hours to get the 500ish miles back, 68 average MPH, 32 Avg MPG.
I'm borrowing old owners pics until I take some, if I dont take them early in my driveway the sun blows them out, and the iPhone seems to only take a decent pic about half the time anyhow.









This is what I had..


And this was my daily, which the new owner is picking up tomorrow.

Psybin

Forgot to put thread links to the Subarus

STI - http://saab92x.com/viewtopic.php?pid=560462

9-2X - http://saab92x.com/viewtopic.php?id=30966&p=1

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Suite!
enjoy those 250 horsies from the 6MT!

lucnex

iTrader: (3)

Time to hide your wallet!

TLtypeSex

Good Luck with it... It looks clean!

truonghthe

congrat on your new DD, driving from MI to MD eh? taking a long time my friend, oh well at least you get too know the car more as you driving home but at least you are happy about the gas mileage compare to your other Subi lol.

Psybin

It did take a while. Tons of construction zone that were 50-55 and I didnt want to risk anymore than 10 over in that, that killed my average speed.

Thanks for the kind remarks all =)

welstd

Congrats on the new ride, it is a beauty. Enjoy it!

I hate cars

Looks great. I bought mine new and it now has 108,000. I like it enough that I always keep an eye out for a low mileage one like yours to replace it with when the time comes.

The Brembos do wear out pretty quick in most cases. I've seen a lot of posts on here of people barely getting 20,000 miles out of them and several on the other side of things but 30k is pretty normal. It's just the pads obviously, nothing an aftermarket pad can't cure. If you're wondering, Stoptech makes a great compound that resists fading, is quiet, low dust, and should outlast the factory pad (haven't gotten there with them yet).