grandlaker

Hey all, thinking about buying this 2008 TL and wanted to see if this was a good/decent deal? I need to go look at the car but apparently it's in excellent condition and last month had timing belt/water pump replaced and new tires, has 112K miles. Always been serviced by local Honda dealer. Doesn't have Nav nor does it have backup camera. Owner said he would go down to $8K, KBB for very good condition shows value as $7,377, almost 8K if it's in excellent condition. I currently own a 2001 TL with almost 300K miles so I know what these cars are capable of. Plus I believe the 2008's were not susceptible to the dreaded tranny issue which my 2001 experienced. Thoughts, thanks!

https://tulsa.craigslist.org/cto/6142562570.html

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

That seems like a very reasonable deal; I say, if you drive the car and like it, pull the trigger.

Glorygang600

Make sure to test drive it check the lower arm control bushings on both sides and turn both wheels back and forth all the way to incase to check for funny sounds. I then would lowball him at 7,500 and wait two days after hes only asking for 8 because he put on the new timing belt

b15

Clean title/any accidents? Sounds like a great deal!

dj5

Sound like a fair deal. You could probably get a TL-S for a couple thousand more with the same mileage. IMHO the TL-S is worth the additional $$.

truonghthe

I don't know why people still go by KBB? I mean its a great tool to see the price range you will pay however within my region (South Midwest) if you want a clean condition car then prepare to pay more than KBB. Well there plenty of TL here sell at KBB price and the interior is totally trash, dash crack all over the place, interior carpet is dirty, car smell funny, car not maintain properly and etc.... I paid $8600 for my Base TL in mint condition with 74k miles on the clock but the dash already got a crack by passenger side and the oil pump is leaking (which not too much worry since the 105k service is coming up) If these two things didn't exist I probably have to shell out almost $11k, all maint done by Acura dealer since new and previous owner afraid to put miles on the car.

GhostTL09

iTrader: (1)

$7500 take it or leave it.

grandlaker

Thanks everyone for the feedback! Is it fair to say the 2nd generation is holding up better than the '04-08's? Seems I'm seeing more issues with 3rd gen then what my '01 has experienced. Dead tranny at 135K miles not withstanding.

I have found an '07 with only 50K miles TL I also want to look at but the used dealer is asking almost 13K for it, which appears about $2.5K too high.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

As a general rule the Gen 3s are pretty robust; both 2G and 3G have had issues with their automatic transmissions, so I don't think there is any significant difference there.

Regarding the 2007 with 50,000 miles on it; if it is a manual transmission (which would make it a TL-S), then the price is pretty darn good; if it is an automatic I'd say it's at least two thousand dollars high. FWIW, I was looking at a 2006 6MT with only 20,000 miles on the clock, they seller got $14,000 for it.

NoTLoud

Generally, the 07-08 TL's transmissions are more robust than the 04-06's. The 07-08's got the RL's transmission, which are less prone to failure. Regardless, the life of the transmission will come down to proper maintenance. You'll see it in every thread regarding the 5AT's in these cars, but the pressure switches and proper fluid change maintenance are crucial. These are not the strongest transmissions out of the factory. The clutch packs that Honda used are more or less made out of paper, so it doesn't take much to completely destroy them. The pressure switches are a key maintenance item because they are prone to getting out of spec and not applying the necessary pressure to engage the clutch packs properly. Most common issue is 3rd gear slipping, probably the same thing that killed your 01's tranny. Fluid is also key. Overtime, the friction modifiers in the fluid are going to wear down and become less effective. This also contributes to the slipping. Honda changed their recommended interval for tranny fluid changes around the time you started to see a ton of failures with their V6 auto's.

I can tell you my 06 I bought in October with 100,500 miles has had its fair share of issues. I've probably spent close to $1500 in parts alone. Granted, since the stock struts went bad, I did put coilovers on, but I have also had to replace the following:

• Battery
• Starter
• Compliance Bushings ($450 to have done)
• Axles (result of lowering, but they are a common issues with the TL)
• Front right lower ball joint (result of replacing axles)
• Tensioner
• Upper and rear, lower transmission mounts
• Sub-frame mount

There are some issues I could have avoided (ie if I didn't lower the car), but the car is 10 years old. Expect to have some issues with it and factor that in to what you end up paying. If you're anything like me and want the car to drive perfectly and operate perfectly, then expect to spend some money. I also went a little crazy replacing parts down to the screws missing in the interior center console. OEM parts aren't really that expensive for this car though as they are all Honda parts, so most parts are quite reasonable.

I paid too much for my car, but overall, the condition of the interior and exterior is better than 90% of the TL's on the road and I was willing to pay a premium for that. Again, it's a 10 year old car, so it's got some issues, door panels have some defects/scratches, driver's seat is missing some dye on the leather, paint isn't 100% perfect, but I can live with all that.

truonghthe

just an FIY 2 years ago a 07 TL-S MRP with Ebony Silver interior MT sold for $24.5k with 15k miles on the clock and he is a member here on AZ.



This is the best advice ever. All used car has quirks that need to be addressed, why would the owner trade the car in the first place if the car is in perfect condition.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Piecing together the paperwork I found in my 2006, it looks like the original owner finally got tired of the 3rd gear grind/pop-out and was afraid the transmission was in failure mode. I put in ACDelco Synchromesh Friction Modified and replaced the oxidized outside left mirror, and the car is as good as new.

TL-GIXXER

Has the 105k service been done? If not (which is likely, but I could certainly be wrong), be prepared for at least $1000 in maintenance if you can't perform it yourself. Personally, while I'm higher than average mechanically inclined, I'd still have my mechanic friend do it. Even a slight error during the belt/pump swap could be catastrophic.

So, if you pay $9000 (or even $8k) and the 105k hasn't been done, add $1000 just to keep it a solid car..... THEN you're still open to all of the other known failures (ball joints), brakes, tires, rotors, etc...

looks like a nice TL. Keep us updated!

grandlaker

Timing belt and water pump done last month at local Honda dealer. Always serviced at same dealer and owner indicated he has all receipts. I haven't looked at car yet. Went and test drove new TLX yesterday and wanted to drive a '12 IS250 they had but it was loaned out for the weekend.

nanxun

If the in-person inspection and test drive don't raise any red flags, $7.5k seems like a fair price.

Just for your reference, 3.5 months ago I purchased my 07 TL 5AT w/out nav and 60,500 miles on the clock for $10k.

Since then I've had to:
-replace original OE battery
-replace front and rear brakes (including front rotors)
-purchase new rims (2 old ones were out-of-round causing vibration at speed)
-drain-and-refill ATF (done 2x already, will do third time in next few months)
-replace faulty EVAP purge valve

All of the aforementioned post-purchase work ran me ~$2k, but the vehicle is now in good shape.

I've put about 3.7k miles on the ODO thus far without any problems and look forward to running it for another 8-10 years.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

I sold my TL in perfect condition. It needed nothing. I wanted a faster, better handling RWD car and it was just time. I knew two years ago I'd replace it in the spring of '17, but even so, I never neglected any maintenance. I felt I owed it to myself, the car and the next owner.

eaglegreen48

Everytime I see Craig's list I cringe. Have a mechanic check this car and get a car fax before you do anything.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Why do you cringe:

• Too many abused TLs?
• Prices lower than what you'd expect?
• Too many enticing deals?

truonghthe

Actually I bought my Base TL from craiglist and the owner was pretty straight about the car, the car itself has 74k miles and the owner has all maint done at the dealer.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Agreed; the Burgundy 2006 TL 6MT I almost bought and the Royal Blue Pearl 2006 6MT I did buy both came via Craig's List.

Jackass

Also don't understand this throught process...we sold our last car on CL. CL is no different than any other classified out there. You have no idea if the ad on Autotrader or eBay is any more or less legit/scary. The point is...do you homework and for sure have a mechanic or knowledgeable/trustworthy person check it out. This applies no matter where you find your used car...CL, eBay, or a dealer...get it checked out.