Acura TL Buying Pre-owned

I am about to purchase a 2004 Acura TL. It comes with: Warranty, Heated Seats, Body Side Moldings, Rear Defroster, Tinted Glass, Sunroof, Anti-lock Brakes, Alloy Wheels, Power Door Locks, Power Windows, Power Mirrors, Center Arm Rest, Leather Seats, GPS Navigation System, Trip Odometer, Console, CD Player, Security System, Cassette Player, Tilt Steering Wheel, AM/FM Radio, Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, Clock, etc. It's going to cost me about $27,711, it's got 24,000 miles on it, and is in PERFECT condition. It sounds like a GREAT deal, but I don't know much about cars. Is this a good deal? What is your guy's opinions on the TL? Is it as great as everyone says it is?
-Rachel
-Rachel
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I'm just kidding. For what it's worth, most everything comes standard on the TLs - of the items you mentioned, I think just the side molding, window tint and nav are not standard.
I can't tell you whethr that price is good or not. I have an '04 TL with over 30k and it's a great car!
When you try to compare prices (maybe look at the used car mags), make sure you compare the cars with nav, as that will probably make a differnce in the resale. Also, check out what you can get an '06 for. It might not be a large financial diff between a new '06 and the used '04 you're considering b/c the '07s that should be out soon have been slightly redesigned. This means dealers will want to move the '06s quickly.
Lastly, as for general opinions, I love the TL - it strikes a great balance between luxury and sport, and it can suit a family of 4.
taxesquire gave some great advice. My TL is an 05 and other than a "fading" dash the car runs great.
You should definately price out an 06. In some areas of the country, folks are picking up non navigation models a little over 29k and models with navigation for a little over 31k.
Good luck with any decision you make and keep us informed.
No, not in my opinion.
I have a 2004 TL 6-speed w/ Nav and 23,000 miles. I'd love to sell it at $27.7k. That would mean in 2.5 years and 23k miles I would have only suffered $4,300 in depreciation. Less than $150 per month. Great for me, not so great for the buyer. If you can get a new TL w/ Nav at, say $32-33k, why in the world would you buy a 2-3 year old one for only about $5,000 less?
In my opinion, the reason to get a relatively low mileage used car is that you let the initial owner take the big depreciation hit. Not so you can let the initial owner escape with nary a scratch. Granted, there are cars like the TL or my former Honda S2000 that hold their value extremely well. Which may mean that you would be better off buying new. But even my former S2000 at 2.5 years and 19k miles, went for $23.2k in trade (new price was $32k) And the S2000 is rated higher than the TL in trade in value.
So, with all of that said, $27.7k is way too much. To prove it, I'll sell you my TL for $25.7k and give you free lessons on how to drive a stick, if you need them. And, unless you really are adverse to a sporty car, the 6-speed with Brembo brakes and a sport suspension will be a lot more fun to drive.
I have also driven an 06 Acura TL and it is a much improved car. Better steering,handling and best of all no rattles or vibrations. It's a very nice car.
I would spend the extra money and buy the refined 06 tl.
I have heard of others complain of rattles but, interestingly enough, all have automatics. Mine, and every 6-speed I know of or have driven have had no rattles. Probably coincidence, but an interesting one.
I'd much rather just know I need to grip the steering wheel tight when I'm "testing" my 0-60 times, than to have the car automatically soften up.
Hey, if any of you with '06s have been affected by this feature, please comment!
I have a chance to buy a 02 TL type S with 40k miles the front end has been damaged and replaced,
it drives and handles great, the title is a salvage,
does anyone know any drawbacks from buying a salvaged vehicle?
it looks and drives beautiful, interior is perfect not a scratch on its pretty blue paint, at only $10,000 its the only way I can afford to buy a TL. what do you all think?
Salvage titles are really big red flags. I recommend that you put "salvage" in the keyword search on the left side of the page and read the three discussions that come up. They are all closed now, but they have some good information for you.
Let's see if anyone here can give you other pointers.
Again welcome - hope we can help!
i had a friend that bought an acura integra with a salvage title. he had an independant mechanic look at it and the mechanic gave the thumbs up. my friend now has about 210k miles on it!
good luck with the TL
P.S. Every car has it’s price, if you really like it take a gamble and offer 7K for it. It’s not worth more 7-8K.
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
Thanks for the input.
Carbuyer29
2) Not that great of a car, IMO. Underpowered (funky 5 cylinder, 176 hp/170 ft lbs.). Boxy design. Doesn't handle particularly well. Think a similar vintage Accord EX for half the price is a much better value.
3) I have a 1995 Nissan Maxima SE 5-speed w/ 190hp/205 ft.lbs, a Ward's 10 best 6-cylinder engine. Although it has 155k highway miles, it's in extremely good condition. I would take it over that TL 2.5 any day, at the same price. And on a good day, I'd be hard pressed to sell it for more than $3,500.
4) Re-read #1 - Ridiculous price. If you really love this particular car, offer them $4,500 and know that you are still overpaying by $1,000 for the Acura brand, IMO.
P.S. I have nothing against Acura - own a 2004 TL 6-speed and 2005 MDX. But this 5-cylinder Vigor suceessor was an oddball that wasn't a compelling car brand new and certainly isn't 11 years later.
I've never bought a used car before; it seems very risky to buy such a high mileage vehicle but this is really the only 2004 TL I've seen in such a low price range (around $12k). The dealer says he got it at auction.
Any advice? :confuse:
Thoughts on price? KBB/ Edmunds/ Nada are all above it but im having Black book value pulled.
Thanks in advance for feedback
The car has a bunch of surface scratches and a chipped winshield - all getting cleaned up for 250 bucks. I also spent about 15 bucks for some detailing supplies and spitshined the car over the weekend.
So 21300 for my 06.
To answer your post - 21k with new tires sounds like a good deal. I hope that includes their broker fees.