Potential 05 TSX buyer - Couple Questions. *Noob*

[ice512]

I'm about to buy my first car and some 2005 TSX has caught my eyes. I havent actually went into any dealerships yet becuase I would like to do more research online first. The ones I've been seeing on Trader are asking $19k+tax with approx 60-80k on them. The ones that are not certified from Acura dealers are 1.5-2k cheaper.
So my questions would be...

1. Are TSX reliable cars at that mileage considering I'll be driving it for 5 more years at least?

2. Is the $2k extra from Acura dealers worth it? Or is the certified program just some useless BS?

3. How much realistically should I be paying OTD for a 2005 model?

4. *NEW* How willing are dealers to show previous service records? Both Acura/3rd party dealers.

Any advice/input be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance !!

[.::miLan]

Originally Posted by ice512

1. Are TSX reliable cars at that mileage considering I'll be driving it for 5 more years at least?

It's a Honda - Japanese build quality - so the answer is yes. It is a reliable car. Small things, such as interior bulbs burning out (particularly in switches) and power door lock actuators failing are somewhat common (more so in 2004 models), but if you take good care of the car, you will likely not have any major mechanical issues. That being said, make sure the person who owned it before you kept the service records up to par - meaning, serviced on time, etc.

2. Is the $2k extra from Acura dealers worth it? Or is the certified program just some useless BS?

This all depends on the dealer. I shelled out the extra coin and purchased my TSX from an Acura stealership. They didn't abide by the policy of their Certified Program - i.e., tires had less than 60%, rear rotors were warped, and the pads had less than half of their life left. If you do purchase from a dealer and pay a bit extra for this supposed peace of mind, make sure you don't accept delivery of the car before you are fully content with everything - and I mean every little thing.

3. How much realistically should I be paying OTD for a 2005 model?

At about this time last year, I paid $21k taxes included for a 2004. That's about the most I would pay for a TSX with around 80k on the odometer from an Acura dealer. The car was listed for $21,995, then $20,995. I managed to talk them down to $21k taxes included, with the extended warranty (power train) to 160k.



Any advice/input be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance !!

Good luck.

[KiX]

I picked up my '05 over a year ago and the only issue I have is the bottom cushion on my driverside heated seat doesn't seem to work, the coil must've snapped somewhere.. something you might wanna test before picking up the car. Everything else on the car seems pretty reliable.

The extra $2K you pay is pretty much for the warrantee that comes with buying a used Acura from the dealership.

I picked up my '05 for $19K from a used car dealer, not Acura. They were great guys and did everything I asked them to. Gave me new tires, resprayed the front bumper that had a scuff on it (color match was spot on), painted brake calipers grey so they look brand new, and some other stuff.

[ice512]

Originally Posted by KiX

I picked up my '05 over a year ago and the only issue I have is the bottom cushion on my driverside heated seat doesn't seem to work, the coil must've snapped somewhere.. something you might wanna test before picking up the car. Everything else on the car seems pretty reliable.

The extra $2K you pay is pretty much for the warrantee that comes with buying a used Acura from the dealership.

I picked up my '05 for $19K from a used car dealer, not Acura. They were great guys and did everything I asked them to. Gave me new tires, resprayed the front bumper that had a scuff on it (color match was spot on), painted brake calipers grey so they look brand new, and some other stuff.

mind sharing or PMing which dealer was it? hard to find reliable usedcar delaers these days.

[ice512]

Originally Posted by .::miLan

Good luck.

Thanks ! I got the same advice from a friend who works at Honda about the certified program was a bunch of BS too...the dealer will make up shit to not cover ur ass..
Which dealer did you get it from so I know who to avoid/pay extra attention to

[KiX]

Originally Posted by ice512

mind sharing or PMing which dealer was it? hard to find reliable usedcar delaers these days.

City South Fine Cars
2760 Dufferin Street,
Toronto, Ontario
Tel. 416. 787. 850

They have a website that you can browse through their inventory. It's a family run business, I asked to have the car checked at my mechanic's shop and they brought it there for inspecting.

[scratchieepants]

Acura Certified Program is a bunch of balls, you're better off having a mechanic friend and a Carproof report handy and buy it from a non Acura dealer.

Odds are the non Acura dealer will be just as cheap with making your car road ready, so why pay more from an Acura stealership? I learned my lesson, next used car with a reliable pedigree will not come from the manufacturer's stealership.

IIRC I paid about $21K for my 04 with 88K last August at Acura of Woodbine (seemed like par for the course for Acura Certified pre-owned in the GTA). 05's with similar or less mileage were going for about the same at non Acura dealers.

[EscaBoi]

Originally Posted by ice512

I'm about to buy my first car and some 2005 TSX has caught my eyes. I havent actually went into any dealerships yet becuase I would like to do more research online first. The ones I've been seeing on Trader are asking $19k+tax with approx 60-80k on them. The ones that are not certified from Acura dealers are 1.5-2k cheaper.
So my questions would be...

1. Are TSX reliable cars at that mileage considering I'll be driving it for 5 more years at least?

2. Is the $2k extra from Acura dealers worth it? Or is the certified program just some useless BS?

3. How much realistically should I be paying OTD for a 2005 model?

4. *NEW* How willing are dealers to show previous service records? Both Acura/3rd party dealers.

Any advice/input be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance !!

1. As mentioned above, it's a Honda and will last a lifetime. Also it's running on a timing chain not a belt so you won't have to change it for the life of the car. Most owners already have over 200,000km on their car and it's still running smooth, I haven't seen them complain about anything out of the ordinary or the motor crapping out.

2. Ultimately that's up to you. I purchased my 05 from an Acura dealer because I wanted that *peace of mind*, but in the end I realized all you need a a good and reliable mechanic to check out the car.

3. I paid just under $23k for my 05 w/Navi last year in April, I got lucky as most 05's i was looking at were asking $25k without Navi (this was at Acura dealerships). Looking at the 05's this year I would say they are on avg $19k. If you have the cash, I would also suggest to buy privately and save yourself on the $2-3k mark up from buying from a dealer and save on the GST.

4. For the service records, you just gotta ask and if they have them and are willing, then that's great, if not oh well. No matter what, I would say get a mechanic to take a look at the car, even if it costs you $100 or $200 it's worth it in the end, better than getting a lemon and going broke with the repairs.

Acura Downtown (where I got my TSX) disclosed the service records to me and they matched the records on CarFax so I was pretty happy with that. The records showed that the door actuator was fixed, which was a common problem among our cars.

Finally, as mentioned above, make sure before you get the keys you inspect everything fully. Even offer to take it for a quick spin around the block with an associate so that everything is ok. If there are any issues, make sure you discuss it and get them to write it down on paper so that you can come back in the future if something happens.

Good luck and happy hunting.

[blackout5599]

I opted to buy mine from an Acura dealer. I had a hard time finding an '06 6MT and since my family purchased our RSX and CSX from Acura East, the guy we deal with just gave me a call when it came in. Mine was not part of the certified pre-owned program but everything was replaced...new rotors/pads, new tires, fixed dents, new windshield. I paid $20,500+taxes and the car is Black/Black (what I wanted), 6MT (wanted ), non-navi (not a huge deal), 58k km, lowered (previous owner did at Acura), and all maintenances were done as well as a recall at this Acura dealership (got amazingly full history).

The information you need has been posted, just wanted to let you know on my experience on price, etc. I have never been comfortable with the private sale route, but that's me...would rather have dealt with a dealership of some sort.

[jawlee]

I just got my 05 with navi at acura of north toronto in May.
Like everyone says, the certified program is a POS. I recently just hit about 8000 km about 2 weeks ago, I went for an oil change this weekend and asked to change rotors and pads as well since the car was shaking when I braked.

Turns out my engine oil was pretty much black. Rotors were machined numerous times, they were so thin. My pads were the worst, if I drove it a week more, it'd hit the indicator.

I bought it with extended warranty bumper to bumper though came out to 26k. It did help a little, I had a few problems that needed fixing and it's all covered.

[ice512]

Thankyou all for the replies they have been EXTREMELY helpful, definitely gave me a much better insight.

To jawlee: Why didn't you ask them to get you new pads and rotors as part of the deal? And getting a bumper to bumper warranty seems pretty attractive to me, how much did it cost you and how long is it for if you dont mind sharing.

[jawlee]

Originally Posted by ice512

Thankyou all for the replies they have been EXTREMELY helpful, definitely gave me a much better insight.

To jawlee: Why didn't you ask them to get you new pads and rotors as part of the deal? And getting a bumper to bumper warranty seems pretty attractive to me, how much did it cost you and how long is it for if you dont mind sharing.

I took their word for it... and I've been reading on the forums and most people say the stock rotors are crap. Some of them warp within weeks. Knowing how I'm always unlucky, I was like damn i must've got the sh** end of the stick. Most of the time, they'll just say it's wear and tear and it's not covered. So yea I just went ahead and bought aftermarkets.

My extended bumper to bumper cost me quite a bit of money, but I needed that peace of mind. It was about 2.5k 3 years 160k. My car was at 66k km when i bought it so i'd say i'd be able to take full use of it. *that's if I can resist modding* I bought it mainly for the Navi system. I heard if anything breaks, it's pretty much a replacement and that'll cost me a few grand.

[ians]

Originally Posted by jawlee

I took their word for it... and I've been reading on the forums and most people say the stock rotors are crap. Some of them warp within weeks. Knowing how I'm always unlucky, I was like damn i must've got the sh** end of the stick. Most of the time, they'll just say it's wear and tear and it's not covered. So yea I just went ahead and bought aftermarkets.

My extended bumper to bumper cost me quite a bit of money, but I needed that peace of mind. It was about 2.5k 3 years 160k. My car was at 66k km when i bought it so i'd say i'd be able to take full use of it. *that's if I can resist modding* I bought it mainly for the Navi system. I heard if anything breaks, it's pretty much a replacement and that'll cost me a few grand.

Read the fine print, even Acura factory extented warranty is not cover the navi and even the head unit

[scratchieepants]

Originally Posted by ians

Read the fine print, even Acura factory extented warranty is not cover the navi and even the head unit

The EW basically only covers things that Honda's are not known to be fail at. So you may have dumped a few hundred bucks down the toilet like me lmao.

[blackout5599]

Originally Posted by scratchieepants

The EW basically only covers things that Honda's are not known to be fail at. So you may have dumped a few hundred bucks down the toilet like me lmao.

I also got the extended warranty for peace of mind I suppose. I got the 7 years/160k and they gave it to me at...$1200 I think it was, list was about $1900.