#dadcar 2005 Acura TL 6 speed

Just got it this morning. 194,000 miles. Needs some attention but I got it for  $3,700.

Our son is almost 2 and my EP3 (02 Civic Si) just doesn't work anymore. We have a CRV but it's nice to be able to take something a bit more exciting with all of us.

I'd looked at TLs and TSXs a while back and had trouble finding one with 3 pedals. Kept the EP3 through last year and made due with my truck when I needed to bring him.

Thought about Subarus and BMWs and other options but could never really get on board with the idea.

Mazdeuce's Traccord thread got me thinking about 6/6 Accord sedans and I did some hunting. Found a nice example a couple states away at a small dealership and made a few calls.

Planned to go to look at that this morning.

Had the TL in the shop for a state inspection on Thursday and the customer mentioned he might sell it at some point this summer. I asked him to let me know when he came up with a price in case the Accord didn't work out. Didn't expect to hear back from him for a while.

He called the shop Friday morning and said  $3900 and that he was ready to go now. Told him I would be in touch Monday if the Accord fell through.

Talked to myself, my techs and my wife and basically decided I wanted the TL. Called customer back and asked if I could come see it today.

Looked it over and drove it and made an offer. We settled on $3,700 And he drove it to my house.

I've got a number of planned mods in my head already but I'm going to (try to) be disciplined and make the repairs first.

Rust repair, paint correction and timing belt are at the top of the list for starters.

Rust spots. Would have preferred a rust free car obviously but those aren't too bad. Hoping a friend can take care of them and the paint correction soon.

Very Nice. LSD for the win.

For a 13 year old Maine car that rust is better than I expected and also.. that's a heck of a deal... 

I went to college in Maine. 

Congrats on the purchase! 

Thanks guys. Feeling pretty good about the purchase. Hope the bodywork doesn't get too extensive. Certainly not bad for the age. A little spoiled with my current Si that is a 10/10.

I drove a month's worth of miles one week in a similar, manual trans TL. I came away very impressed. 

solfly said:

Rust spots. Would have preferred a rust free car obviously but those aren't too bad. Hoping a friend can take care of them and the paint correction soon.

Have your friend roll the liners while they’re in there, so you can fit all the tires?

Also, these tend to like fresh MTF, and some people swear by a certain variety of GM synchromesh fluid.

Is this just a “fun mess with cars” thing, or autoX (now in HS?), or will it see some track duty?

John Welsh said:

I drove a month's worth of miles one week in a similar, manual trans TL. I came away very impressed. 

I was pretty impressed on my test drive. I had forgotten about torque steer!

sleepyhead the buffalo said:

solfly said:

Rust spots. Would have preferred a rust free car obviously but those aren't too bad. Hoping a friend can take care of them and the paint correction soon.

Have your friend roll the liners while they’re in there, so you can fit all the tires?

Also, these tend to like fresh MTF, and some people swear by a certain variety of GM synchromesh fluid.

Is this just a “fun mess with cars” thing, or autoX (now in HS?), or will it see some track duty?

May see about rolling but there's quite a bit of room for rubber from what I'm reading.

Definitely going over the fluids. Amsoil Syncromesh is great in Honda transmissions.

Probably not going to auto x or track this. See avatar.

I am going to subscribe to this thread. I also purchased an 05 Six Speed TL with Nav so this is relevant to my interests.  I purchase mine with 152k for $2500. (I work at CarMax so we get good deals on cars that go to auction)  I have some rust in my LR quarter panel but overall the car is nice.  It is black so paint correction is in the future. They truly are fun cars to drive.

In reply to huggybear626 :

Nice. I was kinda hoping for Nav too but it wasn't a deal breaker. 

I have a 2007 TL 3.2... I hate to say... The trans issue, Acura fixed in the 07's and later.

Oooh... The Nav is connected to the AC controls... So if it goes out u have no AC

Nice find! I own a unicorn, a Type-S 6-speed! Love these cars, but mine is actually a bit of a lemon (previous owner didn't take care of it blah blah blah). Excited to follow along on the mods you do as mine is currently unmoded.

In reply to Rashodez :

Not at all. When I bought my car the nav was inop but the ac controls worked fine.  There is a second screen on top for those functions 

Ordered hood struts from Amazon. $13.99.

Here are some poor quality pictures I took:

The List:

1. Rust repair/Paint correction

2. Timing belt/tune up/fluids

3. Headlight/headlights (has a new Depo on the left and faded original on the right, inclined to get a Depo for the pass side)

4. pass mirror glass (seperating)

5. MODS!

For #3, you're going to want to take the Depo light and open it up, throw away everything but the front lens. Then, open your OEM one and swap the lens on (it will fit).  The TL xenon projectors are INCREDIBLE, but the Depo will be a cheap and poor attempt, and lighting pattern and output will suffer.

Or, just polish the lens and finish it with a 2k clear coat.

Honda or Amsoil sincro mesh is gold for thoes transmissions. 

solfly said:

In reply to huggybear626 :

Nice. I was kinda hoping for Nav too but it wasn't a deal breaker. 

I think the nav systems from 2005 are all so antiquated at this point that you're not missing out on anything. Unless it adds other features that you'd want.

In reply to sobe_death :

thanks, I'd love to find a set of decent used ones I can refinish, got some feelers out

Professor_Brap said:

Honda or Amsoil sincro mesh is gold for thoes transmissions. 

I'll use Amsoil Syncro Mesh, I always have in my Hondas.

dculberson said:

solfly said:

In reply to huggybear626 :

Nice. I was kinda hoping for Nav too but it wasn't a deal breaker. 

I think the nav systems from 2005 are all so antiquated at this point that you're not missing out on anything. Unless it adds other features that you'd want.

Very true. The 8 speaker stereo is pretty sweet and I can get a dongle (heh) that adds bluetooth connectivity, so I'm likely going that route. Plus Google Maps is better than any native GPS I've used. The one in my wife's 07 CRV is decent if not somewhat innaccurate.