found one of those “too good to be true” cars online so I went to check out the dealership and sure enough she exists. One owner, garage kept, 17,000 miles. Car is in perfect shape. That being said, dealership wants 16k for the vehicle. I know that sounds expensive for a 20+ year old car but it sounds cheap for an Acura with 17k miles. I can assure you the car drives great, has no rust, and all components are in good working order. With the age of the vehicle, would there be any additional concerns to take into consideration before buying?
Yes, that it's at a dealership.
I think I found the car, is it located in Lynchburg, VA? The mileage and price match your approximate numbers above?
If so, I noticed a few things about the vehicle.
From the pictures, the car shows well. The headlights are the original design and are clear.
The normal wear areas that I could see in the pictures look correct for the mileage.
I could not see the gas and brake pedals clearly. If the mileage is correct, there should be zero wear on them.
The leather has a bit of wrinkling in them, but that very well may be normal. There was no visible wear that I could see.
Two things caught my eye.
The floor mat carpeting had a bit more wear than I thought it would have.
The CARFAX provided by the dealer is showing something odd time spans.
Between 06/11/15 and 06/30/20 the car was only driven 1,096 miles. The gasoline in the tank had to of gone bad. Why did it fail the safety inspection on 06/14/19? Why was the vehicle reported as purchased on 12/30/20 by the Virginia Motor Vehicle Dept.?
Why was the new title issued on 03/10/21?
Why was the vehicle offered for sale on 11/30/21, 8 months later?
I don't understand what was going on with the vehicle for almost 1 year.
CARFAXs can also be 'doctored' by dealerships, even with the guarantee.
Also, if you are serious about the car you need to have a qualified mechanic go through it, top to bottom. Paint thickness should be checked etc.
I wouldn't pay anywhere near that for it regardless of condition. It is an ancient TL and, while worth more than others due to mileage IF it can be verified, they shouldn't be selling at anywhere near that.
Thanks for the responses. @autodiy, would this substantially impact the long term performance of the vehicle?
@mod man what do you think would be a reasonable offer for the vehicle?
Possibly yes, it would depend on what is not being presented.
You just don't know what exactly happened to the car during those long periods of time.
Was it flooded, did someone leave a window down in a rainstorm, was there hail damage and the car was repainted etc.
I also find it odd that a used car only dealership came into possession of the vehicle for sale.
Did the original owner trade it in on another used car? Did the original owner really just sell it outright to a used car dealership?
Basically, I am doubting the validity of what is being presented by the dealer. However, I am just guessing here.