Hi Scotty. You are the best. I happened upon and purchased a one owner, fully dealer maintained, 2006 Acura TL with only 100,000 miles on it. It is mint, garage kept, and drives like new. I purchased it a few months ago from the Acura dealer from which it was first purchased and maintained, and did all the necessary maintenance, such as timing belt service and trans fluid. Two questions. Prior owner never changed the automatic trans fluid, so I did it at 100,000 miles. Do I have to worry about trans? Second, you often talk about old cars having issues no matter how well they were maintained. What are your thoughts about a 19 year old Acura? Can I be confident in its longevity if I keep maintaining it? Thanks.
Can I be confident in its longevity if I keep maintaining it?
It's already achieved longevity, being nearly 2 decades old, even if it died tomorrow. How much longer are you expecting to get out of it?
You have a shot at the car lasting for more years of course but an increasing number of problems as the car ages past the 20-year mark is to be expected despite the relatively low mileage. Rubber parts will deteriorate due to age. Air conditioning, sensors, electronics, brakes, suspension, engine and transmission mounts, wheel bearings, fuel system, cooling system, etc. will require attention over time even if the engine and transmission remain in good condition. (The trans fluid having never been changed prior to your ownership is certainly not encouraging. Honda transmissions of that era were pretty weak.)
It can be done. My own daily driver is hitting 28 years old and has very high mileage, but I do my own repairs so any time something goes wrong I fix it myself. It would be a lot less economically feasible if I had to run to a mechanic every time some little thing went wrong.
You can get an idea of problem areas for that model here:
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Acura/TL/2006/
