Acura TL

So I realize a lot of you are probably very confused by the title, so let me explain. We have to go back to 2004. I was a little confused high school kid, and I liked cars but I wasn't very knowledgeable about them. One day I saw a brand new Acura TL coming down the street and it was love at first site. I thought that car was just beautiful looking.

And from there I read all about it. I also read about other cars in general and it really jump started my interest in cars. In 2006 I got my first car, An Acura TL..... 2000. My parents told me they'd meet me dollar for dollar in getting me a car. I had $6,000 at the time so a 3rd generation was way out of my price range. It was truly a tank of a car. I kept driving because it gave me very little issues, and never once had issues with transmission. Fast forward to January of 2019 I decide it's finally time to move on and I want the car that made me fall in love with cars.

So I start looking, and you'd be amazed at the amount of people that have trashed them or want $15,000 because it has a manual. I looked at car after car. Some of them the 04-06 with a manual, and some with the 07-08 Type S with a manual.

Fast forward to today (a year later), I finally find one in good shape and near me. It's an 06 model with Navigation and a 6 speed. It only has 66k and it's a one owner model with all 3 keys. The timing belt has also been done. You could tell it was definitely a garage kept car. It was finally time to pull the trigger and sell my old TL now with 243k miles.

So how is it? I love it. I still think even today it's such a beautiful car and the interior looks great. It has that old school connected steering feeling that can be harder to find in new cars. It has a bunch of stuff my last TL didn't have, like auto locks, a trip computer, memory seats. etc.

Is it perfect? No. You can tell the technology is dated because it's still an older car. There's some small scratches on it, but nothing major. I still don't have push button start either. And like all Acura models from this era the Bluetooth doesn't work anymore.

Overall, I just love driving it though. The clutch still feels great and everything minus the Bluetooth works in the car as its should. My friends who aren't car people are always shocked when I tell them the year. I've gotten "there's no way, that car looks like at least a 2014."

I took some photos of the car at a parking deck and I am admittedly not a photographer. Some of these photos I took, but I am using some of the dealers, and yes I did make sure they didn't put on their license plate logo. It's been raining here so they aren't the best photos, but hopefully soon I can do a full detail.

All the maintenance is up to date from what I can see. However, I still plan on doing transmission, clutch and brake fluid soon. The previous owner left his home address and in the navigation system and his house is a 5,500 square foot house on 1.5 acres on the golf course, so I am guessing he had the money to take car of it has it should, and it definitely shows. Take care of your cars and they'll go a long way!

I hope everyone else here can one day get their realistic dream cars! It's really great experience. Mine took awhile even though it's a family sedan, but it was worth it to find a clean one.

We took it to my local shop, which is pretty highly rated, and asked to have the transmission serviced. They did the BG flush (and charged us $300) but now I'm reading that that was a really big mistake?

It was in pretty good shape (shifting okay, perhaps a little lurchy in 3rd and 4th) and had nice red fluid. We think it was serviced 20k miles ago when she got it. 87k on a 3.2liter. It seems to run even smoother now after the service.

But.... The shop seemed to think it was okay to do. Everyone else I'm reading says lol your transmission is gonna die. I'm driving this car from DC to Florida and back in a week. I'm getting pretty nervous.

Wat do? Think it's okay? What can I do about it?

EDIT: post trip message to someone in the thread that asked me to tell how it went:

Just got back tonight. 2084 miles. Averaging 31mpg with 62mph average speed. 32.09 hours behind the wheel.

She was a champ. Transmission ran (and runs) strong. For some reason, way out on Amelia Island, it threw a "tighten gas cap" message at me that disappeared the next morning and has not returned. We were making about 320 miles between fill ups but never went below a quarter tank.

We went to KSC. I got to watch a Falcon 9 rocket launch and then land again from the visitor center. My first live launch ever. So cool. The beaches were stunning. South of the Border was up and running and even a little crowded. My sister found a new object of worship in Pedro and now claims that Pedro smiles over her and guides her life. I pointed out all the not-entirely-threatening billboards claiming it to be Jesus's country but she brushed him off and "the impudent little woodchuck imposter" that was her assessment of the one Buc-ees we visited (in Daytona Beach)

It was a good trip, and I want to thank you guys for helping me out with the difference between a purge and an exchange, and the vagries of BG fluid use in Hondas (still a hot topic to be sure)