Should I buy a higher mileage Honda Element?

Juniper Monkeys

New member
I'm really concerned about the miles though. Any opinions?

I just bought an '05 EX AWD with 167k from folks who had always had their Element serviced at a dealer and kept records, so I thought I'd chime in and tell you what this Element needed between 110k and the miles it has now. Obviously they're not going to be the same, but maybe this can help you guesstimate :) All this is aside from the scheduled maintenance.

- New struts at 120k. It appears they did the brake rotors as well.
- Wheel bearing (L/F) at 143k.
- Starter motor at 151k.
- Door speaker replaced at 153k.

FWIW, I'm extremely happy with the high-mileage Element. This one had a pretty easy life (just a Sacramento -> SF freeway commute), but it doesn't feel old or worn at all. In retrospect, I wouldn't worry about 112k.
 

madmax718

Explorer
Honda has some damn good build quality.

I like the element as well. the whole folding seat business makes me interested.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
I do it all the time.

-Be honest.
-Take cash or a cashiers check at the bank before the deal is done.
-Don't make the ad too long: people won't read it all.
-Ask $2,000 more than you want. You'll either get what you want or more. Worst case, really close to what you want.
-If you have low interest, take the first reasonable offer.
-Don't seem like you need to sell it. Never give the buyer the upper hand.

Just to add: Make sure you have pictures and make sure they're good pictures. I'm astonished at how many people try to sell cars on CL with no picture and then they write something like "I don't have a camera" or "pics available on request."

:rolleyes: I sometimes feel like emailing them and saying "hey, genius, you know you are competing against every other CL seller out there? Put a picture up and make sure it's a good one. You say you don't have a camera? Geez, do you have a phone, they ALL have cameras now!"

But in reality what I do is just go on to the next ad. Remember, as I said above, you're in competition. So before you even start constructing your ad, scan the ads for similar vehicles. See what others are asking for a vehicle of the same make/model/year.

Even worse are the people who put a crappy or tiny picture (like a 75x75 pixel avatar sized picture.) What the hell am I supposed to do with that?

And while I agree you don't need to write a novel, putting too little information on the ad also means people will just ignore it. At the very least make sure you indicate make, model, year, trim level, mileage, engine and transmission type (this last one is very important because there are some people like me who are seeking a specific transmission.) If there's anything wrong, be up front about it. And if your ad has been up for a while and not gotten any responses, drop your price by $500 or so and see what happens.

Also, know how to spot scams and con artists, and if anybody asks "will you take payments?" (trust me, someone will ask, I guarantee it) say "I'm not the bank, so no, I will not take payments."
 
My truck has now been on Craigslist for a week, and I haven't got a single response. It's got a nice little writeup, and lot's of pictures. I've even lowered the price twice. I don't get it.
 

Kaisen

Explorer
My truck has now been on Craigslist for a week, and I haven't got a single response. It's got a nice little writeup, and lot's of pictures. I've even lowered the price twice. I don't get it.

I you're brave, send us the link and allow us to give you some feedback
 

Mrknowitall

Adventurer
In what world is 114k high miles? this is not a 80's Suzuki, its a bloody modern Honda. Until recently we had 3 of them in my wife's family. The miles shouldn't worry you one bit- the real question is if an Element is right for you.
 

pugslyyy

Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
My truck has now been on Craigslist for a week, and I haven't got a single response. It's got a nice little writeup, and lot's of pictures. I've even lowered the price twice. I don't get it.

This one, right? http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/cto/3947163611.html If so it's a good looking truck!

Whenever I search for something on craigslist and don't see a picture, I usually never even click the link. My thoughts - consider adding 'diesel' to the title, and don't be so gloomy/tough guy in the description! :)

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I believe you are where you need to be on price (or at least the ask isn't scaring folks off) - low retail on manheim is $12k.

By far the biggest issue I see is that there are people out there that would love a solid & reliable 2005 F250 diesel crew cab as a work truck, etc... and there are folks out there with $11,500 cash... but probably not a huge number of folks with $11,000 cash and a desire to own a 2005 F250.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Just a few suggestions from an experienced Craigslister (both buying and selling):

1. Make sure the word "diesel" is somewhere in the ad. That way anybody keyword searching for a diesel will find it. I know the title says "powerstroke" but, again, think about someone who might be searching for any diesel, not just a Ford.

2. No need to apologize for it not being show quality or having a few dents and dings. Stained driver's armrest and seat? Unless it's a really awful, stinky stain, just omit that. Nobody expeces a 9 year old truck to be pristine. Ditto for the old shell and the tires. Just leave it out (now, if it has NEW tires, you definitely want to feature that. But if it has old tires, so what? No reasonable person expects you to put new tires on a vehicle you intend to sell.)

3. Accentuate the positive. Put all the good stuff first, and note the negatives underneath.

Finally, the overall tone is negative, angry and defensive. All of the following would be red flags for me as a buyer:

"if that's what you want stop reading and look elsewhere"
"No tire kickers or joy riders. Only test drives for serious buyers."
"Will not negotiate period."
"don't ask questions that are answered here please."

When you write things like that, what you're doing is sending a very clear message to any potential buyer that "I am a difficult person to work with."

Why would you do that? Do you want to sell the truck or not? :confused:

What you have to keep in mind is that you may think your truck is the greatest one out there, and it may be.

But from my perspective as a buyer, yours is just one of a hundred out there, and when I pull up that list of a hundred vehicles, the first thing I'm going to do is to look for reasons to eliminate some of them from the list.

So the most important thing to do when writing an ad is: Don't give people a reason to cut you from the list.

No picture/crappy picture? Cut.
Incomplete description (no year, no miles, no listing of what engine/tranny it has)? Cut.
Won't negotiate? Cut.
Bad attitude? Cut.

As the old saying goes, you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. You may be a cranky, irascible old fart, but it's always better to let the buyer find that out in person ;)
 

ih8philly

Adventurer
Just a few suggestions from an experienced Craigslister (both buying and selling):

1. Make sure the word "diesel" is somewhere in the ad. That way anybody keyword searching for a diesel will find it. I know the title says "powerstroke" but, again, think about someone who might be searching for any diesel, not just a Ford.

2. No need to apologize for it not being show quality or having a few dents and dings. Stained driver's armrest and seat? Unless it's a really awful, stinky stain, just omit that. Nobody expeces a 9 year old truck to be pristine. Ditto for the old shell and the tires. Just leave it out (now, if it has NEW tires, you definitely want to feature that. But if it has old tires, so what? No reasonable person expects you to put new tires on a vehicle you intend to sell.)

3. Accentuate the positive. Put all the good stuff first, and note the negatives underneath.

Finally, the overall tone is negative, angry and defensive. All of the following would be red flags for me as a buyer:

"if that's what you want stop reading and look elsewhere"
"No tire kickers or joy riders. Only test drives for serious buyers."
"Will not negotiate period."
"don't ask questions that are answered here please."

When you write things like that, what you're doing is sending a very clear message to any potential buyer that "I am a difficult person to work with."

Why would you do that? Do you want to sell the truck or not? :confused:

What you have to keep in mind is that you may think your truck is the greatest one out there, and it may be.

But from my perspective as a buyer, yours is just one of a hundred out there, and when I pull up that list of a hundred vehicles, the first thing I'm going to do is to look for reasons to eliminate some of them from the list.

So the most important thing to do when writing an ad is: Don't give people a reason to cut you from the list.

No picture/crappy picture? Cut.
Incomplete description (no year, no miles, no listing of what engine/tranny it has)? Cut.
Won't negotiate? Cut.
Bad attitude? Cut.

As the old saying goes, you get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. You may be a cranky, irascible old fart, but it's always better to let the buyer find that out in person ;)

This is seriously great advice. I was thinking the same thing with regards to the overall tone of the ad. This level of negativity would make me skip contacting you about the vehicle.
 

ChrisKul

New member
A guy who owns a business two doors down from mine has an Element with over 400,000 miles on it. We chat occasionally since we bought one as a shop vehicle and then I bought it from the company to use as my primary car. He claims to have had very little trouble over that 400,000 miles, but finally bought another used one a few weeks ago because realized it was getting "a little old". Two great things about an Element: you can just roll a bicycle, or two, into the back. And they have 6' of flat floor to sleep on.
 

p nut

butter
A guy who owns a business two doors down from mine has an Element with over 400,000 miles on it. We chat occasionally since we bought one as a shop vehicle and then I bought it from the company to use as my primary car. He claims to have had very little trouble over that 400,000 miles, but finally bought another used one a few weeks ago because realized it was getting "a little old". Two great things about an Element: you can just roll a bicycle, or two, into the back. And they have 6' of flat floor to sleep on.

Definitely cool vehicles. Too bad Honda killed it. Wish they got a bit better MPG as well.
 

DANIELB2008

New member
HONDA ELEMENT

Did you buy that 2007 Element? How did it work out for you?

I am debating between a 2005 with 128K or a 2008 at 185K. Hmmmm

I've been looking for a 2007 or newer Honda Element for a while, but they never pop up in my area. Finally a 2007 EX AWD model shows up, but it's got 112k miles and the dealership wants nearly $13k for it. The Carfax shows that it's been serviced pretty regularly by the dealer who's selling it. I'm really concerned about the miles though. Any opinions?

I have asked on ElementOwnersClub.com, but it seems kind of dead.
 

pugslyyy

Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
We have a 2008 Element, still under 100k miles. It is a great vehicle. The only issue I'm having is the front suspension is getting pretty bad, so next project may be to tune it up a little bit.

At the end of the day they are slightly funky looking Hondas. Change the oil and drive them. Wind noise and mileage aren't great, because it has the aerodynamics of an oversized toaster. Great little cars.
 

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