Automotive ADD strikes again: I bought this about a year and a half ago, poured money into it fixing everything because I'm picky, then got bored and bought a Volkswagen to play with.
Car is located in Ormond Beach, Florida. Clean paper FL title in my name. The Carfax was spotless when I bought it and showed southern ownership history (I did not want one from the rust belt) and it hasn't been in any accidents since, but feel free to pull your preferred flavor of history report with the VIN 5J6YH28625L029712.
This is a 2005 Honda Element EX AWD Automatic. EX is the highest trim, and means it gets some niceties like side airbags and a subwoofer under the dash. I originally searched for one with a manual transmission, but after driving a stick on the highway I realized the automatic was geared way better for a daily driver.
A gallery with 63 photos is here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dp4f4560cmhhf7x/AABERwpWYgwls67NNZlYif4pa?dl=0
The odometer shows 203,907 miles, which means I've put about 10,000 miles on it myself.
Modifications: Acura TL 17" wheels with Continental tires, trailer hitch and wiring installed correctly, and a great stereo with CarPlay and a backup camera. Seriously--this thing holds its own against the new Lexus press cars we get and I already miss the giant stereo when I'm driving the VW. Everything is wired correctly and you can park this for weeks at a time without the battery running dead.
Maintenance performed after purchase:
Shocks, springs, top hats, OEM front axles, OEM drivetrain mounts, front suspension control arms, bushings, inner and outer tie-rods, valve adjustment, air filter, rear differential fluid, transmission fluid and in-line filter, power steering line replacement, windshield, driver's seat mount bushings (common Element wear item), rear differential bushings, door checks, new battery, replaced starter with used OEM (aftermarket ones are crap), re-did stereo installation to clean up wiring, replaced broken latch on overhead console.
Accessories included:
Owner's manual, warranty guide, stereo manual, three keys, spare tire/tools, OEM sunroof storage bag, custom windshield shade, Covercraft front seat covers which I removed to photograph the seats, then washed and put in the trunk for you.
Current issues:
Small chip on the windshield (happened three days after installation, seriously). Not noticeable unless I point it out. Safelite came out and squirted some resin in to stabilize it and it hasn't moved in 1.5 years. No photo because I couldn't get it to show up in one (it's very small).
Weeps a little bit of oil. Not enough to use oil between changes or to leave marks on the driveway, but it's not as dry under the hood as it would be brand new.
Occasionally when I put my face right behind the exhaust pipe, I'll get a whiff that I can only describe as "bad catalytic converter." Car has no CEL or codes and drives fine, so either I'm imagining it or it's just a reality of the catalyst having 203,000 miles on it.
The paint is original, which is good and bad: It's thin on the roof and there are some noticeable touch-up marks on the hood (see photos). The car also has the dents and dings you'd expect from a 17-year-old Honda. It's a five-footer, and I tried to document that as well as I could in the photos.
Summary:
Overall, this is a very nice 17-year-old car that I wouldn't hesitate to drive to Alaska tomorrow. Everything works and it has no major issues. If you want an all-wheel-drive Element, you're going to have to work very hard (like I did) to find one this clean underneath. I've never had to write this in a for-sale ad before, but I should also say that the interior in this Element is very clean and doesn't smell. For some reason, every other one I looked at looked and smelled like a family of possums had been living in it for 10 years.
Long Distance Buyers:
I don't mind facilitating a long-distance transaction. I had good luck selling my van to Pete Gossett in Mississippi and my LEAF to Sleepyhead in DC, and would much rather deal with a GRMer far away than a Craigslist idiot locally. I live an hour from MCO and 20 minutes from DAB, and don't mind picking you up at either airport. And I also don't mind storing this for up to a few months, and can probably even store it inside most of the time, but would ask for a healthy deposit and a bill of sale laying out the terms/timeline before I mark it sold.
Price:
I'm asking $6900. Sorry, but I'm not interested in any trades.
Email is the best way to contact me--my address is tom@ this website.
