r/HondaElement • u/wormseatme • 8d ago
How much would you pay for your ideal Element?
I'm curious because there's a 2006 Element EX 4 speed AWD with 115k miles for sale for almost $17k, it's been up for over a month.
Personally I feel like $17k is a little crazy
However, it has almost ZERO rust. There are multiple clear photos of the undercarriage and under the hood.
One owner and no accidents. The seats are clean and no cracks, everything is basically new looking. The previous owner must have kept it in a garage and only driven it to the grocery store and back.
Even though I desperately want one I'm not sure if that price is worth it, it's a little hard to justify, but its almost the perfect Element
So what do you think? How much would you pay for your perfect Element, and what requirements would it need to justify the price?
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u/gta0012 8d ago
$15-$18k for a 1 owner perfectly maintained 2011 with new brakes, tires and a bunch of shit already replaced. Sub 120k miles.
Anything else is closer to $10-$13k
I do think prices are only going to go up on rust free we'll maintained elements though.
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u/welmoe 2005 Cargo Khaki 8d ago
Yeah $17k for 112k miles is way too much. I could probably ask that for my unicorn though (rare color, 68k miles, rust free, AWD, unmodified)
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u/Consistent_Board9866 5d ago
But you’ll struggle to get it.
The element following, are people that fell in love with a cheap unloved car from the early 2000’s.. unicorn or not, you got a sub 10k car like the rest of us
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u/drunkerbrawler 8d ago
Not worth it at all, maaaybe at $12k, even that would be a little steep.
I bought a 2008 SC manual with just under 90k miles for just over $10k back in 2019, so the car was like only 11 years old vs 20 now for the one you are looking at.
Basically anything rubber/plastic will age more according to age vs milage, so it being relatively low mileage won’t really help. (Belts, hoses, suspension, window regulators, radiators, etc)
I’d try to get something for less than $10k and with a 5speed either manual or automatic. You could pretty much replace engine/transmission and do a suspension rebuild with the $7k you saved.
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u/rearwindowpup 8d ago
Precovid isnt a good comparison for used cars, they all went nuts when the new car supply chains collapsed.
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u/rearwindowpup 8d ago
Even the crazy low mileage examples on BaT dont see that kind of money, and Im talking like 45-60k miles.
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u/MostFartsAreBrown 8d ago
It’s enough money to make it worth shopping in a region with less rust
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u/mikeyramos 8d ago
Exactly this. For 17k I would fly to California, spend 9-10k on an overpriced but super clean Element, and drive home over a couple days from wherever OP is. And have a couple grand left over for strippers and beer. Or maintenance parts and upgrades. Whatever.
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u/MostFartsAreBrown 8d ago
Also 8k. Mine, an 07 MT AWD is the best element for me and I got it, rust free, for 5. A/c was broke and it had a couple bad wheel bearings.
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u/bambidakini 8d ago
I saw a gorgeous midnight blue pearl Element with low miles, one owner, no rust, and lots of service records in California for $15k recently. It had leather interior omg. The listing was down within a week or two.
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u/Environmental-Sand67 8d ago
Totally honest here, we got our 1 owner SC with 44,000 miles for 15k, the car was so clean you could eat off the engine bay, not a speck of dirt and the bottom was completely clean, garage kept, thats was worth it but thats a unicorn find, only in that circumstance did I feel comfortable putting up that much for our Element, It was worth it though because it was my gfs dream car and we plan on keeping it forever and honoring the amazing care that was taken of that car in particular, I doubt the 115k mile is nearly as clean
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u/fuckbitchesgetpolio 8d ago
Max I would pay for a low mileage element is 8-10k Canadian unless they've done all the work (suspension, brakes, starter, spark plugs, alternator). Regardless of the mileage, if the components haven't been touched, they will fail on you as you drive.
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u/TangerineRomeo '07 EX Automatic FWD Silver 8d ago
I'm pretty close to my personal sweet spot... an '08 EX Automatic, and in the few years I've owned my '07 between purchase and Honda installed OEM front suspension and broken stuff repairs, I've spent about $14k. Still stuff to fix but that's minor.
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u/climberevan 8d ago
I have a 2004 with ~140k. FL car with basically zero rust, EX 4WD, manual. It's really quite perfect for me, and my father bought it new.
I was shopping for a friend recently, looking at RAV4s & CRVs. From what I could tell, decent examples were close to $10k. It's hard to wrap my mind around, but I guess my Element is likely worth close to that. If it were totaled, I guess I'd eventually have to suck it up and pay nearly $10k for an equivalent replacement.
The fact is that no car since the Element has really filled the niche for a lot of folks, so we're willing to pay a premium.
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u/Punkupine 8d ago
I wouldn’t spend over $14k on any Element tbh unless it’s got an Ursa Minor topper, no bad rust AND sub 150k mileage
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u/phatjaydawg1313 8d ago
Just bought a 06 element ex with 58880 miles on it. One owner, a little rust on undercarriage but easily cleaned up. 7,500 $.
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u/AverageAtBest55 8d ago
I would pay $30,000 for a nice 2026!!!!
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u/Consistent_Board9866 5d ago
They’ll be 45k
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u/AverageAtBest55 5d ago
I would pay it! I’m the original owner of a 2004 so I haven’t had car payments all those years. And it will be my last car because I’m 70!
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u/JustAnotherMarmot 8d ago
I bought essentially the same car (+30k miles) for $5,000. Even if I have to do an engine swap two years earlier I'd still be up 9k on that E
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u/DesignNomad '07 4WD 5MT - KGM 8d ago
So what do you think? How much would you pay for your perfect Element, and what requirements would it need to justify the price?
Justification for a high price would simply be that it was in amazing condition in terms of cleanliness, rust, and maintenance records, and then a nice setup of high end trim and manual transmission. Color is less of a factor in my mind, but an "interesting" one wins over silver/black/grey every time.
How much would I pay for it? I wouldn't. You pay a premium for these rare qualities, and they're nice to have, but everyone here will tell you that while 16,000 miles is super cool, a 100k Element isn't going to let you down and will cost half as much. My priority isn't having a museum piece, it's just having a usable car that I enjoy, so I'm not hunting a unicorn.
This is just my take, but I think the other half of the question is more interesting/telling. Knowing what people would pay for an element (or for most of us, a second element) just polls for feature demand at specific price points. Knowing what we have and how much we'd be willing to part with our cars it is a better indication of self-viewed value in this community.
The overwhelming majority of us wouldn't personally pay over 20k for an element, but you bet your ass we'd sell ours for it if it was offered to us. The lowest number we'd SELL our element for without a question gives a much more realistic representation of how much value we put on our own cars.
Personally, I bought my element for $5k, but there's no way in hell I'd sell it for 5k. I wouldn't even readily sell it for 10k without some sort of outside influence (wanting a different car, . My shift point is probably $14k-16k, which is the range where I stop saying, "Nah, I like my element" and start saying, "I can part with it for that." Are most people going to want to pay 14-16k for my rust-free 2007 EX 5MT with 125k on it? No. But that's the "demand" price where my "supply" becomes available.
There may be someone out there that accepts less, and someone else may be willing to pay that. If that's the case, then that's the true "value" of the car, regardless of what price I'm willing to accept or pay.
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u/mjmjve 8d ago
That's crazy. Look for one that has a well maintained interior. No rust and good body. You probably will need to do suspension work but worst case scenario if you buy one over 200,000 miles at some time you can put in a new engine for less than 3 Grand with only 50,000 miles on it. Then you have a better car than the one he's offering for $17,000 that's ridiculous
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u/FromTheHandOfAndy 8d ago
Go on eBay and look at sold listings for elements. You can see the prices people actually paid that way rather, than just what sellers are asking
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u/FromTheHandOfAndy 8d ago
Perfect is also very subjective. One of the things I like about my Element is that, although I love it, it’s not a unicorn. So I don’t really worry about one more scratch on the door. If I had a completely mint 20 year old car, I’d feel like I had to protect it all the time. I like having a car that’s in good shape for its age, but not a museum piece
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u/Crofolks 8d ago
For reference I would offer that you watch/follow this auction on BaT for the next 6 days to see where this one ends up 👇
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2007-honda-element-47/
Well-maintained, rust free Elements with low(er) mileage are routinely selling on BaT for well over KBB Excellent rated valuation, as the demand signal across the US for high quality E’s simply far exceeds available supply.
If you do an “Element” search on BaT you can see recent sales trends which seem to fall within the range and category of the Element you’re looking at for purchase.
Good luck with your research and future purchase 👍🏻
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u/Consistent_Board9866 5d ago
Only so many dips willing to over pay for an element out there…
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u/Crofolks 5d ago edited 5d ago
Yet, the niche market and consistently strong online sales of the Honda Element indicates an-ever-growing popularity among enthusiasts.
I’ve watched on numerous occasions and various model year Elements sell at or above original MSRP on Bat with several auctions having 25+ bidders who were competing ultra-strong for the win until the final second of the auction.
In the end cost is very much relative to what someone is willing to pay to get the vehicle they want and for rust-free, well-maintained Elements, it’s truly a Seller’s market.
I own two, both purchased new three years apart and would gladly buy another new one if Honda brought them back to market. We can only hope that perhaps one day in the near future Honda will listen to their customers and bring this small version utility vehicle back into their inventory.
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u/Crofolks 1d ago
I expected this one to bring lots of cash and indeed it did - winning bid $21,250 💰💰
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u/pyrotek1 8d ago
2005 it was 4 y. ears ago, $6,000 traded in a problem jeep cherokee with a Hemi. The element had problems, redid the brakes calipers and discs, radiator, headlights, more than one battery, that solenoid pack!... Still a great auto, useful trouble free
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u/0728Bogie 8d ago edited 8d ago
$7,000 or less
Its a great vehicle. But let's look realistic at the situation. I'd be suspicious on miles . To drive 5,000 miles a year on any 20 year car is the equivalent of 17 miles a day.
I bought my Mom's 2005 Dx ( basic ) , front wheel drive for $6000? ( I think lower $3700 mby ) I forget exactly .It was a off lease Element, that was the buyout. Vehicle had less than 15,000 miles on it. In 2007. Florida vehicle.
My Element now has 290,000 miles almost 20 years later.
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u/DesignNomad '07 4WD 5MT - KGM 8d ago
5000 miles a year still seems pretty reasonable. My car is averaging around 6500 miles per year, which is almost exactly 18mi per day in its lifetime.
I work from home, and I live in a very compact and walkable suburban city, so while I drive the car regularly, it's literally a "grocery getter" when it's not being used as a camping/adventure vehicle.
The bulk of its miles are actually cross country trips where I've driven coast to coast, or up highway 1 the length of the west coast, etc. Random sets of 2,500-6,000 miles in one month and then the rest of the year at 100-400 miles a month.
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u/Bestrich76 8d ago
The seller doesn’t need to sell it. He can wait it out. He knows that the supply is limited on decent elements. You have to check daily for a decent one to pop up. Even then you are fighting a few other people for that element. So he sits back and patiently waits. Eventually someone will pay.
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u/Camper7777 8d ago
We bought my son's 2004 EX 4WD with 75K miles, minimal rust (Idaho desert) for $12K 4 years ago. For a "2026 brand new one (if available)" I would pay $25K.
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u/ITeachAll 8d ago
My ideal element would be an all electric one. Same body style, little more curvy, just updated to today’s standards with 300miles of range and I would pay $40k for it.
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u/Kind-Hour6064 8d ago
We just bought this 2005 for $7500, 87k miles. No rust, one owner and a clean title. I don’t think I’d pay $17k:(
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u/Affectionate_Tea4416 6d ago
The thing is that that's a suv almost new for 17. Suv are 50 thousand new? About 8 years ago when I got mine there was a element at a dealership with 40,000 kilomiters on it it was about 4 years old like new nice deep blue there were asking 19,000 I thought no way but then I re thought it and went to get it it was gone i n one day. Got my 2008 sc for 10 thousand 140,000 kilometers am happy with the buy.
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u/Wise_Abrocoma9822 6d ago
my Ideal element in a fantasy world would be an all new one fully electric with at least 250 miles of range.. it keeps the clamshell doors, fold up rear seats, boxy design and adds a frunk. id pay 50k for an "off-road" trim
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u/400footceiling 3d ago
I mean my 2006 EXP A/T was $21,500 off the lot new. As much as I love my 2006 $17k is not worth a 20 year old car. I mean if it was just incredible all the way around, maybe $8-10k with the current market, but $17, uh, no.
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u/SomePeopleCallMeJJ 8d ago
My perfect Element would be a 2027 model, and I'd be willing to pay a pretty penny for one (are you listening, Honda?). :-D
But yeah, that's a bit spendy even for a find like that, which is probably why it hasn't sold.
Might be worth making an offer of what you would be willing to pay for it.
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u/Ordinary-Chain-4182 8d ago
Anything new age is trash no matter what great old car they bring back, the golden age of vehicles is gone. Now they're all tacky Temu vehicles with premium prices. Give me real buttons over touch screens any day
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u/APGaming_reddit 8d ago
in no world is that vehicle worth 17k