Honda Car Forum

Any Element owners? Happy/unhappy so far?
I'm thinking getting one
Any input welcome.
Thank you.

Tom Resi <tomresi@hotmail.com> wrote in news:t4yub.50887$1K.49066@edtnps84:

> Any Element owners? Happy/unhappy so far?
> I'm thinking getting one
> Any input welcome.
> Thank you.
>
>

My girlfriend bought one in August. We're very happy with the vehicle.
We're outside Boston and our families live near Danbury and New Haven, CT,
so we've done several 2 to 2-1/2 trips in it with no comfort problems.
Seems a lot more responsive than the 2000(?) Civic we traded in on it.

What do you like about the Element that makes you want one?

The only problem we've had isn't so much the car as the dealer. When we
picked it up, they had it parked under a very sappy tree, probably pine.
The sap came off the metal parts easily enough but left a white reside on
the plastic which has refused all efforts to remove it. The salesman's
answer was to come back and have them clean it. When that didn't fix it,
his answer was to come back again. Not really what we were looking for.

-neil

It seems to be very roomy, without being a mini van. I like very much
the double doors and the somewhat spartan styling. I had my eyes on a
Rav4, but this year they turned into another luxury SUV, which yanks it
off my list. I wish thou, it had more power for its size.
Do you have the 4wd? auto or stick?

Make a test on a small area with turpentine or paint thinner to see how
the plastic reacts to it. That might clean the stains, but don't try
anything without testing first.
Nail polish solvent might work because it's not a very aggressive
solvent. But I would try first liquid photo-film cleaner which is
designed not to damage plastic.
Be careful car wax and polishing are very hard to clean from plastic
surfaces.



Neil wrote:


> My girlfriend bought one in August. We're very happy with the vehicle.
> We're outside Boston and our families live near Danbury and New Haven, CT,
> so we've done several 2 to 2-1/2 trips in it with no comfort problems.
> Seems a lot more responsive than the 2000(?) Civic we traded in on it.
>
> What do you like about the Element that makes you want one?
>
> The only problem we've had isn't so much the car as the dealer. When we
> picked it up, they had it parked under a very sappy tree, probably pine.
> The sap came off the metal parts easily enough but left a white reside on
> the plastic which has refused all efforts to remove it. The salesman's
> answer was to come back and have them clean it. When that didn't fix it,
> his answer was to come back again. Not really what we were looking for.
>
> -neil

you cant go wrong buy it
"Tom Resi" <tomresi@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4_Gub.55765$1K.22635@edtnps84...
> It seems to be very roomy, without being a mini van. I like very much
> the double doors and the somewhat spartan styling. I had my eyes on a
> Rav4, but this year they turned into another luxury SUV, which yanks it
> off my list. I wish thou, it had more power for its size.
> Do you have the 4wd? auto or stick?
>
> Make a test on a small area with turpentine or paint thinner to see how
> the plastic reacts to it. That might clean the stains, but don't try
> anything without testing first.
> Nail polish solvent might work because it's not a very aggressive
> solvent. But I would try first liquid photo-film cleaner which is
> designed not to damage plastic.
> Be careful car wax and polishing are very hard to clean from plastic
> surfaces.
>
>
>
> Neil wrote:
>
>
> > My girlfriend bought one in August. We're very happy with the vehicle.
> > We're outside Boston and our families live near Danbury and New Haven,
CT,
> > so we've done several 2 to 2-1/2 trips in it with no comfort problems.
> > Seems a lot more responsive than the 2000(?) Civic we traded in on it.
> >
> > What do you like about the Element that makes you want one?
> >
> > The only problem we've had isn't so much the car as the dealer. When we
> > picked it up, they had it parked under a very sappy tree, probably pine.
> > The sap came off the metal parts easily enough but left a white reside
on
> > the plastic which has refused all efforts to remove it. The salesman's
> > answer was to come back and have them clean it. When that didn't fix it,
> > his answer was to come back again. Not really what we were looking for.
> >
> > -neil
>

So I should trust you blind and cough up the money, right?
You talk like a car dealer.
Thanx for your very informative advice, but I can do better without it.

laadeedaaaa wrote:

> you cant go wrong buy it

I really like the concept of the Element, but my only worry is the stigma it
is getting as an ugly car and what that will do to the resale value. As far
as power goes, sure a little more HP would be nice, but the 160 is not
bad...and besides it is one of few SUV's(mini) that actually gets decent
mileage. The utility is very appealling, but the styling is iffy. If I get
one I will probably get the lego trim painted. Check out this one. It looks
nice all the same color. http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/345386

Greg

"Tom Resi" <tomresi@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:t4yub.50887$1K.49066@edtnps84...
> Any Element owners? Happy/unhappy so far?
> I'm thinking getting one
> Any input welcome.
> Thank you.
>

Tom Resi <tomresi@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:4_Gub.55765$1K.22635@edtnps84:

> It seems to be very roomy, without being a mini van.

It's not bad; good for bringing home purchases whihc wouldn't have fit
the Civic and certainly won't fit in my Saturn. That was our main push
towards an SUV in general. She liked Honda, so it was down to the Element
for the CR-V. The CR-V looks just like every other small SUV so Elelment
won.

But back to the space concept. We're not going to be hauling around tons
of stuff. There's not a huge amount of cargo room with 4 people. But it
seats four very comfortably; I'm about 6' 2" and fit very comfortably in
the back, even with the front seats pushed all the way back as well.

I don't think I'd want to be dealing with child seats in the back; it is
a little awkward moving things in & out of the back.

> I like very much
> the double doors and the somewhat spartan styling. I had my eyes on a
> Rav4, but this year they turned into another luxury SUV, which yanks
> it off my list. I wish thou, it had more power for its size.
> Do you have the 4wd? auto or stick?

4WD, auto (she doesn't drive stick and I'm not going to teach her on my
no-power-steering clutch-going-soon car). It handles curves pretty well;
sudden lane shifts aren't an issue (tho I don't plan on making any high-
speed swerves if I can avoid 'em).

The power is fine to us, but the again, consider what we're familiar
with.

> Make a test on a small area with turpentine or paint thinner to see
> how the plastic reacts to it. That might clean the stains, but don't
> try anything without testing first.
> Nail polish solvent might work because it's not a very aggressive
> solvent. But I would try first liquid photo-film cleaner which is
> designed not to damage plastic.

Will give all three a try... if we get a warm enough day to be outside.
:-)

-neil

Strangely enough, I like "the look" of this car and the utilitarian
attributes won me. I don't care much about the resale value or what
other people's "stigma" plastered about its looks. Painting the plastic
trim it's a cosmetic addition which doesn't appeal to me. The paint on
plastic is very susceptible to chipping and flaking off. I didn't like
the red version, but generally I don't like red cars.
Another concern is access to the engine. This body formula looks like
the engine compartment is very cramped.

T




Greg wrote:

> I really like the concept of the Element, but my only worry is the stigma it
> is getting as an ugly car and what that will do to the resale value. As far
> as power goes, sure a little more HP would be nice, but the 160 is not
> bad...and besides it is one of few SUV's(mini) that actually gets decent
> mileage. The utility is very appealling, but the styling is iffy. If I get
> one I will probably get the lego trim painted. Check out this one. It looks
> nice all the same color. http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/345386
>
> Greg
>
> "Tom Resi" <tomresi@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:t4yub.50887$1K.49066@edtnps84...
>
>>Any Element owners? Happy/unhappy so far?
>>I'm thinking getting one
>>Any input welcome.
>>Thank you.
>>
>
>
>

Neil wrote:


> But back to the space concept. We're not going to be hauling around tons
> of stuff. There's not a huge amount of cargo room with 4 people. But it
> seats four very comfortably; I'm about 6' 2" and fit very comfortably in
> the back, even with the front seats pushed all the way back as well.


Yeah, me and my wife are not the short type either but there're no
children to haul around. Actually I was thinking taking out permanently
the rear seats. All our friends have minivans to move around the
kindergarten so for any outings I can put back the seats only if needed.
The extra cargo space is needed for my wife's recent weekend addiction
to Ikea shopping. Which brings me to the second issue, the tranny, which
must be stick so I can have a relative control over this Ikea thing. ;-)
My wife drives only auto.
Jokes aside, it has to be standard to squeeze everything out of the gear
box, engine being a little underpowered for my peace of mind.



> I don't think I'd want to be dealing with child seats in the back; it is
> a little awkward moving things in & out of the back.


I thought that the double door will be a big help in easing the rear access.

>
> Will give all three a try... if we get a warm enough day to be outside.
> :-)

If I remember correctly the more exposure to the sun it gets, the harder
to clean will be, so don't delay it.

Thanx for the input, it is valuable.
T

I test drove one when it first came out and there were a few things i found
akward. I am pretty tall so I pushed the seat back and when i drove it it
felt like i was in the middle of the car and the column where the suicide
doors meet was directly to my left causing a slight blind spot.
I guess those are things you get used to after having a car though.
All criticism aside, I really do like these cars. If I was in the market it
would definately be in my top 5 list.
Good luck with your decision
Greg
"Tom Resi" <tomresi@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:EiYub.101366$jy.90228@clgrps13...
> Strangely enough, I like "the look" of this car and the utilitarian
> attributes won me. I don't care much about the resale value or what
> other people's "stigma" plastered about its looks. Painting the plastic
> trim it's a cosmetic addition which doesn't appeal to me. The paint on
> plastic is very susceptible to chipping and flaking off. I didn't like
> the red version, but generally I don't like red cars.
> Another concern is access to the engine. This body formula looks like
> the engine compartment is very cramped.
>
> T
>
>
>
>
> Greg wrote:
>
> > I really like the concept of the Element, but my only worry is the
stigma it
> > is getting as an ugly car and what that will do to the resale value. As
far
> > as power goes, sure a little more HP would be nice, but the 160 is not
> > bad...and besides it is one of few SUV's(mini) that actually gets decent
> > mileage. The utility is very appealling, but the styling is iffy. If I
get
> > one I will probably get the lego trim painted. Check out this one. It
looks
> > nice all the same color. http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/345386
> >
> > Greg
> >
> > "Tom Resi" <tomresi@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:t4yub.50887$1K.49066@edtnps84...
> >
> >>Any Element owners? Happy/unhappy so far?
> >>I'm thinking getting one
> >>Any input welcome.
> >>Thank you.
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>