[florafauna]

I saw this two-tone E on line, and I can't figure out what I'm seeing-
http://www.autofairhonda.com/preowned/dsp_viewcar.cfm?vin=5J6YH28376L010287

Is it a custom paint job? The front bumper looks sort of fishy, and the description says "Metallic-look composite body panels", which clearly they are not, unless they figured out how to get a high gloss on plastic. What is it? At the low price I am guessing it is not desirable. What do you experienced Eers think?

I've been watching for the right E to come along, in a price range I can handle. I test drove an '06 at a local dealer and I liked it a lot, the price was Kelly Blue Book consistent for a Honda Certified E, but with taxes, it was out of my comfort zone, and the dealer wouldn't deal. I've been watching the forum, Craig's List, and searching on line for a while now. It's tough. The dealers are telling me they sell like hot cakes. The internet is full of cars, but what looks like a great deal probably isn't.

I am looking to replace my reliable 2001 CRV with a younger E. I'm uncertain about buying a high mileage, newer E vs. lower mileage, older E. Advice on that?

Thank you, the education available here on the forum is priceless!

 

[lizzurd]

This is a custom paint job. The E never came in a pure white. (I don't count the Omni Blue Pearl for 2009-2010 as white).

The plastic panels and bumpers were painted. Someone spent alot of money and time on this one. From the pictures i looks like a well done job. But the question to me would be.....Is this custom painted E hiding a few dirty secrets from its past? Does it have a clean title? Have you run a carfax on it?

 

[florafauna]

Excellent points! Thank you. I haven't paid for a car fax yet, I thought if I get serious enough to make a day's trip to see it, I'll ask the dealer to provide me with one first.

How well would glossy paint adhere to the composite panels???:?:?:?:?

 

[lizzurd]

Excellent points! Thank you. I haven't paid for a car fax yet, I thought if I get serious enough to make a day's trip to see it, I'll ask the dealer to provide me with one first.

How well would glossy paint adhere to the composite panels???:?:?:?:?

If prepped properly the paint will stick. There is also the change that the panels were replaced with ones off an EX-P or newer EX that came with painted panels.

 

[jsitar]

The paint code on the vehicle ID is NH700M, which I believe is Alabaster Silver Metalic.

 

[florafauna]

I never knew the vehicle ID included a paint code. I knew you were wise ones!
Thank you!

 

[lizzurd]

I never knew the vehicle ID included a paint code. I knew you were wise ones!
Thank you!

The actual VIN number doesn't have the paint code. But it is on the buttom of the sticker on the door jam that has the VIN number on it.

 

[Dom.five]

A quick search of NH700M returned this thread.

Nice work Jsitar

Dom

 

[florafauna]

Wise indeed, thank you!

My undealing dealer just called to offer a deal, hmmmmm.... $16,500 for an '06 EXP with 21K, certified, gray (not sure which gray). I'm trying to figure out if that is a good price, or a little high. They were unswerving at $17885 on Friday.

 

[ramblerdan]

'06 gray was Alabaster Silver Metallic, paint code NH700M.

 

[RWMunday]

Finding The Right Pre-Owned Element

I've been watching for the right E to come along, in a price range I can handle. I test drove an '06 at a local dealer and I liked it a lot, the price was Kelly Blue Book consistent for a Honda Certified E, but with taxes, it was out of my comfort zone, and the dealer wouldn't deal. I've been watching the forum, Craig's List, and searching on line for a while now. It's tough. The dealers are telling me they sell like hot cakes. The internet is full of cars, but what looks like a great deal probably isn't.

I had been looking at Elements for a few years. Test drove them in 2004 and 2005 but stayed with Volvos. This time the Element occupied my top spot along with the 2008 Toyota Highlander. I took a month of looking, driving, fighting off salescreatures and doing research on Autotrader.com before finding the 2008 SC I purchased (One Owner, CPO, lower mileage). I had to drive from Jacksonville, Florida to Raleigh, North Carolina to buy it, but it was at the price I wanted and they installed the fog lights before purchase. In five weeks and 4000 miles it has been a worthy replacement for my Volvo S80 T6. It holds all of my stuff as I travel between Montgomery and Jacksonville and it holds three adult passengers on our weekly lunch excursions. Ingress and egress to the back seats has not been a problem.

In researching on Autotrader, I had a set of requirements and confined my search to those SCs which matched and to EX 4WDs which were an alternative should I not be able to find an SC in my price range. I would write the dealers via the Autotrader e-mail function to get additional information (does this EX have a sunroof and XM radio?) because not all dealers described their offerings well. Using a spreadsheet, I would identify via CarFax when the Element was originally sold and when it was most recently offered for sale, then would compare that date to the current date to find how many days it was `on the ground`. Some in my list had been unsold for as long as 90 days. With this knowledge, you can formulate an offer to kindly assist in the removal of this Element from the dealer's inventory. I had over ten Elements in my list and would make note when one was sold. Five remain unsold today five weeks after my purchase.

Take your time, do your research and find the right Element for you.

 

[ORANGEE]

I like it, buy it !!!!!!!!

 

[florafauna]

I had over ten Elements in my list and would make note when one was sold. Five remain unsold today five weeks after my purchase.

Take your time, do your research and find the right Element for you.

You are meticulous! I get so focused that it exhausts me and I have to stop looking for a while!

How did you determine the sold date, via carfax links on Autotrader?

Thank you for your advice. [/

 

[florafauna]

two tone paint by Honda?

I wrote to the dealer and the reply was that it was not a custom paint job, but original as a special color released by Honda in 2006. Any thoughts on this?
Anyone in New Hampshire that has or can see it?

(And the other dealer called me to say his supervisor would only let him go down to $16,9000 for the 2006 EXP).

 

[lizzurd]

I wrote to the dealer and the reply was that it was not a custom paint job, but original as a special color released by Honda in 2006. Any thoughts on this?
Anyone in New Hampshire that has or can see it?

(And the other dealer called me to say his supervisor would only let him go down to $16,9000 for the 2006 EXP).

Honda does not do special colours. The sticker on the door clearly states this vehicle was delivered in silver....Not white. Had it come from the factory in white the paint code on the label would have been for a white vehicle.

The only Elements with painted fenders and bumpers were painted body colour....Not two tone.

 

[steamloco76]

I ran an Experian AutoCheck on the VIN and it comes back as a one owner, clean scoring a 94 out of 100 on their system.

Somebody pent $$$ painting that E in custom "panda" colors.

Definitely unique.

 

[florafauna]

I ran an Experian AutoCheck on the VIN and it comes back as a one owner, clean scoring a 94 out of 100 on their system.

Somebody pent $$$ painting that E in custom "panda" colors.

Definitely unique.

Yes they did! The dealer e-mailed me saying they made a mistake, the owner wanted it painted... and the panels are composite.

Now my big question is- what will this repainting do the the value, rather how much did it depreciate because of repainting?

I think it's kind of cute in a funky way- I like the panda comparison, I was thinking a pair of spectator shoes. (Or saddle shoes).:?

 

[slimerdogs]

It does look different. Just watch out on the paint on the panels as if they did not use a bumper additive in the paint it will crack if hit then it becomes a real mess redoing the paint. I like the white.

 

[florafauna]

It does look different. Just watch out on the paint on the panels as if they did not use a bumper additive in the paint it will crack if hit then it becomes a real mess redoing the paint. I like the white.

I am very skeptical about adhesion and strength there, probably why the price is good. Thank you for your input!

 

[Thudstaff]

While I like the look of that E, the price seems high.

I'm currently doing the paperwork to buy an '06 AWD LX with $35k for $12,500. The one you listed seems to have the same feature set that mine will have but be $5,500 more (and that assumes the ~$18k is out the door).