2004 Honda Element

[SkwerI]

Since it's still for sale, I guess I'll repost the thread here.

A drunk chick on my fishing forum posted a car for sale last month. She and her husband bought it new for their daughter while she was in college. Now she's moved to Texas and left the car behind, parents don't want to keep paying insurance on it or fix it up. They were asking $3500 and blue book ranges from $8K-12K.

So I drove down to Fort Myers with a tow dolly I borrowed from my body shop friend. Looked it over and bought it. Here's the ugly toaster box the day I brought it home.

 

[SkwerI]

I took it straight to the body shop where they had it for almost 2 weeks. They repainted all the orange except the hood and roof. They also painted the faded aftermarket Chinese front grill to match the other plastic panels and they painted the silver inserts in the front and rear bumpers.

 

[Burnham]

Looks as good in this forum as in the old one, B. I hope all that bodywok/paint isn't gonna eat your hoped-for profits.

 

[SkwerI]

So far I have $1100 in the paint and almost $300 in miscellaneous repairs (door lock, filters, gas cap, windshield wipers, tail light, etc). I still need to fix the air conditioning, delouse the inside, detail inside and out and do something with the torn seats.

 

[Burnham]

Still plenty of room for a tidy bump to your investment, then. Good on you.

 

[squisher]

Cabin air filter didn't help the a/c out eh? To bad.

 

[woodworkingboy]

delouse the inside.

Coming along nicely. Are we talking about fumigation here?

 

[SkwerI]

No, just figuring out how to scrub the layer of grunge off the interior without actually turning the water hose on it and flushing it out. There's a sticky layer of crud and dog hair everywhere. The door panels cleaned up nicely with Simple Green but the floors look like a real pain since they need a good mopping and scrubbing but there's no place for the rinse water to escape.

 

[Strikermike]

I could be wrong about this. But thought the element was designed to be hosed out, or the floors easily removed to clean. Do you have an owners manual?

 

[woodworkingboy]

That rubbed in grunge can be a batch. Must be a solvent that will do the trick.

It occurs that if you use water and then mold gets in there, it could be a problem.

 

[squisher]

I could be wrong about this. But thought the element was designed to be hosed out, or the floors easily removed to clean. Do you have an owners manual?

Myth.

Quoted from another website.

When we went to the initial Element ride and drive, several dealers had the very same question. And the Answer is no.. The internal wiring harness' are not weatherproofed. So, washing out the internals with a hose would not be the best thing you could do for your El. However, you can bucket wash the interior with a sponge and soapy water without worry.

 

[Cobleskill]

How about one of those fancy carpet cleaners that spray on and vacuum up at the same time? I had a guy do my house carpet. Worked well. It left it a little damp but I would think a hot day would dry it out pretty fast.

 

[squisher]

I don't think there is carpet. I'm assuming he needs some serious scrubbing. I'd try the sponge and bucket and some elbow grease. Orrrrr he could just fly Brendon down for a weekend and it'd be in showroom condition.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Maybe better to cool it on the advice, remember the car radio thread?

 

[squisher]

Lol, yah I remember. That Skwerl gets stubborn if he gets his back up.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I knew some one once that pulled the carpets.. Drilled holes in strategic spots in the floor pan for drainage. Cleaned the floor pan with what it took.. Let it dry out ... Put rubber plugs in the floor (like the kind you often find in trunks, same size). Put new carpet back in.. Problem solved..

And then came post 11 as I was typing this..
NM

 

[woodworkingboy]

Careful about drilling holes.... i was over at my bud's car electric garage and he was drilling a hole in the floor of a hearse for some reason, end up drilling right through into the gas tank. If a little chip of hot metal fell in there, him and me standing there watching might have needed a hearse ourselves.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I've flicked more that one lit cigarette into some sorta flammable liquid: the liquid always extinguished the cig.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Ummmmmmm.... Measure first.

 

[stehansen]

I've flicked more that one lit cigarette into some sorta flammable liquid: the liquid always extinguished the cig.

I've seen that done too.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Yea, in the movies everything blows up.

 

[Cobleskill]

I had a buddy who was always harping about keep cigs away from gas. I plunged a cig into a coffee can with gas in it. He shut up.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Yea, in the movies everything blows up.

Yeah, that always pisses me right off when I'm watching a film. You see a car scrape bumpers with another, and kabloom! big explosion. Grrr.

 

[MasterBlaster]

It's the gas fumes that ignite, not the liquid.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Yes, there has to be a sufficient vapor to air ratio for ignition, and gas in a can doesn't have enough fumes likely. Gas under pressure has more fumes, like that which is coming out of a gas pump. A smoldering cigarette is less likely to cause ignition compared to an open flame.