Would you buy a Honda Element with 209k miles on it?

ilovemyhonda9

We have an accord as our main car. We want a second car for errands around town, but preferably something with AWD and big enough to haul things for trips to Home Depot. I want to pay less than $3k and the Honda Element has excellent reviews. Came across a 2004 Honda Element with 209k miles on it listed for $2900. Seller is the 2nd owner, no accidents. Claims it has a clean carfax. Would you proceed? Is that a good deal?

stever

Lots of miles.

So no... unless I had a couple of dogs, then maybe.... And only after having my mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection.

You can appraise it here btw. A base in clean condition would bring about $2,700 private party. For a really good valuation, ask over in the Real World Trade-In Values discussion.

But really, it's hard to find any decent running car for under $5,000, and you could probably drive it for a couple of years and flip it for two grand.

carboy21

For 2 grand I would go for it. Not 2900.. This car is due for the junk yard.

ilovemyhonda9

How high is too high for mileage on an older Honda? 

stever

Too hard to say, but the general rule of thumb around here is that anything over ~170,000 miles is gravy.

I got to 200k on my last minivan, but I also got stranded a couple of times and had to fork over some money in the last year of ownership. Kind of expensive bragging rights.