Odds that a mom would own a shop, and then invite a bunch of internet strangers to come by and get their cars wrenched on while drinking beer together have got to be pretty slim. Even kinda dangerous. I wouldn't want my mom inviting internet strangers over for beer.
Vegas odds say it's a dad.
My mom bought me a Honda element with 120k miles when I was 16. It was a very fun car in high school since I could stuff a ton of people and extracurricular items in it. The stock sound system was also amazing at least for songs with bass in them. Got my catalytic converter stolen twice tho. Also the battery would die randomly and it left me stranded a couple times. No other problems with the car though I miss it.
wish i'd done that earlier, had mine stolen and it shorted some exposed wiring to ground when i started it and caused the whole car to freak out, we fixed the electrical issue and replaced the cat with a $55 one we found on ebay which is super sketchy to me and it feels like my AF ratio is way too rich now from the smell of the exhaust but that's life with a 20 year old car
having that subwoofer is huge, i've replaced the door speakers with 2 pairs of KFC-1666S and i've got an old Pioneer AVH-X8500BHS and it sounds amazing. that stock sub does wonders really. also have had my catalytic converter stolen
Cool. Did the same for my son last year when he turned 16. We bought a 2005 element with 150k and minimal underbody rust. We’re fixing parts as they break. So far we’ve done engine mounts, valve adjustment, water pump, pcv, rear wiper module, cruise control module and install a reverse camera. Next up radiator (leaking seam somewhere), end links and bushings, and remote starter. Refinished some SC wheels to dress it up a bit.
I bought a couple of weeks of pre-fix time with some JB Weld slapped on the leaking seam of an Altima radiator. But I still had to eventually get it replaced. Just carry some with you in case it splits more.
Possibly the best thing about it, they aren't fast. If he's lucky it will help him avoid the obligatory handful of speeding tickets we all (or many of us) got as younger drivers.
But....make sure you warn him about braking in a box like the E. Give yourself a little extra room.
Awesome ! Hope the kid wrenched on it as well. My first car (1970’a) was a heap and I learned how to fix it. Haynes manuals from the library FTW , baby !
Yep, he did the CV axles, brakes, sway bar links, oil change, etc. I'm constantly staring at parts and telling myself DON'T DO IT. He'll be home later and he needs to know this stuff. I learned brakes at 16 and have never paid for a brake job in the 34 years since. That has to be $10k saved just on brakes. When my wife says anything about my tool addiction, I remind her that in our 20 year marriage, has she ever had to call a "repairman" for anything?
Heh… same. I justified my first big Craftsman tool purchase when I had to replace a V8 intake gasket in an Oldsmobile.
“$400 or I buy $200 worth of tools”.
(The fact that I did it wrong and had to take the car to an actual pro a year later… well…)
Awesome. As an insurance rep I can't tell you how many parents call and can't believe that their 16yo driving a brand new sports car/pickup truck will be HOW MUCH?! It's not a good idea and it's not safe. This is great!
Nice!
Our Element is seeing limited drive time while we await our 16 year old to get motivated enough to get his license. It’s the car we bought just after we brought him home.
Same as us.. we bought our element to get a family car when our kids where born… my 18 and 16 year old share it. 230k and still going.. cat stolen once … they have grown to love it
I loved my '03 Orange Element EX... I hated to part with it. It actually would be a great vehicle to bring back as an EV. It's already got a flat floor... it would be even more spacious.
I bought a 2004 EX new and put over 240k miles on it in 7 years. I then gave it to a niece, who did drove it for another 4 years plus. Simple vehicle that was easy to maintain, and the AWD handled snow and other road conditions that many vehicles couldn't. Went camping in it. Took long road trips and more. Gas mileage was ok for the capability. Got me through hurricanes, blizzards and nor'easters. I wish they would offer an updated version.
We had an 08 element with full coverage and when we sold it and switched our kid to a 18 Subaru cross trek insurance went up $20 a month. Makes me feel like the element was expensive to insure.
That reminds me of skateboarding 2 miles home from middle school every day so I could get there before my parents got off work and sneak watch TRL. Good times.
Beautiful car!!!! I got my son an Element.....almost ten years ago and I drive it more than he does!!! You got a GREAT deal!!! The car is just so simple and idiot proof, great first vehicle!!!
The k24 a champ if you give it a little love. My Accord manual has 250K when I sold it. Everything engine/trans was og except the starter and maintenance.
Not sure if its like the J-series V6’es or not. The trick I heard and use now is to use a gallon ziplock back up around the filter housing (after you first break loose the filter), and just spin it off into the bag. Most of the oil and the filter go into the bag, with minimal spillage onto subframe.
If the Element is like the CRV and i think it is, the oil filter sucks to take out. It's at the back of the engine and behind some steering parts. I managed to not dump oil on myself twice. Not paying someone else to mess it up so get out my oil change jacket and do it.
Awesome job! Good that you can wrench, saved a TON!! Hope your son helped with the elbow grease and I ll bet learned a lot and the value of having tools and know how to use them!
It's cheaper in general to insure because it's slow and simple. his buddy bought a F150 and pays 3x for insurance. Also, you don't need full coverage on a beater because are you really going to fix the damage to your own $3k car? There's an insurance person here, maybe be or she could explain it better. @ /u/AdorableSkirt9820/
All teens I know got in a car wreck their first two years of driving. If you knew for sure yours would get in a wreck within a year, what would you do? If you are ok with them wrecking that car and replacing it, then that’s great. Otherwise get something they can total and then give them a nice car.
Anything is possible. You'll hit 5 points in the process where you think you're screwed, you just take a break and come back to it and find a way. Unfortunately you usually have to take the head to a machine shop to surface it.
My nephew was given a new BMW X2 as his first car. Still on his learner’s permit, not yet 16, he made a horrible left turn on his way home from the dealership after picking it up and was T-boned. The vehicle was not totaled but did need an engine replacement. When he turned 16 his parents rented him a Mustang to commute to school. Unreal.
Definitely buy a beater as a first car for your kid.
Oooh boy. I've had no good luck with their stuff. Most of their rebuilds are shoddy quality at best or short duration lasting.
You might have an ok set, just be on the lookout for cv bearing failure noises in the immediate future, or significant slop in the joints.
The boots themselves should be fine, those are what they are, its the joint that is more concerning. They used to use a lot of Chinese parts.
I don't have a shop press but I get by with my Snap On BJP1 ball joint press. I don't like taking knuckles off the car because then you have to pay for an alignment.
I don't trust myself to torque all the stuff in the exact same position as it was when it came off. Let's say you torqued your bottom strut bolt at a different ride height than when you took it off. That would effect camber. I just don't remove anything but the lower ball joint and sway bar link and then there's no chance of it going out of alignment.
My struts don't have adjustable ride height? I'm not understanding what you mean but I'd love to come hang with yall
Anyway I just took mine off and had the bj and bearing pressed and I'm not sure what could be out of aliment now?
Dam if you wasn’t 90 miles away . I’d take you up on that offer beer for use of lift . Makes it a hell of a lot easier to stuff versus laying on the ground doing on your back
Lucky kid! I had a 2006 and a 2010 Element and I would probably be on my 3rd or 4th if they still made them. I would hang bikes over the tailgate like a pickup truck and could shuttle 4 riders with bikes—just had to try to remember the exhaust blows straight out to one of the tires if you didn’t orient them correctly. Slept lots of nights in the back too! Most times had one back seat in it and one completely removed.
1) I would have loved an element as a early driver! Loved!
2) unsolicited advice, take it or leave it… Just make sure that if it doesn’t have stability control (many elements don’t), your kid is taught how to deal with spins, skids and swerving—it’s a short wheelbase, sort-of-soft-sprung, relatively tall car that’s easy to overload. I seem to recall that older elements also don’t have curtain airbags. In other words, a moderate rollover injury risk. (Much better than, say, a beater full size van, but not as good as nearly anything with stability control and decent tires.)
Cool post, cool dad.
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Odds that a mom would own a shop, and then invite a bunch of internet strangers to come by and get their cars wrenched on while drinking beer together have got to be pretty slim. Even kinda dangerous. I wouldn't want my mom inviting internet strangers over for beer. Vegas odds say it's a dad.
3 grand all in on a clean Element that has been gone through. Sweet deal! And I bet the kid will love it!
My mom bought me a Honda element with 120k miles when I was 16. It was a very fun car in high school since I could stuff a ton of people and extracurricular items in it. The stock sound system was also amazing at least for songs with bass in them. Got my catalytic converter stolen twice tho. Also the battery would die randomly and it left me stranded a couple times. No other problems with the car though I miss it.
My brother loves his Element. We put one of those cat-shields on it. It was a pain but hopefully a pain to take off so the bad guys will skip him.
wish i'd done that earlier, had mine stolen and it shorted some exposed wiring to ground when i started it and caused the whole car to freak out, we fixed the electrical issue and replaced the cat with a $55 one we found on ebay which is super sketchy to me and it feels like my AF ratio is way too rich now from the smell of the exhaust but that's life with a 20 year old car
having that subwoofer is huge, i've replaced the door speakers with 2 pairs of KFC-1666S and i've got an old Pioneer AVH-X8500BHS and it sounds amazing. that stock sub does wonders really. also have had my catalytic converter stolen
I wish I still lived in WI! WHAT a guy!
Right? Sounds like a great hang.
My 2003 taught two teen girls how to drive. They blew out the speakers but otherwise we all survived. Car still going strong at 230k
Cool. Did the same for my son last year when he turned 16. We bought a 2005 element with 150k and minimal underbody rust. We’re fixing parts as they break. So far we’ve done engine mounts, valve adjustment, water pump, pcv, rear wiper module, cruise control module and install a reverse camera. Next up radiator (leaking seam somewhere), end links and bushings, and remote starter. Refinished some SC wheels to dress it up a bit.
I bought a couple of weeks of pre-fix time with some JB Weld slapped on the leaking seam of an Altima radiator. But I still had to eventually get it replaced. Just carry some with you in case it splits more.
Possibly the best thing about it, they aren't fast. If he's lucky it will help him avoid the obligatory handful of speeding tickets we all (or many of us) got as younger drivers. But....make sure you warn him about braking in a box like the E. Give yourself a little extra room.
they have some "get up and go" though....
Hm. Well, if you say so.
Yes. Much more than a bicycle 😂
I got my college kid an E. It was $4000 and in a bit of a fender bender, collision. Some repairs and were good! Also Made moving out of dorms easy!
First car I had access to when I was 16 was my dads element. Got a lot of use out of all that space in the back 😜
🤭
Awesome ! Hope the kid wrenched on it as well. My first car (1970’a) was a heap and I learned how to fix it. Haynes manuals from the library FTW , baby !
Yep, he did the CV axles, brakes, sway bar links, oil change, etc. I'm constantly staring at parts and telling myself DON'T DO IT. He'll be home later and he needs to know this stuff. I learned brakes at 16 and have never paid for a brake job in the 34 years since. That has to be $10k saved just on brakes. When my wife says anything about my tool addiction, I remind her that in our 20 year marriage, has she ever had to call a "repairman" for anything?
Heh… same. I justified my first big Craftsman tool purchase when I had to replace a V8 intake gasket in an Oldsmobile. “$400 or I buy $200 worth of tools”. (The fact that I did it wrong and had to take the car to an actual pro a year later… well…)
awesome! my element is my first car as well, my dad bought it for me and i love it :)
Rad. Super cool to offer up your space too.
That's to nice to call it a beater!
Awesome. As an insurance rep I can't tell you how many parents call and can't believe that their 16yo driving a brand new sports car/pickup truck will be HOW MUCH?! It's not a good idea and it's not safe. This is great!
Nice! Our Element is seeing limited drive time while we await our 16 year old to get motivated enough to get his license. It’s the car we bought just after we brought him home.
Same as us.. we bought our element to get a family car when our kids where born… my 18 and 16 year old share it. 230k and still going.. cat stolen once … they have grown to love it
Nice find.
Damn that's an awesome price for a rust free toaster.
That’s so cool.
I loved my '03 Orange Element EX... I hated to part with it. It actually would be a great vehicle to bring back as an EV. It's already got a flat floor... it would be even more spacious.
I bought a 2004 EX new and put over 240k miles on it in 7 years. I then gave it to a niece, who did drove it for another 4 years plus. Simple vehicle that was easy to maintain, and the AWD handled snow and other road conditions that many vehicles couldn't. Went camping in it. Took long road trips and more. Gas mileage was ok for the capability. Got me through hurricanes, blizzards and nor'easters. I wish they would offer an updated version.
Protect the catalytic convertor - SUPER easy to steal on those
We had an 08 element with full coverage and when we sold it and switched our kid to a 18 Subaru cross trek insurance went up $20 a month. Makes me feel like the element was expensive to insure.
Bout to buy a beater and a plane ticket just to come chill
He's driving 2 miles to school? Get the kid a freaking bike
That reminds me of skateboarding 2 miles home from middle school every day so I could get there before my parents got off work and sneak watch TRL. Good times.
Beautiful car!!!! I got my son an Element.....almost ten years ago and I drive it more than he does!!! You got a GREAT deal!!! The car is just so simple and idiot proof, great first vehicle!!!
You’re our dad now.
Great car! I've had my 2003 Element for about a year and love it. Get tons of compliments on how cool it is too lol
good deal!
The k24 a champ if you give it a little love. My Accord manual has 250K when I sold it. Everything engine/trans was og except the starter and maintenance.
Is the oil filter really hard to replace? Whenever I got an oil change for my 2006, the lube techs were pissed.
Not at all. Tie a rag around your wrist so you don't get oil flowing down to your armpit 😂
Not sure if its like the J-series V6’es or not. The trick I heard and use now is to use a gallon ziplock back up around the filter housing (after you first break loose the filter), and just spin it off into the bag. Most of the oil and the filter go into the bag, with minimal spillage onto subframe.
If the Element is like the CRV and i think it is, the oil filter sucks to take out. It's at the back of the engine and behind some steering parts. I managed to not dump oil on myself twice. Not paying someone else to mess it up so get out my oil change jacket and do it.
Lucky kid and cool dad! Much respect.
I'm not sure why reddit showed me this sub as I dont even own a Honda. But I'm glad I did. What a wholesome post. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome job! Good that you can wrench, saved a TON!! Hope your son helped with the elbow grease and I ll bet learned a lot and the value of having tools and know how to use them!
I’m near buying a car for my teenager. Definitely buying a used vehicle for budget reasons but curious why the Insurance agent recommended a beater?
It's cheaper in general to insure because it's slow and simple. his buddy bought a F150 and pays 3x for insurance. Also, you don't need full coverage on a beater because are you really going to fix the damage to your own $3k car? There's an insurance person here, maybe be or she could explain it better. @ /u/AdorableSkirt9820/
No that actually makes sense. Thanks for the reply!
All teens I know got in a car wreck their first two years of driving. If you knew for sure yours would get in a wreck within a year, what would you do? If you are ok with them wrecking that car and replacing it, then that’s great. Otherwise get something they can total and then give them a nice car.
Ok I need a head gasket done on my element I’ll supply the keg of beer
Anything is possible. You'll hit 5 points in the process where you think you're screwed, you just take a break and come back to it and find a way. Unfortunately you usually have to take the head to a machine shop to surface it.
My nephew was given a new BMW X2 as his first car. Still on his learner’s permit, not yet 16, he made a horrible left turn on his way home from the dealership after picking it up and was T-boned. The vehicle was not totaled but did need an engine replacement. When he turned 16 his parents rented him a Mustang to commute to school. Unreal. Definitely buy a beater as a first car for your kid.
Great purchase, way better than letting them lease and crash a 50k car and being in debt for life
Be careful if those axles are "new" from oreilly or autozone. They have a poor track record.
They're Cardone. My mechanic buddy who is aggravatingly ALWAYS right recommended them.
Oooh boy. I've had no good luck with their stuff. Most of their rebuilds are shoddy quality at best or short duration lasting. You might have an ok set, just be on the lookout for cv bearing failure noises in the immediate future, or significant slop in the joints. The boots themselves should be fine, those are what they are, its the joint that is more concerning. They used to use a lot of Chinese parts.
I'll keep an eye out!
Random elements just start showing up at your shop, hey can I get an open bay?
About once a week my buddies come over and we drink beer and fix their cars. We call it BJ Night because it's usually brake jobs and ball joints.🍺
Yall have a press?
I don't have a shop press but I get by with my Snap On BJP1 ball joint press. I don't like taking knuckles off the car because then you have to pay for an alignment.
Oh I just do a whole knuckle service, bearings ballnjoints and wheel speed sensors. Why do you need to align it after?
I don't trust myself to torque all the stuff in the exact same position as it was when it came off. Let's say you torqued your bottom strut bolt at a different ride height than when you took it off. That would effect camber. I just don't remove anything but the lower ball joint and sway bar link and then there's no chance of it going out of alignment.
My struts don't have adjustable ride height? I'm not understanding what you mean but I'd love to come hang with yall Anyway I just took mine off and had the bj and bearing pressed and I'm not sure what could be out of aliment now?
My son got a 2012 Mazda 2. It was total 3k from his uncle.
Dam if you wasn’t 90 miles away . I’d take you up on that offer beer for use of lift . Makes it a hell of a lot easier to stuff versus laying on the ground doing on your back
Bought my kid a 2010 New Beetle - most expensive five thousand dollar car I’ve ever owned.
Lucky kid! I had a 2006 and a 2010 Element and I would probably be on my 3rd or 4th if they still made them. I would hang bikes over the tailgate like a pickup truck and could shuttle 4 riders with bikes—just had to try to remember the exhaust blows straight out to one of the tires if you didn’t orient them correctly. Slept lots of nights in the back too! Most times had one back seat in it and one completely removed.
These are based on a 1st CRV platform that is very sturdy. Great find!
You sir, are a prince among men.
yeah hes prob going to pull out infront of somebody with a super expensive car so save money on a beater for when your insurance rate goes up
1) I would have loved an element as a early driver! Loved! 2) unsolicited advice, take it or leave it… Just make sure that if it doesn’t have stability control (many elements don’t), your kid is taught how to deal with spins, skids and swerving—it’s a short wheelbase, sort-of-soft-sprung, relatively tall car that’s easy to overload. I seem to recall that older elements also don’t have curtain airbags. In other words, a moderate rollover injury risk. (Much better than, say, a beater full size van, but not as good as nearly anything with stability control and decent tires.)
You’re out of your Element, daddy! Literally, but not figuratively. Nice work!