BUYER BEWARE:
I saw a Honda Element I was interested in, however it was 3 hours away. I decided to take the risk since it was a "dealership" and not someone random on Facebook market place and go ahead and purchase it upfront. I am active duty military and needed a vehicle quick. This was the absolute worst mistake I could have made.
Although these people "discounted" the price of the vehicle, the amount of taxes and fees and shipping made it no discount at all. Even after the haggling, I was quoted $250 to ship the vehicle to me, but I saw it was $350 on the receipt without any mention of the higher price to me and I was so emotionally drained from this purchase, I didn't even fight it.
This vehicle was delivered by a delightful man, who offered to stay until I drove away. I immediately opened the glove box and door fell on the floor. The glove box assembly itself didn't even exist and was hanging by a piece of plastic. Not only this, but I turned the air on and the entire car started to make a very irritating and mechanical sound which would have absolutely been obvious to anyone dealing with this vehicle.
My heart sunk to my chest and I just went and took it to the Honda dealership because at this point I didn't feel safe. After Honda did a thorough exam, the total estimated recommended costs to fix the vehicle was over $6000 AFTER buying this car for over $9400!
I decided to replace the big things Honda said should be changed immediately such as the water pump and the extremely noisey fan coming from the car, and this cost me an additional $4000. Now I've paid 14,000 for a 2008 used Honda element with 186,000 miles which is way too much for the car's value, but I was already in the hole with this purchase.
Now I'm stuck with an overpriced Honda Element with a broken glove box and I still haven't repaired other major remedies, such as a cracked compliance bushing which costs $600 because I simply don't have the money.
I called better all auto sales and told them of the situation to which they did not offer any assistance except to look at the vehicle video from the Honda dealership. I had sent this video via email and to the seller himself on Facebook and he never watched the video, even after confirming this was his Facebook profile, and the manager advised the video wasn't playable after emailing it to him.
I'm so exhausted and financially drained from this dealership. The manager even tried to relate to me by telling me he is former military and I myself am active duty military and I was offered no financial assistance after selling me a car that needed immediate maintenance. This dealership took no accountability and simply stated of course Honda would tell me the vehicle needed work because it was Honda trying to scam me. The manager advised I could bring the car back to him 3 hours each way and they would look at the car. Right, like I'm going to make a 6 hour journey to visit this shady dealership, so they can further cause financial damage and hardship to me. Hard pass.
Long story short. This dealership sells cars that drive, nothing else. There may be a million things wrong with the car under the surface, but if it drives, it's good to sell. I had to sign a waiver saying the vehicle has no warranty. If you buy from them, look at the vehicle and test drive it if possible. Don't do what I did which was trust them to take care of you. I even reached out to ask when my license plate would get here and I've received nothing back and I doubt I ever will. Please be informed and know what you're getting into.
