[Nail Grease]

I should have been clearer.

For me and my personal calculus, market value and what I think is "worth it" are two different things, especially with the price increases in the last 12 months. That doesn't make this a bad deal - it just means that there are people that will pay more for an old Pilot than I would.

I think that the odds of getting 50k miles from this vehicle without significant incremental investment are pretty low. All of the "look out for this" posts in this thread point out some of the ways that can happen. As NailGrease already suggested, if the OP isn't doing the work, that money might be better spent elsewhere.

There's a lot of cars out there in the $5k - $10k range. For me, a high-mileage '07 from snow country for $5,500 doesn't make the cut, unless the records show that it's been exceptionally well-maintained (motor mounts, suspension refresh, etc.). Others will see it differently - that's what makes the forum interesting.

I'm all in DIY if its replacing parts or maintenance. I'm sure I could spend a $1k in parts the first month. Not including a set of Sumitomo HTR A/S P03s (had to throw that in there, lol)
But ya, I don't do rust.

 

[undivide]

given the work the vehicle needs you can probably talk them down to at least 5 thousand. I picked up our Pilot on craigslist for my wife and we both did a nice long test drive and the guy even put the vehicle up on a lift for me to do an inspection underneath. he let me know about the check engine light which he dropped the price for me because he assumed the cats were shot. I ended up sinking several hundred dollars into it during the first year to get it "safe" for transporting my kids and for taking road trips. very easy vehicle to work on except when I had to replace my power steering high pressure line. it was making noise so I replaced the o-ring seals to the pump connections which quiet it down but caused seeping from the high line hose crimp. bought a hose from rock auto and removing the old line was the most pain in the ass thing I've ever done, probably because I don't have a lift and laying on the ground while wrenching anything makes it twice as hard. all in all I think I got my money's worth and honestly I see more old Pilots driving around here in delaware than the newer models so that says something also. its very hard to find a vehicle this old that has a great interior and body isn't completely trashed with scratches and dents and rust. I'd say go for it if it looks good and runs & shifts strong. small leaks can be fixed relatively cheaply. and having the timing job done recently is a huge plus

 

[dmsclemson]

Hello everyone, I've been reading on this forum recently and I'm impressed by the longevity of the Honda Pilots. My wife and I are currently considering a 07 Honda pilot ex at a dealership in the Midwest. The Pilot only has one owner, and has all the service records from the first day they bought it. It has 185,000 miles, a new power steering pump, and a new timing belt at 150k. The car is clean (immaculate inside and out. The bad is I called the Honda Dealership where all the maintenance was done and it needs a high pressure line, trailer arm bushings, a valve adjustment, and oil pan gasket. The dealership priced the car at about $5500. I would like your thoughts and opinions on this deal. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

We think the dealership should go down on the price. They refuse to fix the high pressure line which I caught leaking on the test drive.

I would ask the dealer why they have not fixed these known issues before putting the car up for sale. Their response should give you some good clues about whether to negotiate on the car (to include having all of the known issues fixed either by them or for a discount so you can get them fixed elsewhere) or hard pass on both the car and them as a future service location.

While I don't buy a lot of cars, I do pay for a fair amount of service to keep the ones I own running well. I've "taken my business elsewhere" from a couple of dealers who did not have their act together. I'm glad I've found independent shops for both my Pilot and my Miata based on the dealers here in Houston.

My 2007 EX-L has been a good car since I bought it in late 2009 fwiw.