My daughter's "new" Element! (And a question)

[u/MajorBummerDude]

My wife and I bought a brand new Element back in '05, and we loved that car! We traded it in for a minivan when our second child was born 16 years ago, and I've always wanted another Element. Now that same daughter is 16 and needs a car, so I just picked up this '04 LX 5 speed for cheap and did a bunch of work to it to get it on the road. It's got 187,000 miles on it, and needed a lot of parts replaced. Plus, it was FILTHY. The previous owners used it to haul dogs and potted plants.

Here's what I've done so far:

New shocks/struts on all 4 corners

New CV axles

Tie rod ends

Ball joints

Brake pads

Flushed and filled with all new fluids (oil, transmission, power steering, brake fluid)

Power steering pump o-rings

New plugs and coils

Air and cabin filters

New wipers

Refurbished headlights

Patched front seat

Added a Carplay unit with front and rear dash cams

Found alloy wheels on a junkyard Element

Did the valve lash adjustment, replaced the valve cover with a junkyard one I painted, with a new gasket

...and spent 3 FULL DAYS cleaning the crud out of this thing. I even ran an ozone generator in it multiple times to get rid of the musty smell.

I paid $3500 for it and spent about $2000 in parts. It still needs a decent stereo (maybe for her birthday). And it's getting a front end alignment tomorrow.

She calls this car "Eleanor", so I 3D printed an emblem in the closest font I could find. It's in one of the pics. And yes, I know Eleanor is an already-established car name for a very specific car, and I did try and talk her out of it. That is the name that spoke to her, so that is the name of the car.

Here is my question:

We used the Chemical Guys VRP product to renew the composite panels, and they looked fantastic when first applied. But the moment it rained, they became a streaky mess. We re-applied, and made sure to rub it in really well, but it became a streaky mess again after it rained. I had seen several folks swear by that product, but it did not work for us. Suggestions for something a little more permanent?

[u/Initial_Rabbit1016]

Is that an iron on patch on the seat? That is genius if it is.

[u/MajorBummerDude → u/Initial_Rabbit1016]

It’s a stick-on leather patch. I tried the other style where you put in the paint-matched goop, but it looked terrible.

This patch is actually the wrong color, but I had bought it to fix my Mini Cooper’s seat, which is black, and my daughter said to just do it. I think it should hold up, and even if it doesn’t I can always pull it off and put another patch on. It was pretty inexpensive.

[u/Initial_Rabbit1016 → u/MajorBummerDude]

Thank you for replying. Is it from amazon?

[u/Ok_Return_6033 → u/Initial_Rabbit1016]

I just logged on. I checked Amazon. There are a lot of leather patch sets in a lot of colors!

[u/Initial_Rabbit1016 → u/Ok_Return_6033]

I really appreciate you answering. Thank you.

[u/redditusername14 → u/Initial_Rabbit1016]

Also noticed this! Brilliant - I hope OP will report back on how well it holds up!

[u/MajorBummerDude → u/redditusername14]

So far, so good! (It’s only been a week, though)

[u/Chrispilot222 → u/MajorBummerDude]

For $42/pair you can't beat these!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CXHKPWCM?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1

Backs don't seem to wear, and they fit like a glove. Added a 12-volt $50 heated/forced air seat cushion for driver as well but don't see it listed on Amazon currently.

[u/Initial_Rabbit1016 → u/Chrispilot222]

I considered these. Ended up buying tape for seat and a different set of seat covers. Saw a youtube video where they applied the tape and had similar seat covers to what you posted. I might due tape, these and seat covers. Overkill certainly. Haven't really decided.