Honda Insight Hydrid, good fire sale?

[botsapper]

The Honda Insight Hybrid will be going out of production. It did not even make a tenth of Prius sales, and over half of it was JDM! There is a reportedly a 237 days worth of inventory and dealers have stopped ordering from the Honda. Honda unfortunately did not update or support the model to be competitive. It even looks outdated and worst, derivative.

This will probably be another death for the Insight brand model, will there be a fire sale to get rid of the last models in the lot? or is it even worth to buy a dead and unsupported model?

Honda to End Production of Insight Hybrid as Sales Trail Prius - Bloomberg

[Cobb]

When I purchased my scion xa in 07 I remember seeing an 06 insight on the honda lot with a window sticker asking 23 grand. I think it was there for a year before I am assuming the dealer sold it.

Used ones go rather cheap, but they do have a hell of a lot of inventory left in the US.

[MetroMPG]

The dealers will still back it for service, so no worries there if you really wanted to buy a fire sale one.

It's funny to think EM has been around long enough that I remember the "new Insight is coming!" threads, and now here's another dead Insight.

I remember not being hopeful for the Insight2. IMA pales in comparison to HSD from a driving & efficiency perspective (humble opinion, from the former owner of an IMA Honda).

On the bright side, Honda scared the crap out of Toyota with the car when it launched, so we can thank Honda for the Prius C and lower hybrid prices.

[War_Wagon]

Yup, if you want one I'd be keeping my eyes open for 0% financing for 60 months, etc etc. Just like when Suzuki went under in the USA, there will be all sorts of deals to be had. Parts and service won't be an issue as MetroMPG said, it's Honda, they'll look after it. Just remember, if you buy a new one, plan to keep it until the wheels fall off, because it will have no resale value. Orphan makes and models take huge hits in the used market, even if there is nothing wrong with the cars themselves. Used Saturns sell for practically scrap value up here, they are good cars but what person that needs to buy a car goes on Craigslist in the morning and thinks "I'll search for cars that they don't make anymore, they must be good!"

[MetroMPG]

Yikes... maybe another reason to give the Insight a pass: Civic hybrids have a shockingly high rate of battery failure. Much higher than I would have guessed.

How bad? 30 percent failure rate for 2009 models and 32 percent for the 2010s

That is if you believe...

Consumer Reports: Honda Civic Hybrid Battery Reliability | Hybrid Batteries - Consumer Reports News

[RedDevil]

The Civic had battery problems, and the ageing first gens, but not the second gen Insight. Some second gens have done over 200,000 miles already and they still have their original hybrid battery.
I do not know of any G2 with a confirmed fail on the hybrid pack.

The 12V battery, that's another story. They fail in herds. Mine was replaced under warranty just a week ago. AFAIK that is the only reliability issue with the G2.

It is a wonder that the EPA ratings are so low.
It suffers from short trips in the cold; if you have few of those it is quite easy to beat EPA.
I like the practicality and cornering. It was so much better than all the other cars I tried.
Performance is good in the city but falls a bit short on the highway. It will go, but it revs high if you floor it. It could use some more torque, like the CR/Z 1.5 engine could provide.
Yet I do believe the G2 got less attention than it deserves.

My dream car would be the current G2 with the hybrid system & gearbox of the new Fit hybrid. Better economy, better performance.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

I do not know of any G2 with a confirmed fail on the hybrid pack.

Thanks for the clarification.

My dream car would be the current G2 with the hybrid system & gearbox of the new Fit hybrid. Better economy, better performance.

No doubt Honda will try again with something like that. Their new system is much more competitive.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

The Civic had battery problems, and the ageing first gens, but not the second gen Insight. Some second gens have done over 200,000 miles already and they still have their original hybrid battery.
I do not know of any G2 with a confirmed fail on the hybrid pack.

The 12V battery, that's another story. They fail in herds. Mine was replaced under warranty just a week ago. AFAIK that is the only reliability issue with the G2.

Same on the Fit's 12V battery. I believe the share the same Yuasa 151R model, right? Tiny little thing with 330 CCA.

[Cobb]

Yeah, those civic problems Ive wondered are related to the orientation of the pack in the seat back as well as the ventilation intake in the rear window.

Most of the gen 1 battery failures seem to be from lack of driving. Honda does state in the manual a procedure to park the car and that is limited to like a month before it needs to be redone.

I had a coworker with a hch, but it had a fire in the drivers dash area and she just walked away from it safely and the dealer gave her a equal value used car. The hch was used she purchased. I had looked forward to hypermiling with her.

International prius models I know use to come with a onboard charger to fix extended storage issues with the battery in those vehicles.