Hello from Germany

[oz42]

Originally Posted by redneck

.
Why did you opt for the Honda Insight instead of a much more common (in your country) fuel efficient VW Lupo ...???

There are several reasons.

The Lupo 3L is a nice car, but needs to repaired quite often. Poor quality.

I always wanted to have a hybrid.

I have seen the Honda the first time when I watched the movie "The Day After Tomorrow". And I thought that it's cool.

The Honda's price was low. Before buying it, I have asked for advice in a German Insight forum. One guy said that the price was okay even if the car needed some repair, e.g. a broken gear box.

And the nice story about getting it... the car was in Munich, I am living in between Hamburg and Lübeck. So how could I get there? By train, by plane, ...? When talking to the seller one day, he told me that he will travel to Hamburg soon to visit his mum. And he suggested that he could pick me up on his way back to Munich.

It was a nice road trip with a lot of conversation about cars, the Honda, and Porsches. He is a Porsche dealer who buys old 911, refurbishes them and sells them. He told me that he always buys a car that is somehow fascinating, drives it for one year and then sells it.

When I bought it, he gave me a lot of paper - every single maintenance and repair is well documented. That is unusual for a 15 year old car.

And the final reason was: this car has almost no problems. Except for the trip button on the dash board that works on every 2nd or 3rd press. And that typical headlight issue, they need to be polished. Gear box and engine need new oil, and it needs new front brakes. That's all.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by oz42

I have seen the Honda the first time when I watched the movie "The Day After Tomorrow". And I thought that it's cool.

At least to me, it seems to resemble conceptually the Karmann-Ghia, with its sporty looks tough it was more targeted to efficiency (well, that considering the Beetle/Käfer and one of the efficiency benchmarks of its era)...

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by oz42

The Lupo 3L is a nice car, but needs to repaired quite often. Poor quality.

Same story with the Audi A2 3L?

[oz42]

I do not know much about it, but I have heard that it is better than the Lupo. But it is quite expensive. Many people want one.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Same story with the Audi A2 3L?

The drivetrains are technically the same, so yeah ...
Automated gearbox is oft an issue.

Asking prices are in the 5000 to 8000 euro range for anything under 200K km

And not everyone over here wants to continue using diesel cars

[oz42]

Which means: getting one of the very rare Insights in Germany is much, much cheaper.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by euromodder

not everyone over here wants to continue using diesel cars

Blame it on the Soviet.. err.. European Union with its submission to Big Oil.

[Xist]

I was stationed in Germany for two years. It is a beautiful country that I missed dearly while I was in Afghanistan. I tried to learn German. I am fluent in Spanish and supposedly, one's third language is learned easier than the second, but Spanish was easy for me, and German was a challenge. I like to think that I am patient, but I tried using Rosetta Stone before I went to Germany and I remember pounding on my parents' kitchen table and shouting "What are you trying to tell me?!"

I do not know if you watched "Star Trek," but in one episode of Next Generation, Counselor Troi holds up a mug and says a word in her native language. Captain Picard thought that she meant one word, but she explained that she could have been saying "mug," "tea," "hot," or other possibilities.

I felt that Rosetta Stone was too vague when it simply showed a picture.

I tried using what little I had learn when I left post, but everyone talked to me in English.

Welcome to the forums!

[oz42]

Nice story! Well, I am happy that I am a German native speaker so that I never had to learn this complicated language the hard way.

Yesterday I had my 1st "neg recal" with my Insight. And I have also ordered a grid charger. Now I am a real Insighter.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by oz42

I am happy that I am a German native speaker so that I never had to learn this complicated language the hard way.

I know many people of German ancestry who were born in Brazil and learned German at home before they learned our official language (Portuguese).