Looking at a 2000 Insight tomorrow!
 

So, I saw an insight pop up the other day at the local honda dealer.

2000, Silver, 5-speed, 138,000miles...Asking price of $7,995

So I hope I can talk them down to $7,000 because that it a bit high if you ask me. What should I look out for? Should I be concerned with the battery packs going bad?

I actually gave the car a look over today but, the lot was closed. Seems to be in good shape but, s few small things here and there. Tire tread is a bit low, some marks on the back bumper, and Ding on the one door. I was also surprised to see a cassette player in this "futuristic" car...haha

It is great that you are looking for a so eficient hybrid car. The honda insight is probably the best ever produced. If you could take some pictures it would be awesome :)

It think that 7k is a little bit high for 2000 , maybe 5.5 6k would be reasonable.
You must absolutely check the battety pack, it would be sad to have a dead one.

I will surely follow this thread :)
HMQC

Here is the listing...don't any of you guys buy it before I get to test drive it ;)

Cars for Sale: 2000 Honda Insight in West Mifflin, PA 15122: Hatchback Details - 315149361 - AutoTrader.com

Also, I really doubt the dealer would sell it for $6,000 but, I will try my best to talk them down.

Nice one, thank you. i'm planning to get one some day but don't worry it won't be this one :)

update:

The dealer said on the phone that the transmission is messed up and the batteries aren't working. Seemed like they weren't looking to sell it. So I didn't look at it today. No big deal because I found another Insight on craigslist...


So, the one I am checking out tomorrow (private seller)...2002 Red, 5speed, 200,000miles, Battery not working! Asking price $3,500

He was telling me how a lot of insights have messed up 1st and second gears. But, they are fine on this one....He is a total insight nut (I think he owns 3 and is doing an engine swap on one).

So, buying and old 200k insight??? Not for the faint of heart? I am a little worried but, I am pretty mechanical. Think I can handle common problems that pop up on old insights?

Everyone likes to talk up the price of old insights but honestly, 10 years old, 200k and bad battery to me = $1500-$3k, if you figure its worth the bank, go for it. Just see if he has any maintenance records.

If the XMSN, clutch and other goodies are all original, me thinks less.

Looking for an Insight
 

I am thinking about an insight. how do you tell if the battery is in need of replacement? any thoughts?
Thanks,
John

OK, I am a total insight noob but, from what I can tell the cars IMA light will be on if there is problems.

Also, with a few small tweaks you can run the insight fine without the hybrid functions (except less power and worse gas millage). Which is what I will plan on doing at fist if I end up getting that car...maybe later I will try to referb the battery.

The IMA battery light should come on if there is a traction battery issue, but make sure the IMA light hasn't been disconnected! When I bought my first one I knew nothing about them, and didn't even know there was an IMA light. Needless to say it had been disconnected and the battery pack was toast. When you first turn the key on, all your dash warning lights will self test (ABS, check engine, etc) make sure you see the IMA one too.

They will run fine with a dead traction battery, a little gutless but mine averaged in the low 50s for MPGs, and that was mostly in town driving where the traction battery would have helped out the most.

I too was thinking about buying a Honda Insight the newer models, but after researching the Insight and comparing it to the Toyota Prius. I will and recommend buying a Prius. Now before there are any negative comments here are the reason why, the drive train where the electric motor and ICE connect to put power to the wheels. Honda missed it, they have the ICE and electric motor connected together. They are both running at the same time when power is needed to the wheels Honda's Integrated Motor Assist. On the other hand the Prius as a Planetary Gear System. Power to the wheels can be individually provided either by the ICE or electric motor or together. If you are thinking long term I would choose a Prius because the battery packs in the future will be more powerful, you will be able to upgrade the packs, and the Prius would be able to run on electric power for a longer period of time using less fuel. The Insight has to have the ICE on running to power the wheels. I was all about the Insight until I read about the drive train.

I've often wondered why honda didn't just put the electric motor on the xmsn side with a clutch between for the ice to shift? No need for a planetary at all, or better yet put it between the final drive and the xmsn in the transaxle, then it could "brake" even when the ice was in neutral.

The beauty of the Honda is that the original beats the Prius hands down highway FE and it is simple and easier to repair.

Try to fix a burn't Prius xmsn?

FYI for future reference:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ems-18892.html

there is no "best" one.

the insight is superior when driven outside of city traffic. the prius is better in the city where it can run in EV mode. also, the insight can be hypermiled with it's manual trans.

get what works for you.

If FE is the primary goal and you don't need the back seat/extra space, the Insight is superior to the Prius. Even in city driving, the two are about equal. Outside of city traffic, the two aren't close. You also have a car that has a cult hyper mile modding following that can hit some pretty extreme FE numbers. BUT, it cannot touch a Prius on running clean; the lean burn that makes the manual Insights incomparable at highway mileage hurts its emissions.

Just as an aside, the lean burn Insight was still rated by the EPA as ULEV. Probably "dirtier" than a Prius, but better than average.

ULEV = "emits 50% less polluting emissions than the average for new cars released in that model year."

Sorry about catching you late on this, but in case you missed it, you might want to look at this add here

Honda : Insight Honda : Insight - eBay (item 260955967546 end time Feb-19-12 16:56:44 PST)

My girlfriends car has developed engine problems and it's costing more than we anticipated, so i'm going to pass on the purchase. Good luck !

damn if i knew you where selling i would have found the money and come and got it I am out of houston.

It's apparently still for sale ! He wants $ 3,500 as a 'take home' price.
It looks like he might get more than that since the current bid is close to that, but i would try never-the-less.

go for it ! :thumbup:

The manual Insight I gen was rated as a ULEV while the auto was actually rated cleaner with a SULEV rating

"Examples of hybrid vehicles delivering SULEV emissions performance include the Honda Insight.

A conventionally powered example is the Ford Focus SULEV variant. In 2005, General Motors' 3800 Series III V6 engines became the industry's first gasoline V6s to carry the SULEV rating and can be found in the Pontiac Grand Prix (optionally supercharged), Buick LaCrosse, and the Buick Lucerne.

Honda's 2006 Civic Hybrid is another example of a SULEV vehicle, in addition to getting almost 45 miles per US gallon (5 L/100 km; 54 mpg-imp). Honda was one of the first car makers to offer SULEV vehicles, starting with 2000 model year Honda Insights (Though only the CVT version attained this rating. The manual transmission version, due to its Lean burn, got a ULEV), one model of the 2000 Honda Accord (special SULEV version of the EX 4-cylinder model, available in California) and the Natural Gas powered Honda Civic GX.
"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_U...ission_Vehicle

That is correct, the CVT is cleaner because it was not available with lean burn in the US. The downside is that without lean burn, it doesn't get any better mileage than a Prius, only with a less reliable battery and no back seat.