Honda Insights for sale

[sheepdog 44]

If anyone is interested 1st gen Insights can be had for $1,500-$3,500 depending on condition. They pop up all over craigslist with IMA lights out of warranty and owners not wanting to buy a new battery. There are some good ones selling a little low, but they don't last long.

If you live in close proximity to the seller you have an advantage. Generally the "Vultures" over there live out of state, and would have to ship a car or drive it hundreds of miles back home. It's quite a process that leaves an opening for anybody living close by to offer cash and walk away with it.

Buy/Sell Insight-Related Items - Insight Central: Honda Insight Forum

[Superfuelgero]

I live too close to the guy in new orleans. He posts WTB in all the major places and snatches them up.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by xntrx

I live to close to the guy in new orleans. He posts WTB in all the major places and snatches them up.

What is his deal anyway?

Is he the Jay Leno of insights and wants a 100,000sqft warehouse full of the things.

[UltArc]

Lol, some people there will seriously do anything for some.

I mean, it is a spectacular car, especially what one gets for the money, but vultures is not an understatement.

[user removed]

There is a point in the life of cars as rare as the Insight where people will hoard them for parts. With the battery rebuilding operations fading away, owners are faced with a large expense for a replacement battery and the life expectancy of those replacements is no where near the life of original equipment (new) batteries.

I owned one a while back and while it got great mileage, it had $7000 in warranty work done in 32k miles, from 35 to 67k miles when I sold it. That amount of warranty work in that short period of time convinced me to sell the car.

Sometime several years ago I predicted the situation where the cost of the battery would exceed the value of the car. Combined with all the other age and mileage related repairs, some owners are ready to bail out of their Insights.

No need to trash me for my opinions, I paid $10k for mine and loved the mileage. I talked to another Insight owner once riding on the Scotland Neck ferry. They had paid $5k for a battery but felt it was OK in lieu of the high fuel economy. I guess they went for a new battery at that price, but without a source of new batteries, reasonably priced the point where the cost of a battery exceeds the value of the car needing a battery, has probably been reached.

regards
Mech

[Superfuelgero]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

What is his deal anyway?

Is he the Jay Leno of insights and wants a 100,000sqft warehouse full of the things.

He parts them. Not a big fan of it (one less rare car), but he's making a go of it ,and it helps the community temporarily.

I thought the IMA hacks would help keep the cars alive, but most owners don't care. I would buy one, I think the market's at its bottom (still have a backseat issue). As the supply gets tighter, we should see values stabilize and start to rise in a few years. It is still top dog in mpg after all.

[sheepdog 44]

Yeah, a better after market battery is approximately between $1,900 for the cells, and $2,100 for a drop in pack. It's the better option, as an OEM replacement pack will last about 3 years, and is generally considered to be made of refurbished cells. It's not an issue to driveability, but some states require the IMA light to be off to pass inspection.

The guy in Indiana has 15+ Insights, a truck and trailer rig, a giant garage and use of an airplane hanger. But at least he keeps them intact. If i had that money would i buy a supercar or amass a fleet of eco cars? The former is not so appealing to me...

But if you have 2 grand on hand and are willing to go at the drop of hat... It's better someone here snatch one up rather than it go to waste over there sitting in a garage!

[vskid3]

I think paying over ~$5k for one is pretty silly unless its pristine. I paid $2k for mine with a poor battery, which is a pretty rare find for the southwest. If you live on or are willing to travel to either coast or the midwest, it shouldn't be difficult to find one for under $3k if you're willing to provide a little TLC.

If you can do your own repairs, I think they can be a great car that can last a long time. By now, its not just the battery that you have to worry about, but also the rest of the car. That can nickel and dime you to death if you have to pay someone else to do the work. I'm one that has to keep the battery healthy enough to prevent it triggering the IMA and check engine lights so it'll pass inspection. I'm not really sure what I'll do when it gets past that point (hopefully it'll be right after getting it inspected and give me a year to figure it out). Its too bad that running it with the battery disabled triggers the lights.

I'm kind of mixed when it comes to the hoarders. On the one hand, I would rather have these cars out driving and saving gas. On the other hand, most of the cars they buy would likely be headed to the scrapyard anyway.

[user removed]

Anyone here remember the 30 year battery life predictions. Do you think the Prii will have the same issue later in life, even with the "better" battery management system.

regards
Mech

[sheepdog 44]

I'm going to redirect any Insight finds to this thread in hopes the members of this forum will pick them up.

This looks like a good find depending on condition. I seriously considered picking this up, but a good deal isn't a deal if you really don't need it. My car has seen better days, but it's practically free, and has a really cheap upkeep.

2002 Honda Insight 118,000 Miles Needs Hybrid Battery - $2400 (OBO - Milford, CT)
2002 Honda Insight Low Miles Needs Hybrid Battery

2001 Honda Insight Hatchback with A/C - $2599 (Uniontown) (PA) CVT
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/ctd/4495410510.html

Even one that's not running is probably the best project car you could have.
2002 Honda Insight - $1500 (Roselawn, In) BROKEN CVT TRANS
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/cto/4495577144.html