One Car Too Many

[elhigh]

My son just bought a 2015 Volt, which means I now have five cars in a household with only four people.

I'm going to offer up my 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid for sale. No pictures to include just yet.

Vehicle is still using its original IMA pack. The pack throws an IMA light about twice per year; a deep discharge followed by an all-day grid charge sets it back to rights.

My HCH has the manual transmission. It works flawlessly. No unpleasant sounds, good clutch, shifts cleanly into all gears.

HVAC works very well. Replaced the AC clutch myself. Only topped up the refrigerant once or twice in the five years I've owned it, and my remaining 1-2 cans of refrigerant will go with the car. They're not compatible with my other vehicles.

All gauges and the stereo work well. Power windows and locks work.

Interior condition is good, not great. The headliner is drooping a bit in the center at the back, but has since I bought it and not gotten any worse. The upholstery condition is good, cushions are very firm.

Body condition is very good, not flawless. I have pine trees, which means I have pitchy spots. I'll try to get those off before shooting pictures.

All lights work well. Headlights were replaced with LED lamps, which are noticeably brighter than factory. Some interior lights have been replaced with brighter LED, especially in the trunk which is now extremely well lit.

With my son driving the fuel economy has been in the middle 40s, which is slightly above average for the model. My lifetime average before he started driving it is 49.58mpg, which is significantly above average for the model. It is an EXCELLENT long trips car, it is a dream on the Interstate, even better on fast back roads. This car rewards a smart driver on rolling hills with fuel mileage like you didn't think was possible for an unmodified HCH.

Whoops - mostly unmodified. I have added a partial pan under the engine, where the original engine underpan was torn off and discarded by some hamfisted oil change monkey.


I'll consider any reasonable offer above $1250. This is a good car that I think has a lot of life left in it, and for the price gets a driver into an extremely thrifty, practical car that can save him/her a lot of money vs. other, less economical choices.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

If only you were listing this in December...I would totally be interested if I couldn't find myself an Insight then. Does it still go into lean burn? Any other negative effects from the IMA?

[elhigh]

I'm pretty sure lean burn still works. Every now and then I feel a sudden jump in power and the instant MPG display drops. Usually on a long, slow incline. Leaving it be for a few seconds and then briefly letting off the gas gets the instant MPG back to where it was. I think that's lean burn dropping out to heat up the catalytic converter.

Aside from the IMA needing the occasional discharge and recharge, no problems. If I didn't already have a Prius I'd probably just keep driving this until the IMA finally dies, if it ever dies, and then replace it with a Bumblebee battery and keep going.

[edit]
The car has been sold! It has gone to a fellow Ecomodder who recently dove DEEP into the hybrid pool, going in one year from a DD 4Runner to a couple of Insights, and added this for his college-bound youngun.

[tervic]

That buyer would be me!

Elhigh and his wife are great people, I enjoyed meeting them while picking up the car.

The car itself is great, ran very well and I was seeing 48 - 49 mpg while doing 70 on the interstate. I was really looking forward to handing it off to my college sophomore daughter!

Unfortunately, at 2AM on a dark Kansas highway I had a "meeting" with a deer...

Here is the result. Surprisingly, the car still drives fine and tracks just as straight as it did before the collision. I had only put liability insurance on the car, so fixing or junking is solely my decision.

Pretty sure it will be uneconomical to have a body shop fix it.

[redpoint5]

How many miles on it, and what do you want for it? Did you pick up the missing headlight?

The thing is, it's worth about scrap considering a dying battery, hood, windshield, headlight, bumper, and quarter panel.

If it's an otherwise good car, I'd probably get the hood and quarter panel from the junkyard, cobble the bumper back on best I can, and have the windshield replaced, which should be ~$200.

These cars don't run if the traction battery completely dies, right?

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

How many miles on it, and what do you want for it? Did you pick up the missing headlight?

These cars don't run if the traction battery completely dies, right?

I always thought they just stopped charging the 12 volt battery, it is an Mt afterall

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by tervic

That buyer would be

Unfortunately, at 2AM on a dark Kansas highway I had a "meeting" with a deer...

Here is the result. Surprisingly, the car still drives fine and tracks just as straight as it did before the collision. I had only put liability insurance on the car, so fixing or junking is solely my decision.

Pretty sure it will be uneconomical to have a body shop fix it.

Agree with red...

If you don’t have inspection and the titles not branded use another car to pull anything out that needs pulling, tap out the sheet metal so it’s just riplly, replace the glass and light and drive on after checking for leaks , brakes and the usual.

[ThermionicScott]

Stupid deer. They're much larger than rabbits, but just as dumb.

[elhigh]

I'm just glad you're okay, that's the important part. Everything else is just stuff.