WTB 2000-2002 Honda Insight (Indiana)

[zapper_89]

After doing plenty of research, I have fallen in love with this car. My wife and I are young college student who need a second car for a few months, so I decided this was the time to upgrade out of our gas guzzling Ford Taurus.

I had one nearly sealed on craigslist, but it was bought out from under me. I figured this was worth a shot.

Specs:

2000, 2001 or a 2002 model
Manual transmission (No CVTs)
Any color
Roughly 150k miles
Interior and exterior just need to be decent.

I am particularly interested in Insights with "newish" batteries and transmissions.
Preferably no accidents (No salvage titles).
Cruise Control is a HUGE plus.

PRICING: Obviously, money is tight with two college students, especially as we move into Grad/Law school. However, I will pay with cash. I do know the KBB value of the car, so no ridiculous offers, please. Since I am looking for cars with newer component, that will certainly be taken into consideration.

Location: I live in South Bend, Indiana 46545 (top middle of the state, hour and a half due East of Chicago). I am willing to travel up to 500 miles, if necessary, so most offers should be open (500 miles reaches from Iowa to Pennsylvania, and Minnesota to Georgia.

[kennysmith]

I found my car using AutoTempest - Find your next car... Faster. to search Auto Trader and Craigslist nationwide. You can narrow the search parameters to 500 miles if you want. I'm in WA state and bought my car in FL. I assume you also watch ebay? My son went to school in Benton Harbor 20? miles N so I know the area. Good luck! I've gotten used to no cruise. I'm pretty sure I would not be using it as I am trying (unsuccessfully) to keep SOC (state of charge) high and in LB (lean burn).

[zapper_89]

I actually run two different Ebay stores in my spare time, . Thanks for the site, I will have to check it out. I have actually been using searchtempest.com/, but that is exclusively craigslist. I'd assume they are associated.

I trend to shy away from dealers, and lean more towards independent sellers. I look for the bargain. My family always jokes that I was a used car dealer in a past life. Although, I would never consider selling cars, it is far too complex. This is me just casting a wide net for deals.

I am actually from WA/OR myself, so I take a number of road trips to see my family. I am hoping to do a 6000 mile national park run this summer, so a cruise control is pretty important to me (especially on those WY hills). I have almost always driven an automatic, so a manual will be a bit of a change, especially for my wife who has no experience. I figure I can always throw a cruise control on for $300-$400.

Can you explain a little more about the importance and how to of the SOC (state of charge) high and in LB (lean burn). My understanding of both are pretty superficial at the moment.

[kennysmith]

I guess we are getting off topic, but I love road trips. I've actually manage to drive cross country at least 1X/yr for the past 10 years or so. Your trip sounds great! I might drive to DC in February.

I'm probably not best to explain SOC and LB, but they are topics you will search to get most from your car. The point I was making is that I don't think you can drive your car most efficiently with cruise. I think it would be annoying, but I know many here have installed it. I drive a lot and I have not been w/o cruise for many years so I thought it would drive me nuts. My wife and I flew to FL to pick up our car, having never even sat in an Insight and we drove 5200 miles w/o cruise and enjoyed every minute. We averaged 59.6 for the trip and drove 70 most the way. I grin every day I drive the car. I hope to make a few improvements on the car and work to learn how to drive it more efficiently. I dont think cruise will be in my future.

(Oh I didn't mean Benton Harbor, I meant Berrien Springs in earlier post)

[moonshine]

Sorry Zapper:
I think that I got the car you were thinking about if it was in Chicago. If its any consolation, the little guy is going to need some work before its functional. I will keep my eyes pealed to try to find you another one. Or I could get you the next best thing, put together a little car running on Propane for you.

[kbarcomb]

My car meets your description and is still for sale. Take a look:

FS: 2000 Insight $6800

I'm located just outside of Columbus. The IMA battery on my Insight was just replaced in October and now the car runs better than ever.

[moonshine]

Thanks for the ad, but i just bought mine, for less then half but twice the miles. Good luck in your search. Moonshine

[nitrocars1]

I have a 2000 Insight with A/C, 5spd, keyless entry, 4 speakers, and only 93k miles. It got new tires, spark plugs, and its 90k mile service in March. It had the batteries replaced in May 2008 at about 80k miles under warranty at Crest Honda in Nashville. The car is currently located in Austin, TX (and has only been here since Sept). I'll be glad to pick you up at the Austin airport if you decide to go for it. I'm asking $6900.

Here is a link to some pictures: Sparky - 2000 Honda Insight pictures from cars photos on webshots