Noob: Graduate Student w/ A Budget Needs Some Insight

[therron.smith]

Hey Folks,
I'm a newcomer to Insights. Don't really know what is a 'good' deal or what things I need to stay away from when looking for one to purchase. Such as: how many miles are too many? Are IMA lights on the dash def a no go? Manual or Auto?

I am starting my graduate studies in January, my wife and I have a budget of 5,000 for a car. We've been a one car family up until this point, with myself commuting by bike. But GaState is a little far to bike from Rome, Ga. So, I've got 5,000 to use for purchasing, repairing, etc. the car.

Because I'm not über familiar with these cars, I'm afraid that I could possibly make a bad decision or get duped. So I'm asking for a little bit of help and guidance from you all. I am leaning towards the First-Gen for sure, and a 5-Speed. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[boogetyboogety]

There is tons of information available here for the taking, all you need to do is spend a few hours looking around and searching for your answers. It will be good practice for you in your graduate and post-graduate work as well.

I do believe $5000 total is on the low side for an Insight in great running condition after any purchase and repairs, but after your study of what to look for here, if you can snag one, go for it. They are great little vehicles, and will serve you well, with proper maintenance and understanding of their pluses and minuses, for many, many years and miles.

Good luck with your quest! Start here...

[Eli]

Welcome to the world of the Insight.

First, the most important question is: What are you looking for out of the Insight?

If you want ultimate MPG, a 5 speed is what you want.

How familiar are you with cars? Can you work on them yourself?

An IMA light on the dash isn't a definite no-go.. if the price is right. 5k is a reasonable budget, perhaps slightly low. You likely won't find a perfect specimen in that price range. That said, the Insight has a few problem areas, but it takes a lot of effort to completely trash the car. They're very robust automobiles overall, with a couple of glaring exceptions.

The two main areas of concern are the IMA battery and the transmission. They focused too much on lightening the transmission, and took some robustness out of it. Because of this, the transmission can begin to grind when downshifting into 1st and 2nd gear. This is something to watch out for when test driving an Insight. I wouldn't consider it a dealbreaker, but perhaps an avenue of negotiation.

The IMA battery is more tricky. Ideally, you will find a car that the battery has been replaced recently. That may be hard in your price range.

Shoot me a PM and we can continue to discuss things to determine if the Insight is right for you.

[gilbertguy]

5K would work if you have several months to lurk and watch for a good deal but if you need it soon you might be out of luck. Worse case if the IMA battery is bad you are looking at 2K for a new Better Battery from Hybrid Repair. Another common issues is the manual transmissions have 1st and 2nd gear syncro issues. in the higher milage vehicles. My car has 260K and I've been driving with this issue no problem but some might consider it a deal breaker.

[therron.smith]

Well, if 5 is too low, what would be a decent amount to have? I've seen a few on eBay, cars, Craigslist, etc., w/ 130,000+ going for 4,500-6,500. I just didn't know if that was too many miles. I've seen these cars go for well over 200,000.

I know I'm looking for highest MPG I can get. And I know that might mean sacrifices in other areas, but I need to save as much as I can with this commute every week.

I know a decent amount about mechanical issues. We had an Accord before that was 15 years old that I maintained until we couldn't afford the parts needed to overhaul it. So I've done radiators, fuel pumps, intakes, plugs, and rebuilt auto transmissions. And brakes are a no brainer either.

I figured that there would be some issues in my budget, but I've looked at those batteries, and I don't mind spending less on a car with a bad battery and then ordering a new one from those guys. And if the transmission has issues, my coworker can help rebuild. He's built all of his racing trans. And other folks as well.

Are there reputable folks selling these? Or am I going to have to deal with a used car lot?

[Eli]

Sounds like you're in a good position overall then. These cars are very easy to maintain and a pleasure to work on, in general.

The seller is just luck of the draw. If you can find someone selling one on the forums, that would be your best bet. However, people "in the know" tend to ask fairly steep prices.

It seems their resale value has dropped in the last few months. Back towards the beginning of the year, it was difficult(though not impossible) to find them in the 5k range.

If you can rebuild an automatic transmission, the Insight's transmission should be a cake walk. One other issue I forgot to mention regarding the transmission is the Input Shaft Bearing(ISB). This isn't a problem with these transmissions specifically as much as it's a problem with all of Honda's manual transmissions for the last 35 years. This failure presents itself as a crunchy/whirring sound when in neutral with the clutch engaged.

I wouldn't be worried about high mileage overall, but it depends on how the car was maintained. These cars will last 200k miles with almost no maintenance other than regular oil changes. We bought Insight #2 with 440,000 miles on the clock and didn't hesitate to drive her 800 miles home.

They're truly amazing automobiles, and even when you take into account their faults they are extremely cheap to drive.

For example, I replaced the transmission in Insight #1, bringing my total cost per mile up to 8 cents/mile. No other car can touch that, especially once you include maintenance that any car needs, and the overall cost per mile continues to drop as I drive more.