My Ownership Experience and Accident

[Whittaker]

I bought a new 2010 Insight shortly after they came out.
The first year was mostly highway driving as I was making 1,200 mile trips about every third weekend. At the end of that year I was averaging 51.2 MPG(US) over the life of the car. I inflate the tires to about 42 psi.
Since then the car has been used most in suburban/city driving by my teenage son. When he drives he gets about 44 MPG. On the occasions when I drive suburban/city I have no trouble getting 50-54 MPG. We live in the South and milage suffers on very hot days with A/C use.
I had zero mechanical problems with this car.
In Sept. of this year my son rear-ended an SUV and totaled the Insight. Thankfully nobody was hurt. In fact my son and my daughter(passenger seat) didn't have a scratch on them. The frontal airbags deployed, and they had some upper-body soreness for a few days, but not a mark on them. The SUV was stopped and my best guess is my son hit it going 43-50 MPH.
The front end crumpled right up to the front of the tires. The radiator and everything around it was mashed into the engine, which also was shoved slightly to the rear. The engine compartment was a mess. Only the engine block itself appeared to be undamaged. The hood folded up and flipped into the windshield. There was no damage to the interior. The front doors and everything to the rear was undamaged.
I self-insure some of my vehicles so I checked on getting the car repaired. The estimate was $10,000 plus with the possibility of $2,000-$4,000 more once Honda got a good look at the CVT and battery.
I sold the car on Ebay for $2,700 and felt fortunate to get that.

I just wanted to let people know that I was very impressed with the Insight's ability to protect my kids during a bad frontal collision.
Also I was pleased with the car's quality. There were about 65,000 miles on the car and the gas mileage was just as good if not better than when it was new. It also drove just as well and felt solid. I kept up with scheduled maintenance and got new tires at 42,000 miles.

Now I'm shopping for another car for my son and his younger brothers and sisters who will be driving soon. We are very safety conscious which precludes many pre-2006 cars that don't have side airbags etc. I don't think we can do better than a used 2010 Insight. We had looked at used Civics and Corollas but they are priced very high right now.

I've been reading this forum for awhile and I appreciate all the good info. Since I had no problems with my Insight I'm not sure what to look out for when test driving a used one. Any pointers would be welcome.
Sorry about the long post.

[insightfulone]

Glad to hear your family members were not badly hurt in the accident. I think used 2010 Insights are likely to be undervalued. New ones are selling poorly, and a number of 2010's should be coming off leases, hitting dealer lots and selling slowly like their newer cousins. 2010 was the highest selling model year, so there should be many more coming off lease than can be sold easily, and the build up of used ones on dealer lots will cause downward price pressure. Couple this with people's general nervousness about hybrid battery durability, and I think Insight prices will be lower than comparable Civics. This despite that fact that it is an extremely reliable and well made car and should hold its value like other Hondas.

The manual says the battery will be damaged if allowed to sit idle for a month, so I would ask how long it has been on the lot and avoid any that had sat unsold for a long time, or had very low miles indicating that they may not have been driven for a long time. It might be smart to go to a dealer and try to get one that was just coming in off lease.

The other unusual aspect is that the warranty on the hybrid battery (and many other hybrid system parts) is much longer if the car was originally sold in a CARB state (CA, CT, ME, MA, MD, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, WA, AZ(2012+),NM (2011+)), 10years 150K vs 8 years 80K in others. So I would ask which warranty applies to a used model before buying.

Since 2010s where actually sold as early as Apr 09, I would look at manufacture date on the sticker inside the door to see exactly how old a 2010 was. Good luck in finding a replacement Insight.

[Whittaker]

Thanks insightfulone.

I agree that the used Insights appear to be undervalued. I have no problem buying an unpopular car if it's a good one

Thanks for the tips on the battery sitting unused and on the hybrid warranty.

[Cobb]

Glad to hear they are ok. Any idea what caused the accident? You know, couldnt stop fast enough, changing radio stations, pulled out in front of them?

May of been able to get by with a front clip, however from the crash photos I see on ebay usually the front end of these cars are damaged, vs the rear end.

Yeah, hybrids have a rep for being better in crashes as they are heavier and braced better.

Not sure where you are located, but I have mines for sale in Richmond, VA. It has about the same miles on it, new tires and a host of goodies.

[Whittaker]

Cobb, I think it was just my teenage son not paying enough attention. Traffic was heavy at 50-55mph. A car slowed to turn right on a county road. The car behind was late reacting and stood on the brakes. My son was third in line and hit his brakes way too late.
I'm in Alabama and pulled the trigger this morning on a new looking 2010 LX, 31,000 miles, Honda Certified, $13,600 plus t & t. It needs tires soon but I'm almost glad the dealer didn't put crappy new ones on. I'd rather research and choose my own tires like I did on my previous Insight.
Between the long test drive and the trip home I've been able to get a good handle on the MPG's. This car has a little stronger IMA battery, at least endurance-wise, than my previous. There is a mountain I regularly climb and I know just about exactly where the battery used to run out of juice. Today I made it to the top and she was still boosting
BTW, I've been reading this sight off and on for quite awhile. Thanks for all the good stuff you post.

[Uriel]

It may be just that the new car has had a recent software update, rather than a stronger battery. I definitely noticed the difference on hills when I had mine done.

Sent from my MB526 using AutoGuide.Com Free App

[Whittaker]

^^^^^^^^
You may be right about that. I asked the Honda dealer about software updates an they said they do that as part of the certification. They also changed the oil and the CVT fluid on mine even though they weren't due yet.

[InsightRider101]

You're in luck Whittaker this car has a very good ratings for crash tests. Honda has really gotten good with safety in crash tests in all of their cars. Glad your kid was ok in the crash....

[Cobb]

That sounds like a great deal.

Yeah, thats a nasty accident. I fear being in a sandwich accident like that where I brake enough but the guy behind me rear ends me. I took an aaa driving course to keep points on my record for my next job and they said to swerve vs trying to brake when someone stops short in front of you or a deer or something jumps out. We have people here who will come to a dead stop entering a driveway or move up a foot at stop signs like they are going to take off, but instead set you up for a rear end accident. I remember one time down a 2 lane road that was clear a guy who was going almost 50 mph, then came to a stop over a rail road crossing. I just whipped around him and remember seing him pound his fist into the steering wheel of his car in my rear view mirror.

The temple of honda or vtec, I get the 2 confused also suggests changing the cvt fluid with the engine oil.