[garth]

I have been looking for a used Insight in the So Cal area, and i recently found one that i am considering. Most of the Insights in SoCal are automatic, so it has been hard to find one.

Anyways, the LMPG on the Insight in question is 48.8mpg, so I am concerned that the car has been driven too hard. Also, with such a low LMPG, I am concerned that the battery pack is likely to fail sooner than later.

Anyways, any advice would be great...

 

[Billy]

Hi Garth; I would say a big "NAY". It is hard for me to imagine the kind of driving style that would render such a low LMPG. The car's owner obviously had little interest in maximum efficiency. I know it's frustrating searching for a 5-spd in your area, but my advice is to keep trying..............Billy....

 

[james]

It all depends on how much they want for it. If it was under maybe $8K, I'd probably go for it, depending on mechanical condition &c.

 

[Rick]

I would say the bigger question is has it been maintained properly? I will admit that's a low LMPG, but there could be several causes. One, yeah he possibly just drove it hard, though the lowest mileage I've ever been able to get was 45mpg while cruising around 90 on a mostly up hill drive which included a 6% grade for several miles (man that was a fun drive though). Or secondly perhaps he valued his AC and used full auto AC (disables auto stop) in mostly city driving. This I wouldn't count as so bad, if anything it'd be good for the batteries.

If there is anothe car out there then perhaps this one should be passed on, but there are several unknown factors at play here. Also, does it have the correct Potenza RE92 165 tires on it? I once saw an Insight with a similar LMPG where they'd put some cheapo 185 size tires on which were underinflated. I drove it briefly a few yards (this was at a dealer car auction so I did it when no one was looking) and I could feel how much resistance this seemingly little thing made.

 

[Cosworth]

Hey Garth. I would try to look for one way under 80k miles, even for a '00. The car you're looking at has just about expired batterypack, and with such low LMPG, I would be hesitant in getting it. G'luck!

-Sean

 

[Skimmer]

I bought my '01 with just under 60k with a similar LMPG. Less than six months later, the battery pack failed and was replaced under warranty. With almost 80k on the car you're looking at, I would urge caution.

Insight gurus: Is it possible to purchase an extended warranty for a car like this before piling up any more miles?

 

[Rick]

It's possible to get an extended warranty, but deffinitely not a Honda Care on such a high mileage car. Actually I think the Honda warranty's cut off is 42,000 miles. There are other aftermarket extended warranties available, but finding one to cover a lot of the high tech electronics I think would be hard to find. You can however get a basic drive train (engine, transmission) warranty on pretty much anything.