[Rick Reece]

Took my Daughter to look at cars. She test drove the new Civic, the Civic Hybrid, a Prius and the Insight. She liked the Insight best. So we purchased a used Silver 02 CVT with 30K miles in Aberdeen, NC. As a result we are now a 2 Insight family. Guess the first step is to upgrade the audio system. Have fun, Rick

 

[sputnik]

Congratulations! It's really great! Have you decided on an easy way to tell which Insight is Dad's and which is daughter's since they are both silver?

 

[b1shmu63]

Those were all nice cars, but I think she made the right choice.

 

[Rick Reece]

Mine has the extra antennas for GPS and Satellite radio on the roof so she knows which one is hers. If she doesn't notice she would when she got inside. Have fun, Rick

 

[kNOwtalent]

Greetings Rick,
What sat radio do you have?

 

[Rick Reece]

I have both. In my opinion XM is best but I keep the Sirius for the NFL. Have fun, RIck

 

[valtron]

Anyone happen to know of a good place to look for an Insight? I've been mad for this car for the past 4 years, and i only have around a 5-8000 dollar budget....suggestions?

They seem to be very hard to come by on online sites.

Thanks for the help..

 

[kNOwtalent]

Autotrader.com is where I found mine. That having been said its going to be hard to afford one for 8k as its going to be older with higher milage, with some potentialy expensive fixes looming.

Good Luck
TD

 

[valtron]

What kind of repairs should i expect? i'm guessing something to do with the electric motor

 

[Insightful Trekker]

The electirc motor and IMA control system so far appear to be the most reliable part of the car.

Conventional automotive wear and tear items appear to be on a par with other Hondas (much better than average).

It's the IMA _batteries_ (144v pack) that are the weak link in the chain. 150K miiles w/o IMA battery replacement :?: Expcet it soon.

@200K miles watch out for the timing chain (although it appear too soon for this to be a specific mileage wear limit). Plus all the other normal wear an tear itmes, brake rotors misc dings and loose trim parts, suspension bushings etc.

I'd agree and IMO that 8k for an Insight will _probably_ only buy you somebody elses problems. Sorry.

But ther are always "steals" out there from time to time.

HTH!

 

[bpapa9013]

I don't know about that.

I think that if you can find an Insight for approx $8k, with a detailed service history and no past major problems (if it has already had the batt replaced BUY IT! but otherwise...). Prob 80,000mi+, good cosmetic shape.

I would buy it, just be prepared to have it THUROUGHLY checked out as per common problems mentioned here as soon as you can get it into a knowledgable mechanic (or do it yourself...).

Check O2 sensors,
Cat converter,
valve gaps,
filters/fluids/etc.
belts/chains/pulleys/etc.
ERG,
Plugs/coil packs/etc.
ground wires,
and prob several more...

Is there any chance we could put up a topic that just lists common problems and links to the exact threads where they are fully explained? (problem cause diagnosed and solution given)

 

[Insightful Trekker]

<snip>

Is there any chance we could put up a topic that just lists common problems and links to the exact threads where they are fully explained?

Yup!

See:

About F.A.Q. Sheets
http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=459

YOU could be #2 :!:

The IC encyclopedia does a good job too as well as the forum search feature. It's just many rather post a question and get a personalized reply rather than understand the big picture.

And its a _HUGE_ topic to digest.

 

[bpapa9013]

Sorry don't mean to go off topic but you make it sound like all the stuff I mentioned is already in a F.A.Q. somewhere, are not all F.A.Q.s stickies?

***Edit***
Sorry mis-interpreted your post. Your saying I could build such a F.A.Q....

8)

 

[originalbadbob]

Hey Rick,
So how many hybrids are parked in your driveway, say at 3:00AM on a Saturday?
robert