[bigtrouble77]

...Or possibly a used one with low mileage and excellent condition?

I called about 12 dealerships spanning NJ, DE, PA and MD. They only have new CVT's in stock. To order the 5 speed I have to pay a premium ($19,500).

Being that I paid $17,500 for my brand new CVT in 2002 I'd like to pay about the same or less for the 5 speed. Anyone know of a dealership that might have one for about that price?

Thanks,
-Bob

 

[RickM]

Last year I bought a new 02 leftover cvt for $14,600. (totalled a month later). Then I found out Boch Honda in Norwood MA had two 03 leftovers. I paid $13,800 for my five speed with no ac.
They were real glad to get rid of it and had three 04's all cvt's
If you can get a cvt for a lot less then is the five speed worth it?
I liked the ease of the cvt in the city, and I like the fun of the five speed (it gets about 10% better miles per gallon). If you could save thousands on the cvt you would never get that money back in fuel savings. Besides the cvt is a cleaner machine.
Find a nice Honda salesman in your area and he can search ALL the Honda dealerships in the U.S. in no time and tell you exactly where they are.
Rick

 

[bigtrouble77]

I found a 2002 silver 5 speed in VA for $14,000 with 5,700 miles. It's a hike, but I think it's probably worth it. Has AC, still 30,000 miles under warranty and is in 'perfect' condition. We'll see.

From what i've read it seems the emissions in both vehicles are arguably equal- but the CVT does have some modifications specifically to get the SULEV rating. It just boils down to the types of harmful emissions you are looking for. I'm sure many people here know much more about this than I do, but that's the jist I got.

Now I just have the joyous task of trying to sell my 2001 CVT BTW, it turned out to be a toyota dealership of all places that had the car.

-bob

 

[jtmco]

Where in Virginia? If it is in within say 30 minutes of Richmond (seems unlikely, but you never know) I would be happy to look at it for you if it would help.

 

[bigtrouble77]

I appreciate the offer, but it's up in the Arlington area. I think i'll take a ride down to my parents summer house in maryland this weekend and take a ride over there.

-bob

 

[Rick Reece]

Jim,
By any chance to you have a large whip antenna on the back of your car. Saw a Blue insight with one a few weeks ago in the vicinity for Richmond. Have fun, RIck

 

[bigtrouble77]

Went to pick up the car today... Turned out to be a lemon

The Assist didn't work, although it said it was working on the electric display. The exhaust smelled aweful and the engine made some bad noises. In addition the car was also keyed, which they attempted to fix but failed to tell me when I asked about the condition over the phone!

The only good thing I can say is that the interior was perfect and it only had 3,500 miles. So I recommend nobody go to springfield toyota for this car. I wasted 10 hours of my life driving down there.

Here's the link if anyone cares:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?c ... ardist=112

 

[Holicow]

Local dealer here in Winston-Salem, NC has a new 04, silver 5speed, on the lot. In case you are still looking...

Flow Honda. (that's the dealer name)

 

[SPeacock]

I spent a lot of time looking along the west coast for a 5sp 2004. Finally found one being built last month and delivered middle of May. Gave up looking. Best deal on the west side seems to be around $19.5

Good luck on a new one at less than $18k.

 

[murasaki]

bigtrouble77 (Bob),

This Easter I bought my "new", 5-speed, 2003 leftover at Boch Honda in Norwood, MA (http://www.bochhonda.com). They were very flexible on the price because they had it on their lot a while. They were asking $19,000 or so and went down to 15,300. It only had 40 mi. on it and was in perfect condition. I think they might still have a blue 2004 5-speed available... You might also try doing a search on Kelley's Blue Book ( http://www.kbb.com). When I did my search on 4/8/04 I found about 10 used Insights in the New England area. Today I quickly checked and there is a 5/4/04 listing in Hartford, for a 2000, 5-speed, with 84 mi. for $6400 or best offer (860) 478-2896. Since I was considering "used" cars initially I signed up for CARFAX and found it helpful to discover that one of the cars I was considering was a former LEMON being sold at a dealership!
Good luck on your search!
Murasaki