[opal]

I spent over three weeks waiting to get my Insight. No dealership in my Southwestern Ontario area had one for a test drive.

I ended up calling Honda Canada to find out what the deal was with the nonexistant Insights, and they put me in touch with a business manager at Waterloo Honda. The manager spent a week tracking down a client so I could borrow her Insight (the only one in Waterloo) for a test drive!

Then he tracked down the only Silver 2002 - I'm not even sure why he didn't order me a 2003, honestly - in Canada (up somewhere near Ottawa - ~8 hours away) and had it shipped down to me.

From what I've been reading on other sites, my getting-an-Insight-saga is actually pretty tame.

How much hassle did the rest of you go through to get your Insights?

Opal

 

[Yves M.]

Hi,

I leave in Laval (near Montreal, Quebec). Back in 2000, I looked on the Web and found a dealer how had a red Insight. They advertised it at $1000 below MSP. I went there, tried it, asked for free winter tires and signed the papers. Next business day, I return to get it and off I went.

But I think that it was plain luck for buying. But service:

The service after was bad (the parts guy at Lombardi Honda had me come twice for parts "OH, did we call you to tell that it arrived, no it is not here yet!" and I changed for a better dealer.
First year, either the oil or filter was not available when I arrived for the oil change appointment. I then bought filters and oil to stock at home.

 

[sajego]

My story

I emailed half a dozen local Honda dealers and no one had an MT Insight. I test drove the CVT and they offered it to me for $18,700 if I'd take it right then. Seeing that this is my first car, and I wasn't really ready to buy on the spot, I told them I really was looking for an MT, and Not Silver. They took a deposit from me and said they would try to track down a manual. They did find one, but there were only 2 in the whole state of NJ. Of course, by this time I had decided to buy used instead.

I looked on the Yahoo auto list (I think!) and found a used blue 2001 up in Geneva, NY (about 6 hours from where I live, but only 45 minutes from where I went to college). Since I was going up there that same weekend I made an arrangement to test drive it. Talked them down $2500 from their sticker price and agreed to buy it.

That was all pretty easy. The problem came with my insurance company.... They made me drive all the way back to NJ in my OLD car just to sign some papers before they would insure the new car! Luckily the dealer met me at my parent's house the next weekend (1.5 hour drive for them, 3.5 hour drive for me) and I just left my old car there for my mom.

Looking at the trade-in value I'm really glad I went with a used Insight instead of a brand new one.

 

[Insighter]

Strange

Sara--That is strange. My insurance company told me that I'm covered automatically for thirty (30) days if I buy another car. They said they'd like to know that I've purchased and all of the information as soon as possible, but I'm covered for the first 30 days regardless (at the same coverage limits I already have).

 

[benjamin]

Insighter said it right -- that's very strange. I would consider looking into other insurers. No agent in his or her right mind can expect someone to notify them of a new car purchase the moment they buy it, so it is common practice to cover the new car until the owner is able to provide all the details.

 

[Aaron Cake]

Hm, that's strange. I live in London, and just picked up my new silver Insight on Saturday. I walked into the dealership the week before and said "I wanna buy an Insight". They had three or four of them.

As far as I know, they still have at least on in stock.

 

[opal]

Excuse me while I sputter in frustration for a moment here. You got a brand new 2003, silver 5-speed and just walked into the dealership!
I'm so jealous!
I could have actually made it to London to get a car!

 

[Aaron Cake]

Actually, it's a 2000. It was the dealer demo car, so I got a pretty decent deal. Though as I remember, they had several 2003s, and a 2001 as well.

 

[Ecfool]

Hmm My latest Insight was easy to get compared to MIZR. I had to wait 6 months to get him in 2000 and the dealer wouldnt take a deposit or anything untill he came in and I only let them hold him hostage on their floor for about 12 hours after delivery to them. But now the as yet unnamed 2001 dealer damn near begged me to take it off their lot as it had been there for over 10 months and hadn't moved. The salesman talked hard when MIZR was getting battery module replaced to get me to trade him in on the CVT. But i couldn't part with hiom just yet so I played hard ball with dealer and got a decent deal, out the door tax, lic., extended warranty, floor mats and cargo net for $16000.
But allas it must be a curse on CVT Insights to get smacked early in their life as daughter had the unlucky honor of getting front bumper assembly redesigned by errant driver in a Civic (hmmmm puts new meaning to Hybrid doesn't it) after only owning it for 4 days!!

 

[Thorian]

Was in an argument with Albert Honda about not wanting the Silver 2002 CVT on the lot for $2000 less then a 2003 I wanted a Blue 5 speed. They reluctantly searched the surrounding states or so they said and Found one in arkansas but wanted $1000 in cash up front to get it. I had em write the deal on the CVT and went home to think about it the next morning a transport came into Regan Honda (Wich I called looking for a Insight 2 days earlier) Rusty Sapp Called me and said that they just had a Blue 2003 5 speed with A/C come in and asked if I was still Intrested. I gave em a $100 deposit over the phone on my visa and went to go pick it up that evening I gave them the deal that albert gave me they matched the price on the car and gave me what my truck was worth and then some. started off as a hassle but worked out in the end Plus I got Free Flormats

 

[NJinsight]

First time poster! New Insight (2000) owner!

Greetings all, I pick up my new (used) 2000 Insight on Saturday, picked it up at http://www.hondaofnanuet.com and found it via the web. I live in NJ, so it was a 45 min drive, but worth it. Found the model for under $11K. Going with the extended warranty even though people say not, to. I took it for a few test drives and love the car!

Im a 4Runner driver and probably only get 15Mpg, but need it to tow a fishing boat. So, the truck will sit in the driveway until summer (or for those heavy snowy days).

I dont have a long commute, but with driving around, I fill the 18gal tank on the 4 Runner 2 times per week = $45. That gets me 450miles and with this new little baby, Ill fill it up for $12 and get 500/700 miles depending how I drive it.

The dealer confirmed the DC-DC convertor fix was done, so Im ready to roll this weekend. Thanks for all the other Insight owners posting their comments on this and other discussion boards.

Michael
Future Insight Owner

http://www.ssabbs.com
Relive the BBS Past!

 

[sajego]

Insurance Strange...

I know my insurance situation is strange... I already went into the story on the honda-hybrid yahoo group back when it was happening. I was surprised as anyone and really annoyed because signing their paper work only took 5 minutes! But ever since I moved to NJ I've had insurance problems. I had 2 accidents in NY, both "at fault" accoridng to my old insurance company. Wasn't a big deal in NY... but when I tried to get NJ insurance they told me I had 10 out of an allowable 9 points and therefore could only be insured by the state program... so I have no choice at all in what company I use.

On top of that, don't even ask about how much it costs me. I'm just counting the months until that first accident goes off my record and I can join the 96% of the drivers who are 'eligible' for normal coverage... Or until I find a job out of this state... but the way the market is I don't see that happening soon.

 

[glitch]

My experience in south Florida

I initially looked at this car a year or two, I really wanted to test drive one. The 3 dealers I spoke with all said they didn't have any and in order to purchase one you had to put an amount down and wait up to 6 months to get one. They said the back-log was pretty high and most dealerships were only getting 1 a month due to allocation and such.


However, when I bought mine last week I thought I'd have a problem but it's getting much better. The 1st dealership I talked to had 1, then the next dealership I talked to didn't think they had any but one person finally said they did had 2 on the lot, and the last dealer I spoke with (only talked to 3) said they had 2 2002's on the lot and were dying to get rid of them.

So their easier to find. I found it interesting though that the latter 2 dealers I mentioned didn't think they had any at all until they checked the computer. Most dealerships don't even realize they have them on the lot, but it's probably because they're not to popular down here. On the other hand all 3 dealerships mentioned they had a very difficult time keeping Civic hybrids on the lot, 2 dealers were out and waiting for more. So the Civic's are doing very good.