[ezviper]

Folks,
I'm very new to the hybrid world, but have recently purchased an '06 Accord hybrid and am really looking hard for an Insight. I'm a relatively quick study and have learned a great deal in this forum. My question is: How many miles are too many to reasonably get a quality used Insight? I live in Phx and was inches away from driving to Tucson and test-driving and possibly buying a 2000 with 227,000 miles! The condition of the car via what I could see in photos was very nice and the sale price was $4500. All others I've found are twice that price or more but have significantly fewer miles. Does anyone have any data on other Insights that have this many miles and, if so, how are they holding up? Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[jtmco]

Ezviper-

The Insight body is all aluminum and plastic so that part should be fine - maybe just paint.

Several on this site have achieved high mileage (dfiore, I believe) BUT 227k is A LOT -

Three parts come to my mind as requiring investigation:

1.) The engine. As with any car of that high mileage, what is the compression and oil pressure? Has it been rebuilt or replaced?

2.) The transmission

3.) Most especially, the batteries - have they been replaced? When? Since 227k is so high, then perhaps the driving is so much highway that the batteries have not been cycled as much.

All the other stuff that needs attention on a car with that many miles (brakes, struts/shocks, wheel bearings, etc.) would deserve careful study.

And I don't know if anyone knows what to expect from the electric motor itself at those miles.

How is the interior holding up?

Others will have many more things to suggest.

With each spike in gasoline prices, there is a corresponding spike in Insight prices.

Good luck.

Jim

 

[ezviper]

Jim,
Thanks for the reply. The owner commuted a LONG way to work, so the miles are almost solely highway. The interior is very nice. I was planning on doing a compression chk while there to get a rough gouge on the engine health. The owner is a mechanic (which can be good or bad, I guess) and did the work himself (oil, filters, plugs) He said that he replaced the IMA battery "several months back" and would look for the receipt. One thing that he said was that the Check Engine light was on but the car ran and performed as it always had. He said the Honda dealer could not figure out what the issue was with the light either (from what I've read here, many dealers are clueless on these cars anyway) That definitely got my attn but for $4500 I thought it might be worth the risk.? He said the the tranny was still tight and there were no drips of any kind from the car on his garage floor. It almost sounded too good to be true and I obviously know very little about hybrids. I was planning on using it as my airport car as I just got hired by Southwest Airlines and am on a fairly tight budget for now but I certainly don't need a maintenance nightmare right now either. Thanks again for the quick reply, any other info from anyone would be great as well.
Steve

 

[Rick]

Welcome to a fellow Glendale resident.

I'd be cautious of any check engine light, especially considering he said it couldn't be fixed. There should be some readable code, and hopefully it wouldn't be a catylitic converter code or something to that effect which would be expensive.

BTW, I have one for sale.

 

[rusty41251]

I am counting on 400,000 miles. These will be highway miles, so I hope my friends experience with his Accord (260K and looks and runs like new) will be mine with my Insight.
Rusty "75.9mpg with this tankful"

 

[b1shmu63]

Does the engine sound noisey?

The electric motor should have NO wear on it because the rotor does not contact anything and that is the only moving part so no wear period.

The solid state components such as the computers should likewise be fine.

A set of plugs for the car is expensive as they are irridium and indexed. Think they're about 100 dollars a set installed.

Does the car feel tight when driven, it should as the aluminum body is very rigid. If it feels like new then your suspension is probably fine.

What condition are the under engine aerodynamic covers in? They cost a bit to replace.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Hi ezviper and welcome to the forum :!:

Your posts do read like you've done your Insight homework. However, the old addage of; "You can pay for more than you get, but you always get what you pay for." shouldn't be forgotten. I know you want to keep the miles down on the Accord and given your change on job status may need another car but maybe make due for a few months until you can afford something with fewer miles.

IMO its a risk. Especially the part that the mechanic owner "thinks" he replaced the battery. Heck _any_ owner would remember the $2,500 - $4,000 cost of a single "repair". And the MIL needs to be fully investigated too. Without a doubt there is some impending cost waiting there.

HTH!

 

[ezviper]

Thanks to you all for the great inputs but the car was sold yesterday. I'm definitely still in the market with a healthy case of "Insight Fever." Please let me know if you hear of any that show up for sale out there that you feel are worth investigating (I've already PM'ed Rick about his.) Thanks again ad I look forward to chatting with you guys in the future!
Steve