[knipdlo]

Hello-
I am looking at buying an Insight- I have a few questions.
The body is aluminum- is the frame aluminum too? I live in the great northeast rust belt and EVERYTHING rusts- lucky to see early 90's japanese cars at all- or if you do they are held together with buckets of bondo. Second- There seems to be a lot of difference between those that get 70+MPG and those that get 40-50MPG- obviously driving style and terriain as well as temperature impacts this- but is it possible to buy a car that will only get xxMPG? In otherwords- should I look specifically for a car that has a very high MPG? Where should I look to find potential problems on an Insight?- kinda a quick 'Insight Buyers Guide'- I have heard of problems with the drivers side window seal? I found one about an hour away from me for $8995 at a used dealership place- 2001 MT 82k w/AC- says it has cruise control too. I think it was an auction car but it claims to be carfax certified. VIN is JHMZE13751T001876.

Also- I am torn between an Insight and a diesel. I had an 86 BMW 524td- got somewhere in the mid 30's for MPG. It reached the end of its useful lifetime (300k mi) and I bought a Volvo 740. I get between 14 and 18MPG :shock: (eww) ~200-250mi on a 14gal tank...Should I buy one of these or a diesel?- I would like to try to see some of the country this summer as well- so travel is involved...How are these cars for travel?
Comments?

Thanks,
Tim

 

[Dgate]

Hi knipdlo and welcome to the site,
The Insight has a unitised body and its all aluminum,check out the Encyclopedia link on this page.In reference to your remarks on rust,aluminum will break down as well through oxidation if exposed to salt.Its important to keep a protective coat such as paint on it.Having said this its not as suseptable as steel since the oxidation itself provides a protective coat.
As for fuel consumption different drivers get different results as well as car condition and weather and driving environment can also affect this. The CVT automatic does not have lean burn which detracts from fuel efficiency.
There are no diesels that will give the MPGs of the Insight or the satisfaction of owning this remarkable vehicle.It will also improve your driving if you take the time to learn the car use the instruments and strive for max efficiency.
Traveling any distance for two is very comfortable and enhanced by even better fuel consumption and fewer fuel stops.
I once recorded 93 mpg (Imperial) at fairly high speeds over a 150 mile stint. Once out on the road with continous driving its awesome in its economy ability,nothing will come close.

DGate

 

[b1shmu63]

Hi Tim, I owned a small Diesel for a couple of years. I would occasionally catch a glimpse of people gesticulating with their fingers in my rearview mirror. People also use their fingers to acknowledge the Insight but now they are generally smiling and wanting to talk.

I took a 2 week 4,000 mile road trip last summer taking in Hybridfest and the Oshkosh fly in and visiting old friends. I averaged 74 MPG at normal highway speeds covering up to 750 miles solo (except for the GPS lady) in one day. 8)

 

[Fred]

The Northeast "Rust Belt"

I to live and drive in the "rust belt" you speak of and I've seen what it can do with steel bodies and associated parts. With these aluminum vehicles it is reasonable of you to expect that rust will NOT at all be a concern for you.

As for diesel powered motor vehicles, I've had one, years ago, a Mercedes 220D and without question it was a great little car and with that said I can offer that these little Insights are as good or better - and just about as fast, a llittle harder riding but just about as fast.

Once thing to watch for however is your current driving habits as odds are that like most, even with gas at the current price levels (which are once again on the way up) you still race from stop light to stop light, from stop sign to stop sign. If you want to get the most out of your little Insight, a good many of you're old "sloppy and wasteful driving habits" will have to cease. If you're not already doing it, you'll learn to get into the right hand lane (but do NOT do this in merry olde England or Japan!) and cruise along at fifty or fifty five or so and let the speed nuts go by - those getting maybe fifteen to twenty MPG so, while you're racking up sixty, seventy or eighty MPG.

Another thing you might want to get used to with your new Insight are those ten dollar "fill ups". I generally keep half a tank full in the car and if I pass a gasoline station with a low price, in I go. With the SUV owners filling up for forty or fifty dollars per visit, like me, you'll be in and out for ten dollars or so - just try not to smile to noticeably, those SUV owners could turn mean at a moments notice.

Going to purchase an Insight? Odds are you'll be glad you did.

Fred (Proud owner of "The Silver Bullet")

 

[knipdlo]

Thanks for everyones replies! I am pretty excited- I have this issue with trying to get really good gas mileage its kinda an addiction of mine (but at least it doesn't COST me money ) most of my commute (college kid) is a few stopsigns- one big hill and some miles of open 35mph (call it at 5 10 or 15 over) to 50mph relatively flat two lane road. Good to hear about the rust...:-D Another question- what is this 'recal' I hear about so much? Is it a recalibration of the battery?- Is there a way (when looking at say a used insight with 82k mi) to 'try' to get one of these things to see if there is an issue?

Thanks Again!
Tim

 

[Insightful Trekker]

See:

Recal's, Forced charge, IMA Battery and Thermal mgmt - long
http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=750

HTH!

 

[knipdlo]

Well that clears that up.
I missed out on a 2001 that was about an hour away- kinda buming about that...

So I called the local Honda dealers just to see if in some strange way they were expecting or had an Insight on the lot. The first dealer told me that if I gave him my name and number I would be the first to know if one showed up. The second just said no- nothing around. And the third said quote "You're looking for a car that doesn't exist- theres none anywhere. They haven't made those things in 4 or 5 years and when they did there was about 400 of them.- Get off the phone and come in and we can make a deal on a used civic- we've got a bunch of 'em on the lot"...

Well...Anyone know of any used insights in the greater Central New York Area?

 

[JakkedUp]

http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/vie ... php?t=6391

I looked at cars.com and found a great number of them just last week. I'm sure you can look at some websites like that too, and maybe find one in your area.

Personally, I didn't care how far I had to go, as long as it was in the US. I flew from Michigan to North Carolina for about 180 bucks. Drove it home immediately and had a great time doing it. So, if you have a nice 2 or 3 day weekend, why not fly to where ever you need to go, to get the deal you want?

BTW, the more I hear things like what you just posted about the "Honda dealer...car doesn't exist" makes me very afraid to ever take mine in for any work needed. So many many post's about how bad the Honda dealers are and how little they know about the insight. Dang shame, since it's the best car ever sold in the US so far.

 

[b1shmu63]

People don't usually complain when they get good or adequate service, though some have commented here that there dealers have gone the extra mile to honour warranties etc. I have had appropriate service from all 6 dealers I have frequented over the past 25 years. I've had exemplary service in a couple of cases. One dealer was doing excellent work but charging more than expected. My current dealer has three customers that own Insights. The staff seem genuinely interested when I show up (but hey, maybe its the hypermiler grin ).

 

[knipdlo]

Yeah- I did get into Autotrader.com and there is something like 4 pages of them on there. From $3,950-$25,000. The distance isn't a big deal- I don't usually buy cars locally anyway because of the salt. (My current car is from an hour west of me and my last car was from Maryland) I have also gotten cars from Long Island and such. According to Autotrader the nearest car is in PA which is a few hours away. I don't have an issue flying somewhere to get a car too (like FL- that 2000 is nice) but the thing I really need to do is drive one first. I drove a first generation Civic HB CVT and it was possibly the worst car I have ever driven (second only to a Kia Sephia because the Kia had a sucky sound system) It got no more then 32mpg the whole time I drove it and I was driving as slow as legally possible. That is what made me hate hybrids- I since have driven a new 2006 Civic HB CVT and a Prius- I liked the Civic but I can't afford it and the Prius was full of esoteric lights and gauges I will never understand. So I would like to DRIVE an Insight because they are 5-speeds and I think I could learn to love it...

 

[moeck]

I know of a '02 w/ 40,000 miles on it in upper New York. I was talking to the owner before I found one very close to home (West coast). Have info and pictures that I can forward to you. I did carfax and car is clean. I believe it still may be on Honda CPO warrenty also.
PM me if you are interested in info, happy to help.