[duane w]

I'm a newbie here, but been looking at the forum for a while. I'm getting very serious about finding an Insight to buy. I want a manual transmission vehicle, with air conditioning. I'm confused about some of the online ads I've been seeing. I thought that the model 135 cars came without a/c and the 137 cars came with a/c, and that both of these are manuals (there is an explanation of the VINs somewhere on the site here). But a number of ads for 135 cars say they have a/c.

What's going on here, or what am I missing.

Thanks for any help.

Duane.

 

[Rick]

135 - 5 speed no AC from the factory
137 - 5 speed factory AC
147- CVT factory AC (CVT not available without AC)

There is a dealer installed AC kit, so if it doesn't have factory AC the dealership installed it. My understanding is in 2000, the first production year, they made enough cars without AC that the EPA test car was a no AC car, which made the 70 vs 68 mpg window sticker listing.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Hi duane w and welcome to the forums :!:

The #8 digit of the VIN will be either a 5 or 7. A 5 being a base model - no factory air when shipped.

As far as your model numbers for the Insight they read like internal Honda sales designation IDs.

AFAIK nobody on the retail level uses them so I doubt you'll be able to converse intelligently with a prospective seller. And AFAIK depending on the original region it was delivered to the A/C could be either "factory" or dealer installed (same parts - same system). So a "5" as above may still have factory equivalent A/C already installed.

5 spd or CVT, A/C or no, and color schemes limited by model year are your only choices. There are no other factory option differences.

HTH!

 

[duane w]

Thanks Rick and Insightful Trekker. That does help explain.

<snip>
AFAIK nobody on the retail level uses them so I doubt you'll be able to converse intelligently with a prospective seller. And AFAIK depending on the original region it was delivered to the A/C could be either "factory" or dealer installed (same parts - same system). So a "5" as above may still have factory equivalent A/C already installed.<snip>

(Did not intend to converse with folks on model numbers...) I was interested in the model numbers because many online ads include the VIN, and I thought the difference between a 135 and 137 would tell me if it had a/c. But then I started seeing a number of 135s WITH a/c. More work to screen which ones are acceptable, but more choices for what I want.

Thanks,
Duane.

 

[dice]

you'll find that lots of people don't know what the heck is in the Insight. Often you'll see some ad's claim that the Insight is equipped with a 4 cylinder engine. The dealer I bought mine at, didn't even know it had AC, so I was able to get the price down. Turned out it did. Of course it was a Toyota dealer, and they didn't have a clue.

 

[trunkout]

yep...

you'll find that lots of people don't know what the heck is in the Insight. Often you'll see some ad's claim that the Insight is equipped with a 4 cylinder engine. The dealer I bought mine at, didn't even know it had AC, so I was able to get the price down. Turned out it did. Of course it was a Toyota dealer, and they didn't have a clue.

yeah.... I STOLE mine from a dealer in Nixa, Missouri (ho-dunk!)
who had no idea what he was selling! 16k miles.....he was asking 12k and I gave him a check for 11K! If you talk like you know more about the car than the dealer you can negotiate MUCH better.....that's my two cents...

 

[james]

"Often you'll see some ad's claim that the Insight is equipped with a 4 cylinder engine."

If you look in e.g. filter reference books at the auto parts store, you'll find they list a 1.3L 4 cylinder model in addition to the 3 cylinder. That's always puzzled me: I wonder if maybe at some point Honda planned a performance model?

 

[bfivelover]

Re: yep...

you'll find that lots of people don't know what the heck is in the Insight. Often you'll see some ad's claim that the Insight is equipped with a 4 cylinder engine. The dealer I bought mine at, didn't even know it had AC, so I was able to get the price down. Turned out it did. Of course it was a Toyota dealer, and they didn't have a clue.

I can't tell you how many I've seen on Ebay that say "tilt steering wheel".