[Dougie]

Now that the Insight seems to be clearly nearing its end of production, it seems to me that the owner community has an opportunity to lead a substantial reset of the expectations of the value of the car.

Obviously the Insight cost Honda big bucks to develop and to manufacture. While sold as an economy car, it's really an extremely high-tech piece of equipment even if you forget about the hybrid system. The aluminum construction, the wierd styling, the just-like-a-racing-car wheel spats, etc., etc. If it had been priced at $30,000 and sold as an Acura they would probably have shipped more of them.

And the tax incentives had a big impact on the price. Here in Colorado the combination of federal and state tax incentives was about $5000, so if you talked your dealer down to invoice price, the car cost less than $15k right off the lot. This hurt the resale value, of course.

But now that gas prices are easing upwards again, and other manufacturers are legitimizing the hybrid concept, and the Insight is retiring at the top of its game and with no contender to takes its top spot, the unique design and low unit volume means that the Insight could move quickly up in value.

Suggestion: As of right now, expect your used Insight to be worth at least $25,000, and hold out for that much. If it's a low mileage garage queen, $30k.

How about it?

 

[minako]

Interesting theory... I'm not quite sure how well these cars will hold their value. I would be thrilled if they suddenly became collector's items (like the last gen Toyota Supra), but I don't think the car will be that well sought after.

There was an Insight on craiglist.org a couple weeks back - 2002 with less than 25,000 miles and an upgraded stereo system. If I remember correctly, they were asking about $18k. Kelly Blue Book advised that the car would only be worth about $14k in excellent condition. Needless to say, I did not purchase that car because I did not think it was worth that high of a price. That, and it wasn't blue (my #1 choice). I am wondering if that owner was able to get the price they wanted? That would be interesting if they did!

 

[MrCoffee]

right now they're going for 8 to 12k range.
and well worth that even if replacement parts are limited.

 

[Fenrir]

If you look at completed auctions on Ebay, you'll see quite a few Insight auctions where the bids didn't go over $10k, and the reserve was not met.

I think gas will have to go a lot higher, like $5/gal maybe, before used Insights bring in more than the original sticker price.

 

[ethicalpaul]

Nice pipe dream, Dougie!

Let's even say gas gets to $5/gallon here in the US

A driver does let's say 12k miles per year

That's 171 gallons in an Insight at 70mpg

That's 240g in my New Beetle (diesel)

That's 600g in a 20mpg pickup

Insight: $855
Beetle: $1200
Pickup: $3000

Gas is still too small a part of the annual cost of driving a car to cause people in the US to buy a micro sized car that can't seat any of their kids. No pickup driver I know would be looking to switch to an insight to save $2100 a year.

I still love it, but I like many of you am a geeky guy with no kids who's not afraid of small cars.

 

[Dougie]

It's a matter of marketing the car as a prestige item. The Civic gets as good of mileage as the Prius, but owning a Prius makes a statement. Owning an Insight also makes a statement, and we have to get that statement to be something like "this car is so terrific you'll want to pay a big premium to get your hands on one."

 

[jbrasure]

I was reading this thread, and I realized how the Insight has changed me in so many ways:

1) I no longer get angry when I encounter slow traffic, because I usually get better MPG when I'm going slow.

2) I no longer worry about the price of gas, because as gas prices rise, the value of my car increases enough to make up for the additional gas costs. Heck, I might be better off with high gas prices.

I love this car!

 

[tubesguy]

Yipes! 25 grand! I'd gladly take a check for half that amount, right now, and make do with a Civic Hybrid. I've checked ebay auctions for a while now, and $11000 is about the going rate for a car similar to my 2000, albeit without my new battery pack and control modules. - Pat

 

[b1shmu63]

"No pickup driver I know would be looking to switch to an insight to save $2100 a year."

Fascinating.

Around here a lot of folk drive pickups (contractors, farmers) I always assume that they can't afford to have a real car for occasional use. I have used my CRX SI on occasion to haul a trailer loaded with earth, stones, building supplies, or cord wood. Hauling a beat up work trailer with a yellow sports car is my idea of making a statement.

The CRX is 15 years old, and has a cable linked clutch that has never needed adjustment.

The value of the Insight may actually go down initially as many rare sports cars of the past have done. People love to drive the Insight. High mileage driven eventually leads to scrapped or worn out cars. As Insights are sacrificed to rebuild Insights the Insight will become rarer. Others will be modified extensively. Finally, remaining examples in good condition will demand higher prices for their novelty, historical importance, gas mileage, etc.

Keep your Insight in good condition!

 

[ethicalpaul]

Hi Kip- I'm not sure what you mean by "fascinating"

Do you mean that you do in fact know some people who would switch from their pickups to an insight to save $2100 a year (which is assuming $5/gallon gas price btw)?

 

[b1shmu63]

The price of gasoline is about $3.50 a gallon here if converted to US$. It does seem that there are a lot of large cars and trucks parked on peoples front yards with big for sale signs, yet there are still quite a few trucks ripping past me as though their tail is on fire. One young fellow living in Verona complained that it cost him 120 dollars to visit Ottawa (about 3 hours away). :roll:

What is the appeal of a truck? I've driven trucks but just don't get it, so as Spock would say when confronted with an illogical, or inexplicable phenomenon, "fascinating".

I drove motorcycles for a decade and loved it. The Insight gets me closest to the feeling of freedom and handling I had with a bike. This is one of the reasons I believe the Insight will have strong appeal for many decades to come. Combining this with low production numbers and a durable body, I conclude we have a sure fire collectible.