I bought a new 02 cvt two weeks ago ($14,600), and now with the kids taking it back and forth to college I need another one. I am convinced that I want a standard and the dealer has promised me an 04. In the meantime I found a new 03 cvt for $12,000 on E-bay. Is it possible to switch the cvt with a standard trans. Cost?
Transmission swap
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Possible? Yes. Good idea? Probably not. Lets explore.
It would not just be as easy as a transmission swap. Your talking replacing computers as well. I'm not sure which ones, but for all we know they could all be propriotary to the CVT. You'd also have to replace the linkages for the shifter and get the manual fork and such. Then if you wanted to do it correctly you'd have to change out the instrument panel display as there are different ones used for the manual and CVT. Don't forget the clutch master cylinder, pedal and all related accessories. Also, I could be wrong on this, but it looks like you'd also need to remove the engine in order to get to the transmission.
Now lets examine cost. From what I've been told the cost to get a transmission replaced is about $2,000. Majestic Honda has it listed for $1568. So obviously there is a lot of labor in there (there's a reason I'm buying the extended warranty). The whole shifter fork assembly with all the nuts and bolts needed runs about another $275 when everything is all added up. The LED assembly runs about $675, this is assuming you could get away with just replace that and not have to replace the whole unit, which runs more like a grand (again extended warranty). Now add in about another $300 for the clutch pedal assembly and clutch master cylinder and all related hoses etc. Also, you'd have to replace the brake pedal with the smaller manual transmission one. Now as far as which computers you'd need to change out I'm not sure. I guess you'd have to pull up the nanual and cvt cars and compare part numbers of all the various components. I know the CVT cars are set up to not lean burn so probably at the least the ecu would need replaced. Probably several other computers play a role in cvt stuff, this would require some deep investigation though. You probably dont even want to know what all those computes might end up costing.
Now, if you could find an Insight in a junk yard you might have something there. It would deffinitely be cheaper than getting parts form Honda. Still to get everything right it would be quite an ordeal. If you did do it you'd deffinitely be the first to undertake such a project. I recall this was discussed on Honda-hybrids yahoo group not too long ago and it ended in a quick way too complicated. Thoughts anyone? I could be wrong on some of that, but to the best of my knowledge thats what'd have to be done. If you waited for an 04 you could be the first to get that new blue color they are apparently bringing to the US.
It would not just be as easy as a transmission swap. Your talking replacing computers as well. I'm not sure which ones, but for all we know they could all be propriotary to the CVT. You'd also have to replace the linkages for the shifter and get the manual fork and such. Then if you wanted to do it correctly you'd have to change out the instrument panel display as there are different ones used for the manual and CVT. Don't forget the clutch master cylinder, pedal and all related accessories. Also, I could be wrong on this, but it looks like you'd also need to remove the engine in order to get to the transmission.
Now lets examine cost. From what I've been told the cost to get a transmission replaced is about $2,000. Majestic Honda has it listed for $1568. So obviously there is a lot of labor in there (there's a reason I'm buying the extended warranty). The whole shifter fork assembly with all the nuts and bolts needed runs about another $275 when everything is all added up. The LED assembly runs about $675, this is assuming you could get away with just replace that and not have to replace the whole unit, which runs more like a grand (again extended warranty). Now add in about another $300 for the clutch pedal assembly and clutch master cylinder and all related hoses etc. Also, you'd have to replace the brake pedal with the smaller manual transmission one. Now as far as which computers you'd need to change out I'm not sure. I guess you'd have to pull up the nanual and cvt cars and compare part numbers of all the various components. I know the CVT cars are set up to not lean burn so probably at the least the ecu would need replaced. Probably several other computers play a role in cvt stuff, this would require some deep investigation though. You probably dont even want to know what all those computes might end up costing.
Now, if you could find an Insight in a junk yard you might have something there. It would deffinitely be cheaper than getting parts form Honda. Still to get everything right it would be quite an ordeal. If you did do it you'd deffinitely be the first to undertake such a project. I recall this was discussed on Honda-hybrids yahoo group not too long ago and it ended in a quick way too complicated. Thoughts anyone? I could be wrong on some of that, but to the best of my knowledge thats what'd have to be done. If you waited for an 04 you could be the first to get that new blue color they are apparently bringing to the US.
trans swap
Ok ok I guess I was dreaming. We are working on a street rod and it is simple compared to what you are discussing. It' just that I don't want to pay 15-16,000 for an 04 when I can get an 03 for 12,000. I know the fuel savings would not offset the cost difference between the cvt and the 5-speed, but I just like the control of the manual.
Thanks Ricky
Ok ok I guess I was dreaming. We are working on a street rod and it is simple compared to what you are discussing. It' just that I don't want to pay 15-16,000 for an 04 when I can get an 03 for 12,000. I know the fuel savings would not offset the cost difference between the cvt and the 5-speed, but I just like the control of the manual.
Thanks Ricky
It's not listed currently. If you could get it for $12,000 thats an absolute steal. Likely if it's got some miles it was used to let people test drive some. Usually test drive cars have higher miles than that, but then again I guess there probably aren't many people who want to test drive an Insight. What they mean by brand new is it hasn't been sold. The warranty does not start until the day the car is first purchased. Still I'd say 200 miles is brand new.
For 04 Monte Carlo blue is supposed to be replaced with Navy Blue Pearl. I'm not sure if this is a different color by much, but no one has one yet. I still with they'd bring white and black to the US.
For 04 Monte Carlo blue is supposed to be replaced with Navy Blue Pearl. I'm not sure if this is a different color by much, but no one has one yet. I still with they'd bring white and black to the US.
My son is getting his licence next week and is craving an Insight (along with his two sisters), so he paid more attention to the ad on ebay. He says that the time remaining was only 12 hours when we looked at it and no one had bid yet, the minimum bid was 12,000 and I should have 'marked' the ad so I could follow it's progress. I've never gone to ebay before so I'm an ebay newbe.
Possible the dealer just put it out there and would raise his own bid? Can they do this? Like a teaser/ I thought I got a good deal on mine ($14,600) and felt a little foolish after seeing the one on ebay.
Anyway, thanks to you guys I now have over 3800 miles on the car in a little over 2 weeks and an life average of 55.8 (it's been going up) but I've had the air on and have been driving very fast :twisted: !
Possible the dealer just put it out there and would raise his own bid? Can they do this? Like a teaser/ I thought I got a good deal on mine ($14,600) and felt a little foolish after seeing the one on ebay.
Anyway, thanks to you guys I now have over 3800 miles on the car in a little over 2 weeks and an life average of 55.8 (it's been going up) but I've had the air on and have been driving very fast :twisted: !
Well the seller always has the option to end the auction early. So if they aren't getting the live money they want on the item they can basically cancel it and not have to sell it. Raising up their own bid is illegal, but could be done with another user. However if the car "sells" to the person raising it up they still get charged the final sale fees by ebay so it's not a good idea. If you go to search and then advanced search you can look at completed items only and see if it ended with no bids.
A co-worker was looking at a used Insight for a 17-years old girl. Found out the insurance cost on it and dropped the idea. Being that we're beyond the teenage years, compare to other cars, my wife and I are paying more on insurance for the Insight.RickM said:
While I think it's great that kids like the Insight, it's probably best that parents look at the cost for insurance first, before buying one.
Charles
I'd suggest checking rates for liability insurance only. My Insight is actually slightly less (maybe $25/year) than for my previous Honda CRX. I think the collision & comprehensive may be what kicks up the rates: since most shops aren't familiar with aluminum body repair, even minor dings can cost a lot - or even total the car when the damage is purely cosmetic.
I think forgoing C&C might be an especially good idea if someone is thinking of buying a used Insight for their kids. Teaches them about consequences: if they ding it, they'll have to drive a dinged-up car, instead of having the insurance company kiss it and make it all better
I think forgoing C&C might be an especially good idea if someone is thinking of buying a used Insight for their kids. Teaches them about consequences: if they ding it, they'll have to drive a dinged-up car, instead of having the insurance company kiss it and make it all better
I drive over 3,000 miles a month and the kids drive even more. We live in the middle of nowhere-it takes over anm hour to get to the grocery store. So, with the high mileage the cost of insurance is inconsquential.
As far as the 12,000 new insight I saw on Ebay, that was the opening bid and the closing bid was 18,000 it didn't sell. So, a thousand lashes with a wet noodle for making you guys (and myself) feel foolish for spending more than needed for our Insights .
As far as the 12,000 new insight I saw on Ebay, that was the opening bid and the closing bid was 18,000 it didn't sell. So, a thousand lashes with a wet noodle for making you guys (and myself) feel foolish for spending more than needed for our Insights
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