I bought the Honda insight

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Well the vin number is 00062. In the first 2 years, it only had 1400 miles on it, however, the first carfax entry says "Tire repair at service facility" at 900 miles

A guy in my dept. has a 2000 with over 150k and he's on the original battery backs. Hell, your not far from me. I can always get you a replacement pack for associate price.
 
As others have commented....the biggest issue is that Battery

And if you drive on the highway...your on gas and there's lots of Gas Only Hondas that will give you good mileage on the highways
This proves a good point. If you do a lot of highway driving (as I do for commuting), then you're not really utilizing the battery aspect. You might as well just buy a civic or crx instead.
 
This proves a good point. If you do a lot of highway driving (as I do for commuting), then you're not really utilizing the battery aspect. You might as well just buy a civic or crx instead.

correct... batteries on the insight are only used to assist the gas engine when more power is needed (accelerating, passing, climbing hills, etc)
on the highway you are using the VERY efficient 3cyl 1L engine that can operate in "lean burn mode" at an A/F ratio of 25:1
on the highway it is not uncommon for an insight to average 75mpg +
which Civic/CRX was it that does that???

i have owned an insight (unlike most people who throw opinions around without ever even having driven one)

around town it was on par with (or slightly faster than) a 5th or 6th gen D16Z6 or Y8 equipped civic
on the highway it held its own well
70-80mph cruising was easy and comfortable... and the car feels solid
the top speed i was able to reach was 113mph at the top of 3rd gear... but honestly anything over 100, you really know that you are in a light ass car (1900lb) with very thin tires (165/65/14)
the car handled well and stood up to a few autocross events (did pretty well too) as well as lots of spirited back road driving

i would have liked stiffer suspension and some better brakes (adding some cooling duct work would have helped) but seeing as the car was never intended to be driven the way i drove it... i cant blame the car

my average tank of gas in the summer got me an average of 65 mpg over the course of the tank... winter would be in the 58mpg range (they mix it with more ethanol in the winter)
my best tank average was 73.2mpg
i didnt drive that car easy.... i drove it the same as i would have driven any car
that was what i loved about it... i didnt have to baby it to get good mileage out of it... i drove the hell out of it, and i still got double the mileage of most cars ive owned
 
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:werd: get yourself an hf.
You have to realize that even if the gas mileage were equal (which they are not) an HF is at minimum, an 18 year old car. Honda's are great cars, and their engines do last forever, but any car that old would need a good amount of attention. Bushings, interiors, wheel bearings, ect all have a finite life. Not to mention safety. Alot has changed in the 9-14 years between the CRX and the Insight. In new condition, any of the cars from that era aren't the most steller in crashes, and then add 200,000+ miles of rust and fatigue, well good luck.

Not to mention, being an 18+ year car, in the midwest, their is nothing left of those cars. The ones in Realatively good shape still have rust here and there. The ones that don't sell for un-Godly amounts of money. Last summer, I saw some clean CRX's go for 6,000+ and they still had 200,000 miles on them. Insights with that kind of mileage can be had for that price, and you get a car thats 10+ years newer.

In addition to all that I mentioned, the Insight is much faster (and their aren't too many cars slower then an insight) 15 years worth of engineering goes along way. Gas engine alone makes more HP then the HF ever did, plus your IMA system which is almost like a mini KERS system, which gives a little boost when you need it. Paired with better materials and a better understanding of areodynamics, you get a much more modern car.

If I were to go the old car route, I would rather have a civic VX, as I love how much room there is in EG's but once again, the ones that are left are either on their last leg with 250,000 miles on them, ruined by some teenage kid with a hacksaw and hammers, or in great condition asking the same price as an insight. And regardless of which one your in, your stuck with your noisey, blan interiors.

I've grown up since I used to visit this site. Almost a decade has passed since I first joined Hondaswap. I've had plenty of project cars in my day, but I've moved on. Since I first joined, I've graduated from both high school and college, and now have a real persons job. I used to spend way too much money on cars but now its all about getting to my next bike race for as cheap as possible. I'm done with spending weekends wrenching on cars.

As for pics and stuff, I'll be driving to get it Saturday morning. And with a little more then a half a tank of gas later (~450 miles), I'll have pics come Sunday.
 
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I'm done with spending weekends wrenching on cars.

A lot of people don't understand that. when you get older, you have less time for bullshit. I work and make money so i don't have to buy shit that needs fixing. i don't have much free time anymore, but that last thing i want to be doing is fixing something that shouldn't be broken. yes, you can build a honda that is faster and cheaper than a bmw 335/370z/etc, but i don't have to do anything other than wash it. it drives smooth, it's quiet, and it fits my age.

if you are 18-24, drive an hf. if you are over 28 you tend to want something a little better.
 
hell, im 22, and i want something better.

just want out of the box reliable, and fun.

i have grown to be unhappy with hondas.
just need to get rid of this teg.
 
I bought a fit. Srsly.
I love the fit. My mom has one, and I've driven it to a few races. Good gas mileage and a ton of room. One race I went to, I decided to go on the cheap, and parked the car at the race parking lot, had the bike and all my crap on one side of the car, and I slept on the other side. I actually slept pretty good. I would consider one, but the prices on the used ones are still pretty high, and I don't want a car payment.

I'm cheap. I don't like spending money unless its on my bike, bike swag, or race entry fee's.
 
Haha, yeah. At Clayton's last meet I slept in it. It was awesome.

I love my fit, it's actually pretty sporty, and it handles awesomely (for an econobox.) It's fun to drive, got tons of passenger or cargo room, and its insurance is dirt cheap. It is actually competitive in autox too.

I too got tired of fixing shit on the car, and trying to eek every ounce out of a 1.4l civic, while maintaining streetability. This time I bought a new car, with a powertrain warranty. It's wonderful. I love it, and I don't think I would have gotten any other car. I'm still buying a bike for a fun car, and I've still got the civic, but I enjoy the fit in a different way.


I'd totally buy an insight, especially the old one. I thought about the new insight, but it handles like shit, has less power on the road than the original (is that even possible????) and was extremely expensive. I'd go for the 1st gen in a heartbeat. You really need two (or more) cars. One for fun, one to drive to work, and one to haul shit.
 
I'd go for the 1st gen in a heartbeat. You really need two (or more) cars. One for fun, one to drive to work, and one to haul shit.
True about the sporty-ness of the fit. To meet crash regulations, they had to make the chassis EXTREMELY stiff, so its extremely nimble. When you toss it in a corner, it responds fantastically.

As for the two cars thing, as long as I can fit my bike in the back, I'm happy. I found a pic proving I can do it, so its a go.

13479835_fae51d364c.jpg
 
Sold...to me. Now that its officially mine, I'll give a bit more details

Only 62,000 miles, with factory AC. Brand new tires, o2 sensor, and all maintenance records, all from honda. Selling price: $6780. I found it on craigslist outside Madison WI, (I'm from the detroit area) (note, use crazedlist.org to search multiple regions at a time) The owner was an older lady and loved the car, the husband hated it and only drove it twice in the 4 years they had the car. With the addition of some grandkids, the 2 seater was no longer practicle, so she bought a Toyota Highlander Hybrid and put this for sale. She wasn't tech savy her craigslist ad sucked, and being kinda out in the country, there weren't a ton of people stopping by for it. Works good for me.

now for some pics...

Greatest first...
P6210828.jpg

415.2 miles, 63.2 MPG and a little over a half a tank used. Not bad...
P6210825.jpg

P6210827.jpg

P6210829.jpg
 
ssssswwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttttttt!!!!

That's a HELL of a deal; considering you can't even find used Insights for sale down here.
 
yeah i remember that. i slept next to you in the mirage. i remember the 8am "hey give me your netbook" and the 9am "im outta here, enjoy the hangover LOL"


You don't remember 7am, though, do you?
 
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