The used is an 01' with 48k on the clock 5-speed. Lifetime MPG is 56. He says on the highway he gets 60mpg. From the year and mileage I would guess that it's almost always been city driving (college town, mid-west, flat). Oh and he's the 2nd owner and it's Honda Certified till 100k.

I live in the Mid-west where it's flat and I drive 156 miles round-trip a day. I'd save alot of money to say the least...

Should I buy new or this used one for half the price?
Honda warranty till 100k, does it cover the batteries???

Thanks and I'm going to make the decision soon in the next few days, so please post.

 

I'd say it looks good, based on what has been said.

Expected FE:

• Highway at 55mph: 70-80mpg
• Highway at 65mph: 60mpg
• Highway at 75mph: 40-45mpg

 

just got an email back saying he has a lead foot on the highway 70+ MPH. Would explain the under 60mpg.

Will probably pull the trigger this weekend on the used one if still available. Money saved will go towards a weekend Toy = If not available, then there is always a new one locally. Now if GW would only extend those Tax credits to manual tranny Insights...

 

So what's a fair price on Used with the specs I listed?

 

Get a Civic. You can do that mileage or better and get a newer car.

 

48K for an '01 is pretty decent. I was pricing them out last night on Autotrader (dare to dream) and just about everything I found in my area was over 80k, presumably because high-mileage drivers are the most likely to buy one in the first place. Personally I would go for the low-mileage used car if it's literally half the price of a new one.

 

I just bought a used 05 with 13k miles on it for $15,250. Thought it was pretty decent as the ones with 70k miles are going for close to $10,000

 

The new one sold...
The first used one I inquired about sold. Second used one had the same specs but 60k on the clock, but $11.7k asking price.

The used one: I drive all highway, 164 miles roundtrip daily. I took the used one on the highway and drove it the same way as the new one I just test drove and only got 55mpg vs. 72 on the new one. Tires were not OEM. Please comment on this battery charging issue. Battery was 3/4 full when I started out. Dropped to about half as I got up to 65mph on the highway. Since no cruise, occasionally a small assist would kick in when fighting the wind resistance. The battery slowly dropped to 3 bars. Then constantly the "charging" was on with 3 bars and the main battery slowly began to charge back again to what was the max of 3/4. By this time, my test drive of the used Insight was over and I logged about 40 miles on the highway averaging 55mpg. Something with the battery didn't seem right, so I passed on it. No AC on and windows up. Please reply about if the battery sounded like a car with 60k on it or a possible problem? How much of an effect does really cheap non-oem tires make???
Thanks, now I get to wait till the next shipment of Insights come in the area.

Ron, good deal on the 05'

 

Recals (or forced recharge) happens at about 2/3 charge on a 5-speed Insight. You were very close to that point on your test drive.

It takes some practice, but you will want to keep that bar 80% full or more to avoid frequent recals. Even if you want to drive somewhat fast, you can learn to do this.

Keep in mind that 100% on the bar is not a 100% battery charge, nor is 0% necessarily mean the battery pack is dead. The battery pack is allowed to have a maximum charge of 85%. Depending on the software, the minimum charge is 15 or 40% (please verify). This is to preserve the battery pack.

 

What do you think a guesstimate of OEM Tires inflated properly (40+) is good for MPG wise?

The used car in question was also an Auto getting 55mpg. But my driving habits of 60-65 with alot of truck drafting was getting 70+ mpg on a brand new Auto Insight.