"Why the Insight?"

[Avantiguy]

It might have to do some too with how the salesman asked "Why the Insight" and what his tone was. I can envision a good salesman making it clear as to why he is asking versus another salesman who is indifferent and trying to sell, as some suggested, a more expensive car.

I guess you just had to be there. In my opinion, there might just have been something there - since the OP questioned it.


Mr. Bill
Hamlet, NC

[Big George]

Originally Posted by Kembek

Because I'm interested in the Honda Insight I went to a Honda dealer recently to test drive one. When I told the salesman I was interested in the Insight he asked, "Why the Insight?" I'm not sure what to make of the question. Would he have asked that of any other model? Did he ask because he didn't have any 2012s in stock? Would the question give you pause? I find it a bit disconcerting.

Sounds like up-selling to me. There's probably not a lot of sales commission in an Insight.

"Would you like a hot apple pie with that?"

[straight shooter]

The Honda Insight sux all around. The interior is cheap (fabric and rugs are like tracing paper or toilet paper), the rear head room is dismal, the rear visibility is also dismal, the suspension sux, the factory tires show significant wear after 20k miles of use, the A/C stops working when the car comes to a stop because the engine always shuts off at idle to increase fuel efficiency unless you manually shift the car when it comes to a complete stop, who is going to go through that hassle or be with out A/C in stop and go rush hour traffic. The car overall feels light and flimsy, the doors weight nothing and good luck if you still own the car when it is time for new batteries. It is a disposable car that shouldn't be kept for more than 4-5 years max and good luck with resale value by then. You might have to give it away. You are better off getting an Accord or Civic. Screw the 44 mpg on the highway it isn't worth it, that is why there are so few on the road.

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by Kembek

Because I'm interested in the Honda Insight I went to a Honda dealer recently to test drive one. When I told the salesman I was interested in the Insight he asked, "Why the Insight?" I'm not sure what to make of the question. Would he have asked that of any other model? Did he ask because he didn't have any 2012s in stock? Would the question give you pause? I find it a bit disconcerting.

Hi Kembek--

I spent some time driving around the old (~2000) Insights back in the day and I was impressed by the stellar fuel economy but sadly it was way out of my price range at the time. The new Insight isn't selling too well because Honda hybrids are in practice several years behind Toyota's hybrid technology. If you're looking to spend $20k on a car and fuel economy is a top priority, I'd go with a Prius (around $24k).

A 3rd generation Prius is larger in every dimension (the Prius is a midsize whereas the Insight is a compact), has a larger engine (1.8 versus 1.3), and delivers far better fuel economy (51/48 for the Prius versus 41/44 in the Insight).

Plus I'm highly suspicious of Honda hybrids because of what happened with the Civic Hybrids a few years ago. Honda was learning that a lot of their batteries were failing prematurely (while still under warranty) so their solution was to give all the Civic hybrids a "software update" which extended the life of the battery by effectively neutering the hybrid system. The Civic Hybrids, thus altered, got no better mileage than a standard car.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...1c.oy8CLsrJQhc