[maynyrd150]

There seems to be a high level of buyers remorse. Currently, 46 used Insights are listed on Cars.com. After guessing that sellers are probably receiving $2k or so less than listed price, they took a hit of $2-6k depending on trim level for so few miles. I wonder what the reasons might be. Power-train NVH and maybe less than advertised MPG throughout winter are my guesses.

https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searc...81&yrId=36362520&zc=48210&localVehicles=false

 

[andrew28]

There seems to be a high level of buyers remorse. Currently, 46 used Insights are listed on Cars.com. After guessing that sellers are probably receiving $2k or so less than listed price, they took a hit of $2-6k depending on trim level for so few miles. I wonder what the reasons might be. Power-train NVH and maybe less than advertised MPG throughout winter are my guesses.

https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searc...81&yrId=36362520&zc=48210&localVehicles=false

Honda is probably close to 15k 2019 Honda Insights sold right now so around 50 used Insights don't appear to be a lot at least to me.

• Vibrating Hood
• Seat comfort
• Engine noise
• Less than expected fuel economy
• Change of circumstance where a bigger car is needed

^Those are the only things I could think of based on reports here from other forum members.

 

[maynyrd150]

Honda is probably close to 15k 2019 Honda Insights sold right now so around 50 used Insights don't appear to be a lot at least to me.

Pretty solid estimate:
https://hondanews.com/channels/corp...-for-american-honda-in-november?query=insight

and

https://hondanews.com/channels/corp...a-posts-strong-february-results?query=insight

Comparitively, there are 38 Toyota 2019 hybrids across 5 models for sale on Cars.com:

https://www.cars.com/for-sale/searc...81&yrId=36362520&zc=48210&localVehicles=false

 

[insightfully]

Comparitively, there are 38 Toyota 2019 hybrids across 5 models for sale on Cars.com:

Interesting info, but not quite apples-to-apples data since used car sales rate isn't included. The Toyota hybrids have been around a while, and even Insight new car sales are on the low side - so a similar trend in sales rate of used cars seems likely.

Some of the Insights could also be "test drive" cars that dealers are trying to unload before the new model year comes in. One of my local dealers tried to sell me an Insight with 750 miles as "new"; it had only been on the lot 2-3 months, but had high test-drive volume because of the novelty.

 

[maynyrd150]

Comparitively, there are 38 Toyota 2019 hybrids across 5 models for sale on Cars.com:

Interesting info, but not quite apples-to-apples data since used car sales rate isn't included. The Toyota hybrids have been around a while, and even Insight new car sales are on the low side - so a similar trend in sales rate of used cars seems likely.

Some of the Insights could also be "test drive" cars that dealers are trying to unload before the new model year comes in. One of my local dealers tried to sell me an Insight with 750 miles as "new"; it had only been on the lot 2-3 months, but had high test-drive volume because of the novelty.

Yeah. If its never been registered, its new. There were three last gen Insights that sold in 2017 according to that first sales link I posted. I thats a long time to hang out at a dealership, but there have been stories of cars hanging out at dealers for 30 years or so. I think one was a Mustang IIRC.

 

[Magikhat]

I looked for a used insight with low miles and I had trouble finding one. The closest one I could find was a few hours away. If these car apps have true data I saw it showed some of the insights sitting on lots for over 90 days. It baffles me how these could not be selling. It looks amazing , has tons of tech, mpg is great. We’re most of the used insights LX models? I considered an LX but once I saw the TERRIBLE small screen that wasn’t touch screen I just went straight to the EX. The price is too high listed around 24 for the EX model. The car price at the dealer was 23,500 new I was able to get them to drop the EX to 22,055. The cars are not selling as well as they hoped I don’t think and people should use that as an advantage to get the price lower. Honda made the best insight they could and if there is no 2020 insight and they stop I will be fine with it. I have my insight is all that matters. With all the new battery tech coming out I would love Honda to make like a Nissan Leaf kinda car for the Insight. 300 mile range plug in. No gas with the looks of the insight. The leaf is an ugly overpriced car. Ok I’m done now

 

[insightfully]

I looked for a used insight with low miles and I had trouble finding one. The closest one I could find was a few hours away. If these car apps have true data I saw it showed some of the insights sitting on lots for over 90 days. It baffles me how these could not be selling. It looks amazing , has tons of tech, mpg is great. We’re most of the used insights LX models? I considered an LX but once I saw the TERRIBLE small screen that wasn’t touch screen I just went straight to the EX. The price is too high listed around 24 for the EX model. The car price at the dealer was 23,500 new I was able to get them to drop the EX to 22,055. The cars are not selling as well as they hoped I don’t think and people should use that as an advantage to get the price lower. Honda made the best insight they could and if there is no 2020 insight and they stop I will be fine with it. I have my insight is all that matters. With all the new battery tech coming out I would love Honda to make like a Nissan Leaf kinda car for the Insight. 300 mile range plug in. No gas with the looks of the insight. The leaf is an ugly overpriced car. Ok I’m done now

In what region/state were you searching for new car?

As of today (3/21/19) in the link from post #1 shows: LX = 20%, EX = 35%, Touring = 45%. The posted listing search parameters were for the 48210 / Detroit, MI area.

By comparison, data from our forum a month ago (2/18/19) showed an even split between EX and Touring owners: LX owners = 3.4% (4), EX owners = 47.4% (55), Touring owners = 49.1% (57).

 

[Magikhat]

I’m in PA the closest used insight was in Virginia and maybe one in Maryland

 

[wonthanh]

I purchased a used CPO EX model with extended warranty. It only had a little under 5k miles and the dealer had a sticker price of 22,100. In VA that could add up to 23,600 after fees, tax and title which was probably 700-1000 below brand new so I gave an offer of 22k OTD (base price of 20.5K) which they accepted at the end of February. According to the dealer, the previous owners of the car traded the insight for a Hyundai Sonata hybrid.

 

[PHILBERT]

I was talking to my dealer about why the Insight was not really "pushed" much in their inventory. He said they are too expensive. Maybe for this area, that could be true. Then he told me of a lady who wanted to trade in her new Insight Touring because she couldn't afford her $600 a month payment. She wanted something cheaper. Finance charges can drive up the price, especially if you have bad credit.

Could it be the "bit off more then they could chew" thing?

Phil

 

[maynyrd150]

I was talking to my dealer about why the Insight was not really "pushed" much in their inventory. He said they are too expensive. Maybe for this area, that could be true. Then he told me of a lady who wanted to trade in her new Insight Touring because she couldn't afford her $600 a month payment. She wanted something cheaper. Finance charges can drive up the price, especially if you have bad credit.

Could it be the "bit off more then they could chew" thing?

Phil

Yeah, I don't know. As for a sedan these days, yeah, they might be a little more expensive than their other compact counter parts when you consider the EV tech they carry, but I don't think they are priced high if you compare them to a Ioniq or squinty looking Prius.

Let's put it this way: I've always driven junk and this is the first new car I've ever felt compelled to buy for a number of reasons and affordability was one.

Cost of ownership was another, MPG, distance between fills, etc.

And for my plan to work, I will gently drive this car into the ground over the next 10 to hopefully 15? years.

Most people only think in terms of monthly payment though. Maybe her circumstances changed. Who knows.

 

[insightfully]

I was talking to my dealer about why the Insight was not really "pushed" much in their inventory. He said they are too expensive. Maybe for this area, that could be true. Then he told me of a lady who wanted to trade in her new Insight Touring because she couldn't afford her $600 a month payment. She wanted something cheaper. Finance charges can drive up the price, especially if you have bad credit.

Could it be the "bit off more then they could chew" thing?

A comparison for this would be the Accord, since it's a sedan that's priced more than the Insight. Does the dealer in your area sell more Accords or more Civics? If Accord sales are 'strong' the pricing reason would carry less weight for low Insight sales.

I think there are more "national" reasons why the Insight isn't being pushed. Honda doesn't feature (or even show it) on TV commercials where they picture their full line-up, so it seems like an intentional choice.

 

[elvin]

My Touring was a trade-in at a Mazda dealership (3 months old, 3K miles) from a previous owner that was moving up to a larger car. At the same time, having 2+ (?) EXs used with low mileage on the market in the Chicagoland area seemed unusual. As an anchor point in my negotiation, I was referencing also low mileage Touring's being sold outside of the Chicagoland area by non-Honda dealers found on Cars.com.

I would have suspected that maybe EX owners didn't like how the tires handled in the winter and it was their first hybrid with low rolling resistance tires?

 

[insightfully]

My Touring was a trade-in at a Mazda dealership (3 months old, 3K miles) from a previous owner that was moving up to a larger car. At the same time, having 2+ (?) EXs used with low mileage on the market in the Chicagoland area seemed unusual. As an anchor point in my negotiation, I was referencing also low mileage Touring's being sold outside of the Chicagoland area by non-Honda dealers found on Cars.com.

I would have suspected that maybe EX owners didn't like how the tires handled in the winter and it was their first hybrid with low rolling resistance tires?

That's an interesting theory. Did you buy your Touring in time to test on any Chicago snow? If so how did you find it? If not, are you concerned at all for future snow season? There was some discussion of different experiences including "Insight in Snow," different winter cross-country trips, and a video link (now broken) from a member in Chicago who successfully took to plowed roads in Touring OEM tires. Chicago is definitely a place where you need a good snow plan!

 

[insightfully]

I was talking to my dealer about why the insight was not really "pushed" much in their inventory. He said they are too expensive. Maybe for this area, that could be true. Then he told me of a lady who wanted to trade in her new insight touring because she couldn't afford her $600 a month payment. She wanted something cheaper. Finance charges can drive up the price, especially if you have bad credit.

Could it be the "bit off more then they could chew" thing?

A comparison for this would be the accord, since it's a sedan that's priced more than the insight. Does the dealer in your area sell more accords or more civics? If accord sales are 'strong' the pricing reason would carry less weight for low insight sales.

I think there are more "national" reasons why the insight isn't being pushed. Honda doesn't feature (or even show it) on tv commercials where they picture their full line-up, so it seems like an intentional choice.

To head off any misinterpretation, the intent of my comments were to see if we can leverage your rapport with the dealer for more area-specific information. Information like sales results and marketing strategies only seem to be nationally available, and specific area/region info would be interesting info relative to the bigger picture.

 

[mgldan]

I was talking to my dealer about why the insight was not really "pushed" much in their inventory. He said they are too expensive. Maybe for this area, that could be true. Then he told me of a lady who wanted to trade in her new insight touring because she couldn't afford her $600 a month payment. She wanted something cheaper. Finance charges can drive up the price, especially if you have bad credit.

Could it be the "bit off more then they could chew" thing?

A comparison for this would be the accord, since it's a sedan that's priced more than the insight. Does the dealer in your area sell more accords or more civics? If accord sales are 'strong' the pricing reason would carry less weight for low insight sales.

I think there are more "national" reasons why the insight isn't being pushed. Honda doesn't feature (or even show it) on tv commercials where they picture their full line-up, so it seems like an intentional choice.

To head off any misinterpretation, the intent of my comments were to see if we can leverage your rapport with the dealer for more area-specific information. Information like sales results and marketing strategies only seem to be nationally available, and specific area/region info would be interesting info relative to the bigger picture.

I would hazard that the dealers are comparing Insights to Civics if the reason is just price. Similar cabin size; similar trunk space; costs more. The interior is nicer than a Civic’s, but that’s probably not a strong reason to upsell yourself into an Insight if you’re in the Civic market.

The Accord comparison is more treacherous because you do get more space and a few more features (blind-spot monitoring comes to mind) for your cash. Those are obvious benefits. And people seem to write off the fuel / cost of fuel savings that hybrids offer.

 

[J. Bond]

A while back, at Honda PGA Golf Classic, the Insight was featured big time, including being the car that golfers would win for a hole-in-one on one of the holes, with the Insight sitting there by the tee!

Otherwise, as we skip commercials (go TiVo!) and do most of our viewing via streaming, we don't see adverts!

They really should promote it as it's a winner!

 

[Mr. Natural]

With Civics and CRVs being made in the same factory, maybe it’s a capacity issue and they’re just promoting the more profitable vehicles?

 

[elvin]

That's an interesting theory. Did you buy your Touring in time to test on any Chicago snow? If so how did you find it? If not, are you concerned at all for future snow season? There was some discussion of different experiences including "Insight in Snow," different winter cross-country trips, and a video link (now broken) from a member in Chicago who successfully took to plowed roads in Touring OEM tires. Chicago is definitely a place where you need a good snow plan!

Purchase was end of February so there was no more snow to test it on. I'm not quite as concerned since it's seldom that we need to drive in snow without roads being cleared where you'd be driving at speed. Tire Rack ratings for the Procontact TX dings it for snow, but similar to Turanzas and Primacies that I've had on my Civic in the past. When time comes for all new tires, I am curious about the Altimax which is well rated by CR but I've never tried.

 

[andrew28]

Honda has like multiple vehicles using the same hybrid powertrain(3rd generation now). Clarity, Accord Hybrid, and Insight in the US. CRV and Odyssey in Japan. It's part of the Honda Electrification Initiative they announced last year when the Insight went into production. They see these vehicles as the future of the company even though it probably isn't going to be bringing in the most revenue right now. I think as long as the electrified vehicle portfolio remains strong sales wise as a whole which the monthly sales report from Honda confirms. They will continue to invest in vehicles like the Insight.