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An opportunity has arisen for me to get a hold of the original Insight and I've loved this car for a good while since I first rode in one a few years ago.

Can the owners out there tell me what kind of things I have to look for in the car and what types of maintenance should I be looking to do on a regular basis? Also, how good is the supply chain for spare parts?

Many thanks.

Sorry I just noticed I posted this in the wrong forum. Would a moderator be so kind as to move it for me please?

(ever so sorry)

Gordon, I've moved it for you.

What about the Prius III purchase you had been preparing for?

As for things to look for, make sure you check the lifetime average. You should be able to see it by cycling to the ODO reading. If the mileage is not showing, you'll need to hold down the trip meter button until it does. You'll be dealing with UK units but you want to make sure that the mileage isn't much less than about 66mpgUK (55mpgUS). If it is much lower the car has been driven hard.

Lower miles is better of course.

Pay attention to the state of charge. Low is bad. On a test drive, does the SoC come up quickly with regen? Does it stay up? When warmed up, does the car Autostop when you put it in neutral and press the brake firmly at speeds of 21mph or less? (If it is a CVT you leave it in gear and I believe the number is more like 7mph or less). Once everything is warmed up a MT (leanburn capable) car should be able to cruise at 75mpgUS or higher in 4th at 28-31mph. Shifting to 5th at 31mph should allow higher numbers yet.

Does the car have the correct Bridgestone Potenza RE92s installed? Correct aluminum wheels with center caps? Rear fender skirts? Three underbody aero trays under the engine (one short skidpad sort right at the bumper and two extending down each side after that)?

Make sure the hood isn't twisted at all when you open it. Inspect the hood emblem to see if it has been replaced at some point. Both of these indicate an accident.

Check the spoiler under the front bumper for cracks and scrapes. Do the same at the rear. Check to be sure the hatch release works.

Open the small hatch cover (in the bed of the hatch), remove any items from the bin you find below, then pull that bin out (just squeeze the sides -- you'll need to move the top carpeting -- it is just velcroed in place). Underneath you should see a spare tire and find a tool kit to go with it. Inspect the well underneath for signs of repair or water damage.

Be aware that MT Insights tend to through battery packs if the driver is not careful about battery management. If you see the IMA light stay lit after the car has been through its boot sequence it needs a new battery. Ask about recals (recalibration events) and their frequency. If the driver doesn't know what this is tell them it is when the car suddenly uses up all the charge on the battery meter even when the engine isn't being pushed hard and then after a while charges it all the way back up. Recals happen much more frequently as the battery approaches its end of life.

Check around at the dealerships to find out if the car you are interested in is still covered by a factory warranty on the hybrid system -- this will depend upon age and miles. If it isn't, you'll want to know what the replacement cost is and keep it in mind when considering how much to pay for the car. You don't want to end up with a car you can't drive because you can't afford to replace the battery!

Finally, get down under the car and check the oil pan. The oil drain bolt should have a crush washer under it and absolutely must NOT be overtightened. The oil pan is magnesium and is basically the whole bottom of the engine. Overtightening can cause this to crack and then it must be replaced -- *NOT* an inexpensive repair!!

Finish off with questions about service history and ask to see any records the owner might have. Give the dealership a call and ask them about the car's history and their experience with it. Ask what type of oil and how much they use in it (should be 0W-20 and 2.5qt)

That should about do it. Hope that helps!!

(By the way, I love the Oxygen Blue color that was available over there!!!)

Sean's list is a great list and I could add very little. He may be a little hard on the underfront stuff. The Insight is very low and it only takes one encounter with a moderate height parking space end curb to rip it all loose. I know that my very nice 06 has had such an encounter and the folks who repaired it didn't use original fastners and left some fasteners out. I suspect that if you find an original, unmarked underfront that you will be very lucky. Look to see that all the pieces are there and that the repairs have been of high quality. It was a rainy day when I bought mine, car buying rule number 1 or 2 at least, and I didn't look. Luckily, all the pieces were there so it just tooks some time to get the fasteners all installed.

Thats a really great list, thank you ever so much.

About the Prius-III order, because I'm self employed I need accounts for one whole year to be verified and for my accountant to make a projection and recommendation to the financing people so that I can actually get it. I'm still getting the Prius-III, but have to wait until just after the New Year to get it.

The original Insight is an amazing car. The first production hybrid, and with them being so rare in the world makes it very interesting to me to start up a car collection and possibly to experiment with it and to keep it in mint condition. As far as future costs that I might have to pay for the car to be fully maintained, in my eyes, its well worth it.

The car itself is at a dealers and their service history information is limited, so I have contact information for the 2 previous owners and the dealership who maintained the car, so I shall be calling them tomorrow and finding out the exact service history.

Good luck!! The Insight is an extremely rewarding vehicle to own and drive. :)

Gordon,

I would only consider the 5-speed Insight - the CVT version can't match the Prius.

Like Sean said, check into the lifetime mpg, the SoC, warranty on the battery pack.

Ideally, I'd like the seller to get the SoC to full so I could drive it and see if it can stay there...if so it's good.

About the battery pack: you will get trickle recharging until 2/3 or so of the orange bars are full. After than, you have to build the charge by "pulse and brake"....accelerate gently without getting the orange assist bars, then gently brake to charge the battery pack.

Yeah the one I'm looking at is Manual transmission, been looking at the MIMA modification and if I were to get it, I'd definitely do the mod. I'm going to go and see it in a few days time, if it isn't up to scratch then I'll just look elsewhere.

Gordon, you'll have to make up your own mind but personally, I don't feel MIMA is worth the effort and money for the return. It is expensive and far from straight forward to install. If you do decide to add that system, be prepared for many hours of work to get it in and functioning properly.

Gordon - please check to make sure the latch for the hatch functions with the center rubberized switch. If you had to open the hatch with the key, it is probably broken and many of them do break. It's not an expensive part, but is a diy pain. Note the the lifetime MPG on these cars can be easily reset if you know the tricks, most people don't reset it.

As for MIMA, there are plenty of people (almost 100 or so) out there, including me that will say it's worth every dime. Driving a MIMA equipped Insight imho is simply driving a better hybrid automobile.

Good luck in the search
Wayne

Thanks, I went to see it a few days ago and tbh the best part about the car was the bodywork, everything else was a damned mess. I got right down inside the car and underneath it with a flashlight to inspect it, and for the price it really wasn't worth it. The engine sounded really messed up for a start, there was holes in the exhaust, the batteries were absolutely knackered and the interior was ripped and had cigarette burns in a few places.

Given all that was wrong with it, I would have bought it no problem if the price was lower and then worked on it myself, but the dealer absolutely refused to budge from listed price given all that was wrong with the car. So it was a no go unfortunately.