Who else is torn between the Insight and a new Fit?
 

I keep going back and forth.

In April my Si goes bye bye for a cheaper car so I can buy my 1st home.

It seems every other week I go back and forth. 1 week i'm obsessed w/ the Fit, test driving em. Digging up every pic I can find on it. Then I go back to the Insight spy shots and check the Honda.com/Hondanews.com/vtec.net every 4 hours hoping for an update lol. Then back to the Fit. This has been going on for months and I still can't make a final decision.

I dunno I was just wondering how many new car buyers out there are torn between the 2?

Just curious, around here a Civic Si goes for something like 22 grand if I am not mistaken. Is the Insight going to be significantly cheaper? I would think that getting an Insight would offer little to no financial advantage toward buying a house. A base Fit, ok, I can see that, 16k versus 22 or so. Maybe $100 or so in car payment savings per month?

Just me, but if that small of a payment difference, $100 give or take per month, was crucial to me buying a home, I'd chuck the idea of a new car altogether and buy a 3 or 4 thousand dollar used beater. I'd buy the house, drive the beater for two years, then think about getting another nice shiny new car.

I guess from what little I know, I'd say Fit over Insight if it had to be one or the other. I can't see how the Insight would save you much over your current ride. A cheap enough Fit, possibly. I have a feeling that in the real world, an Insight is a more expensive car than a Fit, by a decent margin. Buying a first home, I'd be cutting the overhead to the bone, and this would probably preclude a car payment. If not, and money was not tight, I'd just keep your current car, which is superior to both of the new options, arguably.

A Fit would probably haul more stuff than the Insight will, useful if you have a home and are making runs to furnish it, etc...

It really depends if you care about this whole "GREEN MOVEMENT" thingie... The Insight is like the Prius - selling point is save gas and environmental friendly...

You need to calculate how much difference you pay between owning the Insight vs the Fit.. then work out how much gas you can get with that differennce. I was thinking of getting a Prius or a Corolla (Oh, that was before I see the Fit in Japan back in 02) before but turns out I need to drive 10 years before I start saving gas money...

The Fit is already very fuel efficient... If I were you I would stick with the Fit. BUT then again, its my opinion... you should get what you like and what satisfy your needs =) I dun think there will be aftermarket parts for Insight though =\

I dunno if I have answered your question.. cos I assume you are trying to buy a car (u dun own anything now) and I totally disregard your 1st home payment (assuming that you already got your 1st home)

I think there are a lot of not-so-eco-friendly aspects of cars like the Prius and Insight versus a car like a Fit. For instance, how much pollution is generated making the battery cells in a hybrid that is not in the construction of a Fit? I'll bet it is a fairly toxic process, with not-so-happy byproducts. Are the battery cells manufactured somewhere with lax environmental laws so that these issues are not faced? Fast forward to end of life cycle...if millions of hybrids are sold, 20 years later is there some cave in Nevada where the dead battery packs are buried? Is there even widespread infrastructure to recycle them, and how efficient is battery recycling tech for this kind of battery?

Aside from this, take cost. Let's say a hybrid costs 3 or 4 grand more to buy than a Fit. It will take a long, long time to recoup anywhere near that in fuel savings. In the meanwhile, the Fit buyer could instead invest that 3 or 4 thousand dollars toward any number of worthy environmental research projects that may in the end do more eco good than driving an Insight.

I don't know the data on hybrid production pollution, etc. All I'm saying is that folks in general are quick to jump on the bandwagon without considering that large scale hybrid battery pack production and eventual disposal cause a whole new set of potentially major eco issues in and of themselves. Everyone assumes that since the car emits less exhaust emissions, that on balance it is cleaner. It might be cleaner in that one specific regard, but the overall environmental impact could be not that much better. Just thinking out loud...

^^ I agree with all those points, thanks for elabrating. And its percisely all those points that makes me wonder why do people jump to the conclusion that hybrid cars are eco-friendly (when its not so eco-friendly afterall maybe :confused:)

Want eco-friendly? Drive less, take the bus, learn to walk around your neighbourhood to do your groceries =) Never know, may lost a few pounds here and there before Thanksgiving amd Xmas ;)

Sorry if I wandered off topic =\

I like your comment about the bus and walking. Great point. If you REALLY want to have an impact, a hybrid is a questionable way to do it. I bought a Burley Nomad bike trailer a year ago or so, and now try to ride my bike to the grocery store, Wal-Mart, etc, when I can to eliminate trips in the car. I needed to get off my rear and exercise, too, which this also addresses. The average person could make some lifestyle changes that would probably have greater impact than buying a different car.

Anyway, like I said earlier, my rationale is first, keep the Si, if that doesn't work get the Fit, Insight as a last choice. Actually the first choice is none of the above, sell the Si and drive a cheap beater that is still reliable, and pour the car payment money into paying the mortgage off sooner. You'll save a stupid amount of interest that way...

Well the main problem w/ m Si is I financed w/ some left over negative equity from my Yaris and no down payment so I'm paying $545/month :hyper:

I'm doubling my payments now til April so when I trade it in I don't have to worry about doing the negative equity thing all over again so figure if I go Insight my payments will be ~300 or Fit ~250. Granted I could just refinance instead and pay ~300 on the Si.

I just wanna get rid of the Si cause I dont need a "fun" car right now. I don't need to deal w/ expensive low profile tires, premium gas, lower MPG, ect. My next car I plan on keeping for 10 years, so that when it is paid off, I can afford to have 2 cars so I can have a real weekend car like a S2000 or a Saturn Sky or something. What sucks is tho I know i'll have to replace the battery pack at least once in those 10 years : /

Dont forget either the Insight is gonna get 30% more MPG than the Fit but only cost 15% more than a Fit Sport Auto. If we're all being honest I dont really care if the Insight is eco-friendly or not, lol. I just care that i'll be able to average 45 MPG in it.





Course I guess the best financial decision I could make is buy a 03 Cavilear for 3 grand, heh. Oh and I already have a beater BTW, a 94 Civic DX w/ 225k miles and going strong.

If I could wait for the Insight I probably would, but I need a car NOW. The Fit is very practical so you won't go wrong. the Insight, if similarly equipted, will be 2k more than the Fit I guess, but it should have VSA standard on it (another intelligent guess). It won't have the interior cargo room like Fit due to the tapering down of the end like Prius, but it will have magic seat. If you don't need a car right now, wait for Insight's release in Spring so at least you can compare the exact price, features and even test drive one before you make a final decision.

Going back and forth not sure which one to choose? I hope you are not that way when it comes to voting for our next President! :) btw, I have aleady voted, after a 2 hour wait in line (my bf waited for 5). Everybody should go out and cast their vote - it's a civil duty!

Happy choosing and Hopefully, voting!

Unless you are going to be hitting stop and go deadlock everyday, the real world MPG difference may not be a 30% advantage, and even if it was, the price differential means a longer break even time. Then batteries (you said you wanted to keep the car 10 years?) will eventually need replacement too.

I don't buy the hype of hybrids - its all a smokescreen and not nearly as green as it seems. Buy a bicycle if you want to be green. Hopefully everyone votes too, but they don't vote on hype and smoke but on facts and good research. Choose wisely! :p

And if you don't need to haul anything - a Kawasaki Ninja 250R is the way to go... cheap, saves you plenty for the house, gets 60 mpg, loads of fun... and just rent a pickup from Home Depot/Lowes when you need to transport something.

Hmmm. Looks very much like a $27k +/- Prius to me. And on that note...

If the Insight can be affordable from the getgo, long term reliability (if you keep it that long), etc., I say go for it. However, if you want something tried and true, you can't go wrong with a Fit. But then again, just like everybody else here, we're kinda partial to these little gems :)

Okay, the OP has had a Yaris, an Si, and now is debating between a Fit and an Insight, and wants to buy a house?
Please, all due respect, but the OP needs to stop buying things, expensive things, particularly if there is a hope of buying and KEEPING a house.
IMHO, the energy price spike is what drove our looming recession, and a lot of people lost their homes because their monthly income/expenses were running too close...anything that negatively changes that equation, you're screwed.
Personally, I'd go the beater route (tho' decent small cars are still at a premium) or pay off and live with the Si.
Too frequent car changes get you upside down on the equity issue. Not a good idea.
Good luck,
Moon

I'm buying both..

I guess the economy is in excellent condition since people here are buying a lot of new cars - even the ones that are not yet made! :D

Unless you need 2 cars, I suggest saving the money and buy a plug-in hybrid instead - they are not out yet either and will likely cost as much as 2 Fits, but you will be proudly say: look ma, no gas!

Some very good financial notes to pay attention to in this thread.

Back on topic, between the Insight and the Fit, if you are buying a house and must buy a new car, get the Fit. You can haul a lot more junk and trips to Home Depot in the Fit. Plus, the Prius-look does nothing for me.

I would seriously look at a used car, though. Something in the $3K to $4K range. Something that you can pay off before you buy a house. Get something that will last you 3 or 4 years until you get settled in your house and the economy gets rolling again. There are always a lot of things to spend your money on in a house: curtains/blinds, furniture, plants for the garden, washing machine, repairs, etc.

OrangeRevo is right - buying a house is like having a bottomless pit to throw money in. I just spent almost a thousand on roof repair. Last year spent almost 5k on bursting pipes. And my house isn't very old and wasn't in bad condition at all when I bought it.

If you don't drive a lot it would also be good at looking into leases. From time to time you will find good lease deals (not on the Fit though) that allow you to drive a brand new car for a lot less. In 3 yrs there will likely be more hybrids for you to choose from. Maybe even a hybrid Fit.

If I may add to the unsolicited financial advice, here are a few general points to consider:

- A brand-new Insight may have dealer markup at introduction.
- Financing rates may be higher than now.
- A new house can be a great way to build negative equity! (huge generalization since I don't know your area)
- How secure is your job situation?

My wife wanted a Prius and I convinced her to buy a Fit. Now the Insight is announced and she thinks that might be the one for her. I still think that the Fit is the right car for her as she is always hauling stuff around, but she will make the final decision.

lol, you made me chuckle, i'm not 17 ;). I'v also had a Z28, a Trans Am, a Blazer, an Aurora, a Charokee and a Taurus. :p In my defense I had the Yaris for a year and the Si for almost 2 (both completely on my own). The Yaris was def not me. I bought it just cause it was my 1st car on my own. I hated it after a couple months lol. I got the Si and love it to death but just really want to sell it to get back to the basics.

Also if I have a $300 car payment and a total monthly expense of $900 from my mortgage and taxes, my debt to income ratio will be approx 50% of my take home pay. So I am def not going to be living beyond my means like all the jack asses who bought house's they couldn't afford or took out retarded ARM loans. Course thanks to them I got a dozen houses i'v been eye balling that are all under 70-80% real market value and under 50-60% inflated values.

I got my local dealer to agree to a refundable deposit for a Insight at MSRP

There's a good number of bank owned houses in my area. Some of them their selling price is the same as what the house sold for in the late 90's :). I know it'll take time to turn around, I plan on keeping the house a while.

4 years on the job, delivering pizzas :p. You'd be surprised how stable delivering pizzas is. I know all the owners on a personal level and plan to be a general manager when the opportunity arises. Then a franchisee.

LOL if everything is taken care of, then you probably know which car this forum will recommend to you... you are on fitfreak... not insightfreak or whatever. We love the fit for a reason: Its nice, its good on gas, its reliable. Personally I dun believe in hybrid cars, maybe in a couple of years when hybrid technology is more mature and more places to offer repairs. As of now, stick with a conventional gas-only car is more practical.

I know a guy who owns 2 popular pizza parlar here in atlanta built a fancy glass house in an upscale neighborhood complete /w a concret bridge over a stream. That house is the type that normally gets photographed in Architectural Digest. When I went to his pizza stores I realized that they don't accept credit cards - only cash.

So keep up w/ the good work. In several years you can too afford not only your own business but your own mansion, as long as you accept only cash. ;-)