Fix Up or Trade In

Yeah, for me it is. My father has a garage that he closed when he retired. I have access to every tool I will ever need, well except for the dinky little filter wrench I just bought. I usually over maintain my vehicles. Change the oil and spark plugs more frequently than most. I'm going to put copper autolites in soon, and I'll probably sell the car long before they fail.

 

Easy killer, lol. Speaking only for myself, my prii will get exactly what's recommended OEM, and probably new COPs just for good measure. I was merely speaking of my previous satisfaction using the autolite copper plugs on my "American Iron" cars back in the day (commence daydreaming here......) Now, if I do that and have misfire problems like some posters discuss, I may just throw the autolites in (if they even make them for a prii) just for the heck of it. "experiment" is my middle name.

 

Oh yeah, I'm gonna experiment. I want to see how long they can go. I once bought a VW rabbit pickup and it had Bosch platinum plugs. It ran great. I tuned it up and all plugs were missing right angled part of the plug. Half of all the prongs were burnt off.

 

Custom glow plugs...

 

Can you buy a similar car in better shape than what you have for $1400.00? If not re-invest in what you have and keep it for a few more years.

driving around in Luke's old jalopy Red Five

 

I'm a mechanic as I have tons of proof all day. Go watch Hoovies Garage Tesla S model video as the electronic door Handle malfunctioned towards the end of the video. Those cars will turn into serious money pits as there is way too much unnecessary electronic complexity that go wrong. Tyler couldn't even get in from the driver side as he had to get in from the passenger side. The driver door handle had a mind of its own as its like a CD tray on a computer was jammed. Computers break all the time.

 

Do some simple math. If you buy a new car (any of them), you will loose 10% of what you paid for it as you drive it off the dealer's lot. That right there is more than $1,400 in most cases. I am a big proponent of maintaining and running big ticket items as long as possible in a cost-effective way. A well designed and built car can last over 20 years easy with cost-effective investments (I own and operate a '93 Volvo and just gave my older son my '98 Volvo in which he grew up). I believe a gen 2 Prius to be such a car. Even with a brand new traction battery down the road you are not going to pay nearly as much as you would loose the first drive you make with a brand-new car. If you like the car and it suits your needs, get it fixed and enjoy life. These cars are known for their reliability and longevity. They are used for taxis in many places, which is very heavy duty. Toyota seems to have gotten this car right and many '04s are still around. The new ones are still an unknown in long term.

Now how you get it fixed is a different subject. The dealer's quotes are ridiculous and we all know it. Spark plugs are $30 and 20 minutes of your time (or your neighbor's handy son's for a six pack), headlights can be left alone or you can use a $20 kit (another six pack to your neighbor's kid or a few hours of your own time), check and adjust oil level religiously, that's just something you have to do even on new car. Combination meter is a known issue and can be DIYed for under $200 (I have read of reputable people offering reconditioned units and will even program your mileage into it). Tires are wear and tear and will be on a new car also.

 

Copper pl

Copper plugs are only good for about 20k

Your post does nothing to validate, much less prove your claim that Toyota has better technology but are not using it, or Toyota is sand-bagging, or that Toyota engages in Designed Obsolesce.

As for Tesla... they are becoming KNOWN for not caring one bit about the customer after the sale; quite the opposite of Toyota.

 

This has nothing to with being a Toyota. It's a battery. Batteries degrade and loose their capacity as they age as they are designed to last a certain length of time making it an obsolete component that has no chemistry left. They don't last for ever. The engine and the rest of the car will out last the Hybrid battery. In order to drive these cars another 10 years without consistent battery module swapping, is getting a new hybrid battery pack. You are all really totalling the car getting a new hybrid battery pack at the dealer. If repairs exceed 75% of the value of a car you have already tottaled the car.

 

There is another way of thinking about it. If you drive the car for 10 years and say 200K miles before the battery goes and then invest another $3K into the battery and have a reliable vehicle for another 10 years and 200K miles, then not only you haven't totaled the car, but you have saved yourself a tidy sum over buying another (new) car. These Gen 2 Prii proved to be very tough. Yes, the battery is not for ever and ICE engine will outlive it, but so what? It's a $3K cost to replace (cheaper if you fry an ICE for some reason). Thinking like an insurance company in terms of car's worth is not useful unless you are an insurance company. If you are an individual owner and the car fits the needs, it is absolutely worth the expense to replace the battery and get another 10 years out of the car. You can not buy a car for $3K that will replace a 10 year old Prius with a new battery, it's that simple.

 

A repair can't really "total" a car. An accident, where you are relying on payout from an insurance company, can, but that's a different situation.

 

There is no "certain length of time" that ANY battery is "designed to last". Granted, and you are on point here, there are multiple battery chemistries for each type and the "secret sauce" affects life, but nothing chemical will provide even a 25% increase in life. The Ni-Mh cells Toyota uses last WAY longer than the exact same cells in other applications. How? A HIGHLY effective BMS, nothing more.

Please DO TELL, what the magic chemistry is that will make batteries last longer than the car???? Elon and others are ALL EARS, myself included!!!!

But you'll need a couple sets of tires, steering and suspension work, most likely a dozen wiper blades, two or three 12v batteries, a couple brake fluid changes too in that time. Are those components also subject to your designed obsolence theory?

Yea, not. IF what you are claiming were true, most used cars that require and engine or transmission, some ECUs, would be "totaled", obviously that is not the case. As others have correctly pointed out, a vehicle being totaled involves an accident of some type (tree, vehicle, etc) and generally an insurance claim. The idea of a totaled vehicle DOES NOT APPLY to mechanical repair or replacements.

 

On the other hand, by the time most Prii have a battery failure, many comparable cars are heading for the junkyard anyway with engine or tranny issues. I'd rather buy a battery than a motor or transmission. I've never had a car that didn't have the constant check engine light warning of some needed repair. I'm referring to my older cars over 100,000 miles. Both of my Prii have over 150,000 miles and I never see the cel. One has 208,000.

 

The Prius does not have the complexity of a traditional tranny either.

 

I'm worried about the low oil in the ICE. Is the ICE burning oil? What does that do to the cats? Because, if it is, that changes my feelings.

I buy a car to be reliable and pleasurable. When either fails to occur, I buy a replacement. In the past, I over-maintained more cars than I care to think about. How about $1,200 in tires a month before I sold it

 

it actually means the same thing, repairs exceeding the value of a car. When you are fixing a car more than what its worth, that's what you call a money pit. Hybrid components are stupid expensive on hybrid electric vehicles. Since these cars have no starter or alternator, it relies on the MG1 and MG2. That's like a $5k motor generator/trans axle. Its about a 10-15 hour job if that ever goes. You can get them used but, its a big job. A Starter on a conventional car would only cost you a couple hundred bucks. These cars aren't fault tolerance as the entire car would come to a halt as it solely relies on the hybrid traction battery pack to run. Most Hybrid cars are like that with the exception of Honda but would damage the hybrid components.

 

Not.

Apparently you have not been exposed to insurance companies, state "DMVs" or our legal system very much.

"Totaled", in terms of vehicles, is a LEGAL DEFINITION and not a logical one. Each state determines what totaled means and they very widely. Not ONE considers a vehicle totaled for mechanical repairs as you suggest.

 

A bit late to this party, but I'll add my weight to some of the points already made.

You could make the same argument about brakes, tires, suspension, wiper blades, 12 V Battery, etc. The HV battery is just another consumable item.

This is just one way to look at it, and not a hard and fast rule. Another way to look at it is the point made by VFerdman.

Both are valid.

 

I wrote a big long rambling answer.
Then I deleted it because I realized I didn't like my own answer. I'm going with the growing family angle.
I'm just going to say, you say you have two small children, they are going to be growing up over the next 10 years. So I think if I could afford a new vehicle...and being able to really afford a new vehicle is the key. I think I'd invest into a new vehicle.
With a family? New vehicles give you newer safety features, and greater reliability, both which can be very important.

But it boils down to what you can really afford to do. But if you can afford the investment into new, safe, reliable transportation. That's always a good thing to have.

Good Luck.

PS.
If you keep the old vehicle? Get good tires. Tires are a safety issue.

 

Who buys new cars anyway? I always buy them used as its just more economical. The point I'm making is parts on a Hybrid car are a lot more expensive than a conventional car as I wouldn't recommend owning any hybrid vehicles out of warranty very long. It's like owning a luxury car out of warranty. These cars are rather complex too. There are like 17 different Electronic Computer Modules in a 2nd Gen Prius. They are extremely reliable but parts and labor is a killer once they get old especially if you are not a DIY. A Corolla for long term ownership would be a much better option as they are simple econo cars that doesn't have all the electronic gimmicks and the expensive of Hybrid components. You can't beat a $150 starter vs $5k motor generator in the long run when that all fails in the near future. It's using common sense. Hybrid cars are great if you lease them or buy them used that's still coveraged under warranty. Hybrid vehicles turn into money pits as they age no question about that.