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2 Gen 1's To Junk Or Not To Junk!!

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by Debo160, Aug 1, 2022.

  1. Debo160

    Debo160 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2016
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    Location:
    MORTH CAROLINA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Hello Folks

    I have 2 gen 1 Prius. One is a 2002 Green in color with 200k Plus miles. It's family members old car and they didn't want to fix it. it's in rough shape. The battery had a few cells a couple had burned up. After checking the voltage to many for me to put the time in to rebuild. Inverter engine and everything else were working when they stopped driving the car. Has a full exhaust not original but its there. The second car is in pretty good shape has over 300k didn't run when it arrived, a couple of cells had gone bad. Replaced two and it fired up. But I also comes with the dreaded C1523 and C1522. There's also a whistle sound so i figured that was the rack and pinion. Car cranks but the code comes back after every restart. Inside looks good for a car this age. Im trying to figure if it's even worth the time. I do have the parts I can pay my mechanic but how much a 20 year old prius with 300K going for? I have another gen 2 prius coming that I could use the hybrid battery out of the working vehicle. They upgraded it to gen 2 models. Let me know what you guys think. All the gen 1's I have owned have been pretty good while I had them.
     
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
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    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Not many gen1 experts here and I am no exception. But I would let them go. Even gen2s are getting long in the tooth but hybrid parts and services for gen2s are much more available.
     
    #2 rjparker, Aug 1, 2022
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2022
    Debo160 likes this.
  3. Jakob

    Jakob Junior Member

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    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2003 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I would check Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace to get a sense of asking prices for these cars. My best guess is you could get something like $1500 to $2000 for it, but not sure how the trouble codes would affect the value. You could also list it just to see if you get any interest at a given price.
     
    Debo160 likes this.
  4. ronlewis

    ronlewis Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2016
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    Location:
    texas
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    One
    Not too many people want these cars, which is a shame. They go at auction for about $500-$700, but auction fees run it up over $1000. That's for cars with problems - usually the cat or battery, but also wrecks. Wrecks aren't worth fixing, but stolen cats are. HV batteries are a little tougher - whether to put $1800 into them or not. IMHO, it's worth it if you're going to drive them; basically, just buy them cheap and drive them til they quit. It's hard to find a decent car for $2000, but you can get these cars for that - I got 6 and haven't paid more than that for any of them. 3 run, 1 is for parts, and the other two need HV batteries.

    My son commutes about 90 miles a day. That saves him about $100/wk in fuel vs his Lexus, so about 20-month ROI if all goes well, plus whatever residual he gets for the car, plus not putting that wear on his Lexus. It's a pretty easy decision.
     
    Jakob likes this.
  5. ronlewis

    ronlewis Active Member

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    Location:
    texas
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    One
    I'm still planning on these becoming collector cars. The first EV. My son is an engineer at Tesla and I keep telling him some of his coworkers would want that beautiful 01 he has.
     
  6. Tryyn

    Tryyn Junior Member

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    Location:
    Madison, WI
    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
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    Prii are not EV's, and EVs have been around since the VERY first cars in the late 1880s-early 1900s. I would say the Prius is the "first practical mass-produced hybrid." Future classic for sure.
     
  7. ammdb

    ammdb Active Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
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    There are currently six gen 1's nationwide on cars .com, all between 150k-200k miles, ranging in price form $4,995 to $7,580.

    When I purchased a car several months ago, the dealership would have gladly taken my '01 on trade, since they were desperate for used cars at the time. (The reason I bought the car was so I could pass the '01 on to my son.)

    If everything else is mechanically sound, it's worth putting in a new battery, that is if you can find one. Lately most on-line Toyota parts sites are listing battery packs as 'no longer available'.
     
    Jakob likes this.
  8. Q*bertZ

    Q*bertZ Member

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2019
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    Location:
    greenville south Carolina
    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I have eleven of them. Eight on the road. I'll put them on the road.
     
    #8 Q*bertZ, Aug 13, 2022
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2022
    ronlewis and prius_chatter like this.
  9. Q*bertZ

    Q*bertZ Member

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    Location:
    greenville south Carolina
    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Make sure the 12 volt battery is good. A low 12 volt battery will give all kinds of erroneous codes.
     
  10. Debo160

    Debo160 Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    MORTH CAROLINA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Wow 11? Would you like 2 more? I don't think i'm going to spend the time. I have a couple projects to get done before summer ends and at the moment these are just sitting. Anyone interested in 2 gen 1 prius? $1,500 for both. Both need hybrid batteries and maybe more. Im sure with both you can make one. Anyone interested let me know. I will get some pics up later.
     
    #10 Debo160, Aug 16, 2022
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2022
  11. Debo160

    Debo160 Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    MORTH CAROLINA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Let me know if you want a couple more. I'm not going to keep them.
     
  12. ronlewis

    ronlewis Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2016
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    Location:
    texas
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    One
    I just went through trying to get cars from across the country - fuel prices are so high, it really adds to the cost.
     
  13. Brianbar

    Brianbar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2018
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    Location:
    lawrence kansas
    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    who's looking for Gen1s ? have 5 with low mileages. 133k daily driver, 92k, 75k, 60k and 40k. Lots of batteries, should have good cells in them. several usable batteries. located in NE Kansas.
    bbarland66047 at gmail
     
    ronlewis likes this.
  14. dabard051

    dabard051 Tinkerer-in-Charge

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
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    N/A
    Q*bertz, Brianbar, wow, what do you do, keep them as breeding stock?
    I get a hard time from the spouse because I keep a fleet of 4 daily drivers....