2004 Prius failing battery....replace or sell as is?

It's been 10 years and 150K miles.
It's been a good run.
Don't throw money away on trying to keep it going at this point.

For the most part, those people who run their cars to 300,000 miles take meticulous care of everything and do most of their own work.

Since you don't seem to fit either of those categories.......I say let it go.
Oh, and it's less hassle to trade it in; maybe a LOT less.

 

If you put the car in your local craigslist, you shouldn't have a problem getting $3000 for it, even in it's present condition. Just list it as not running and that should be all that's needed.

 

I wouldn't trade it in, sell it on craigslist. I would list it for $3999 and see what offers you get. One member just bought a broken one recently for $3700 and thought she "stole" it from the seller.

 

Dealers are in business to make the most money they can........in most cases, any way that they can.
There is an upper limit on price though with the MSRP right there on the sticker.

Beware of add-on fees and "dealer extras".
Sometimes they will give you a really good price on your trade, which really amounts to the ultimate discount they would be willing to give you IF you were a hard sell.

If you really want to know what your trade is worth to them, negotiate the best price you can and then throw in the trade at the last minute.

 

taxi services would buy them, traveling sales people, even mechanics and battery rebuilders buy them. they don't really care the cosmetics much. the car is worth more than you think. don't go by kbb or edmunds in this situation.

 

Any car is going to need the tires, brakes, and water pump replaced eventually. Cars are expensive, that's all there is to it. Its pretty rare to be able to truly drive a car into the ground without putting at least a little money into maintenance.

Now, for replacing the battery, I would do a little more research and diagnostics to be sure the battery really needs replaced. How old is the 12v battery? Is it in good shape? Do you or the previous owners have dogs or other hairy creatures that ride in the back seat, which can clog the battery cooling fan with hair as the intake is on the right side of the back seat.
Its definitely not worthless in any case, but it might just be a relatively simple/cheap problem. You could even get $300-500 at a junkyard or scrapyard if you don't want to mess with it anymore.

 

I am a dealer in Tampa and only deal in gen II Prius. I would buy your car if you decide to go that route but I highly recommend find a battery from a salvage yard or a quality re-builder and install it. You will get many more years out of this car still. While you have it apart you should clean the battery cooling fan. That may be the root of your problem.

 

Try selling it on e-bay, or trade it in for a new car.

 

As others have said, the car is worth more than you think. If you want to make payments on a new car, do it and sell the broke one on Craigslist.

OTOH, if you want to cut costs as much as possible, get the battery replaced and then do the maintenance work you mentioned. Throw some tires on it and good to go for another 40K minimum. Check out all of your options on the battery. You can spend anywhere from $500 to $3500 depending on how you handle it.

A dead traction battery does NOT equal a JUNK Prius!

Ron (dorunron)

 

It wouldn't hurt to list the car on Craig's List to see what happens. I personally think that a non-working Prius in poor cosmetic condition will command a low sales price. There are no clues to make the prospective buyer think that the car has been cared for, so why assume the repair cost risk unless the purchase price is extremely low. It would be great if the OP is able to sell the car as-is for a four-digit price.

If the OP cannot get what she considers to be a fair price, then she can look into a lower cost repair for the traction battery such as module replacement. The Reinvolt alternative is one of the higher-priced repair options but does offer a longer warranty in exchange for that price price.

There are other options priced in the high-three digits that may get the car running long enough to be sold. For example, look for a local provider who can perform a similar service as the following string discusses:
Battery Replacement Tale | PriusChat

 

So soon? Doesn't sound like you've been putting much into regular maintenance at all, and you still got a decade and 150,000 miles out of the vehicle. Sounds to me like you did exactly what you expected to do...drive it into the ground.

If you had kept up with some of the other smaller maintenance fires, such as the tires, water pump and brakes, then today the decision might be easier.

All I can really offer, is what I think I would do if I was in your situation. Since we are not dealing with a Prius that is otherwise in great shape, I think I would be motivated to trade it in or sell it. If you had said, that you've kept up with all the other "regular" maintenance items and the vehicle was otherwise running great? I might recommend investing into a rebuilt battery and keeping it. But that doesn't seem to be the case here.

But really only you are the once that can know your budget. You're not going to get a significant amount of money for a Prius that is "Right Now" in need of a hybrid battery.

It's economical to keep a vehicle a long time. Almost the most costly repair in any vehicle is going to be less than buying a new vehicle. At that age sometimes it becomes what is the vehicle in running condition worth to YOU. Not really what is it is worth on the open market.

Anyway, regardless of which road you take, there really is not a wrong answer here. Just two different options.

If my budget allowed it, I think I could be persuaded easily at this time to try to sell or trade in, as is.

If I couldn't really afford to do that right now? Many of the numerous battery replacement options might give you an extended amount of time to continue to drive the vehicle into the ground.

Good Luck.

 

if you had just done the tyres and brakes and water pump, would you feel differently about the battery issue?

 

Probably not, but it would not hurt to try that. There is a post on PriusChat about how to do that service.

If you decide to keep the car for a while longer: Regarding the engine coolant pump, you need to form your own opinion about how bad the leak is. Look at the pump bearing for a pinkish or whitish residue. In bad cases, this residue will deposit on the air conditioner compressor or will even spray up onto the inside of the hood. Look at how quickly the coolant level drops in the overflow reservoir. Also check the coolant level in the radiator itself to make sure the radiator is totally full. You may decide that the pump replacement can be deferred if the pump bearing has a very slow leak.

I have posted about how to replace the engine coolant pump. This can be done for an expenditure of less than $100 in parts and coolant, but does require some skill in wrenching.

 

Have you sold anything lately via online ads ??

Be VERY careful if you do that.
There are a million scammers scanning for new ads every hour.
The first immediate responses you get will likely be bogus.

And if you could get close to the same price by trading it in, why would you want
the extra hassle (and some small degree of danger) involved with screwing around with a private sale ??