Fix Up or Trade In

The car decided it would not accelerate beyond a limp. The trouble code indicated a sensor issue, but the problem seems to have corrected itself.
Some people wonder whether there was an issue with trash in the fuel, but I would not expect that to set a sensor trouble code.

My wife & neighbor drove out to meet me with my code tester & tools. The truck appeared to be fine then. I cleared the code and issues have not returned.

There is a regular throttle cable that connects to the engine intake where a sensor senses the position. The cable is not directly connected to the throttle.

 

I don't think there is a industry-wide conspiracy, but rather a certain set of practices that are profitable for the industry. Many car dealers make their profits on service, not sales. Profit margins on a sale of a vehicle are small, but service.... We all know about dealer service. And we all try to avoid it when possible. Well, they try to make it impossible to avoid. Ever open a hood on a modern VW/Audi? Can't even see the engine. They do not want you going in there even to replace plugs. It's a shame. My older '93 Volvo was actually designed to have minor service and maintenance performed by the owner. There was thought put into it as it was a selling point.

 

This sort of statement always leaves me bemused. Dealership service tends to be minimal, with copious extras that weren't needed, maybe even detrimental, rushed, and with possible glaring areas of neglect, brakes for example.

 

I don't know. They seem to sell a lot of them every year. And then come out with a new model year...the next year. So somebody is buying them.
I get your point though.
As I get older, I really think the best move is to get a well checked out, "Newer" used car. 2-4 years old. Takes the bite out of depreciation.
I'm pretty sure the next vehicle I buy is going to fit that scenario.

 

When you buy a used car, you are generally buying somebody else's problems. There was some reason they sold the car, and likely replaced it with another vehicle.

 

Sure, you are taking that risk, which is why as long as I've had the resources, I've bought new vehicles. Exactly that logic. BUT...
The depreciation hit over 2-3 years is huge. It's frustrating and disappointing to see a vehicle you "just bought" suddenly being sold for literally thousands of dollars less.

I also think with todays modern vehicles, if you are getting a newer, used vehicle, with low miles, AND you have it checked out, also with a Carfax, the risk is minimal.
To be honest...there is no guarantee a new car isn't going to be a lemon...it's rare but it happens.

People trade in vehicles short term...for various reasons. You also in most cases today can check a vehicles maintenance history as long as you have the VIN number.

I just think the NEXT vehicle I look to purchase may be a "newer" used vehicle. Allowing me to get perhaps a higher trim or more extra's and hopefully bypass some of the "you just drove it off the lot" depreciation hit.

 

This is where DIY comes in to play. Per their last service, the previous owners of my car were told they were looking forward to spark plugs, engine and inverter coolant change, and CVT change.

Since these were folks who had everything done at the dealer, they were looking at $1000 or more worth of work. My best guess was that they were offered a decent trade-in and decided to put the $1k+ in service they were looking at into a new car instead.

I'm no master mechanic, but I know my way around cars. I can do all the stuff a 2G Prius needs done at or around 100k miles for a couple hundred bucks. I chose to take the risk on a $7200 car with 87k miles because it costs me less to maintain than the past owners were willing to pay.

I win.

 

You have a very good point.

 

Wait, is battery replacement really more expensive than engine / transmission replacement?


iPhone ?

 

A dealer installed new Toyota battery is about $3000. You can get a kit with new cells from a user here for $1600 and sell the remaining usable modules from your old battery if desired. Companies sell used and repaired batteries. Some people replace just the failed modules.
I have not heard of anybody here getting an engine or transaxle from the dealer. People here usually purchase a used engine from a wrecked Prius.

 

Well, my experience with my local Toyota dealer whom I called for a quote on traction battery replacement for my '07 Prius was very different. I got a quote of something like $4500 for the part and $800 labor. I am not in need of battery replacement just now, but I called the local dealer just to see what they'll quote. The above mentioned quote I got is downright idiotic, of course and they would never ever get this business at these prices, but that is what I got. I have not called around to other dealers, which I admit is a problem, but since I do not need a battery I did not want to waste my time. So in some cases the dealer can quote a price north of $5K for traction battery replacement, but that same dealer will probably quote much more for an engine or transaxle replacement. The point is that more often than not dealers are not a good way to go to repair an older car. They want to sell you a new shiny one.

As was pointed out, there are ways of getting a new traction battery into a gen 2 Prius for under $3K. If the new cylindrical cells work out, that right there will be a big break through at $1600 with no core charge.

There are ways to keep the Gen 2 running for not that much and certainly cheaper than buying a new or another used (with unknown problems) car.

 

@2k1Toaster is a battery expert and sells the kits. @ericbecky @SpaceCityHybrids and others have tested for quite a few thousand miles with boringly good results.

 

That's very good news! Of course we will not know the real results for at least 5-7 years, which would be my expectation of longevity. Unfortunately we can't travel into the future and see how these things do in the long term.

Having said that, I would probably risk one of these kits if I needed a battery right now given the little amount of evidence of their longevity.

 

The 3 months of Wisconsin winter I have put on it is better than some of the non-American rebuilt batteries I've seen out there.

 

Well, we have 14 years of history on the original batteries and know full well how they behave in this car. We will need to wait at least 5-7 years for these batteries to prove themselves long-term. As I said, I would risk it with this solution, but it would be a risk. There are too many factors involved in this application to effect long-term longevity. As good as these batteries are (and I am not questioning the good will and the aptitude of @2k1Toaster), they are different enough to suggest that they will behave differently in this application. Maybe they'll be better, may be worse in the long term. We just have no way of knowing.

 

It's been my experience from owning a 2008 Gen 2 and now a new 2016 Gen 4 that the Prius value is highly underrated. The money these cars save you in gas and the reliability of them compared to other cars are a couple of outstanding features that we tend to forget. I maintained my Gen 2 like I have all my other cars and the only thing I ever returned it to the dealer was for recalls. It was by far the best car I ever owned and the only car I ever traded in. If you notice that other car companies are now coming out with hybrid cars, both for economy and for performance and they will have their growing pains and the eventual demise of the gasoline engine as we know it.
Battery replacement will become a way of life, just like tires and brakes. Deal with it. lol