Should I sell my remarkable Prius?

You've got a goal in mind and you obviously still like the car.

I say keep it, spend the money on the brakes, and take the thing into the record books. Get lots of pictures; do at least one parade.

Then sell it.

Ultimately I think it will be a fantastic parts car- it will be more valuable with all its youngest parts stripped off and sold to other G2 owners. You're likely to recover a lot more $ if you do that part-out yourself, but there's plenty of reasons you might not want to be involved.

Good luck either way!

 

Why in the world would you get rid of that that doesn't make any sense You're not burning oil smoking like a freight train or a diesel locomotive I'm pretty sure and if the car's been kept in good shape by one owner I have an '04 or 5 around here that was very similarly maintained and it was a beautiful car I actually was mistaken and taking it off the road but that's water under the bridge now it's about completely disassembled Gray interior velor whatever it is and very nice shape and fixing to use the seats in my work car they're in beautiful shape. The brake actuator will not cost 3K. If you've done all this other maintenance changing the break actuator is a piece of cake to be honest about it It takes no formal mechanic training or any of that I can assure you just a good head on one shoulders and all that and it's a pretty easy job It's a little awkward to pull out the plate that holds the weights and the actuator and all that but it's nothing you have to overthink a brand new part will be about $1,436 bought online sent to the store me personally I've installed a bunch of used ones on my personal cars and only on one of those vehicles had I had to do it twice because the one I put on was as defective or worse than the one I took off but that's it The ones that I've put on use that are working has been on now one or two of them for a couple of years and one I just did the other day again with a used part that I may have I think I got it for free actually so that works out if it sits on there for 3 to 5 years with no problems that's way more than paid for itself it's free My time to put it on which now I've gotten so good at it I have the part swapped out in 2 hours and then there's the bleeding in the nonsense which now seems to go very quickly. So you might want to consider something like that get a mobile mechanic to come and install it and treat him good car out of the sun and then your garage what have you. Sounds like a keeper I wouldn't even consider getting rid of that if it's in that kind of shape this little green car that I just bought is the same way it's in perfect condition 256,000 on it. Leather interior never smoked in nothing It looks almost like it left the showroom the paint's a little faded and I've run it up against some fence posts lightly and whatnot on the trails but we don't care about that long as it interior is nice that's where we are.

 

I'm same age as you buddy. Eyes aren't really railing yet 1 hip is. I don't let anyone touch my 4 to 7 cars generally here. Except for the tire guy and the guy who would change my engines and transmissions today which is extremely rare unless I buy something foolish like a generation 3 Toyota then I know he's going to have some work so we try and avoid the plague but it sounds like a nice car and your wife likes it Why would you fool with that I mean that's just crazy she wants to stay in the car and I'm sure you don't want to go car shopping or maybe you do. Good luck man

 

The battery should not be a deal breaker You have $310,000 mi on the car it's like an 8 to 10 year battery so like your mag light when the battery is run out rather than having somebody beat up the battery and undo all these nuts and bolts and full modules out and play games and that stuff and try to make things back what they were You just go to the store and buy a new battery just like your flashlight it'll be restored and bright as all get out and you can see a thousand feet away. Here you just buy the battery online get it shipped to the Toyota dealer of your choice drop off a core that looks presentable they're a dime a dozen you can get them everywhere and you have one in your car and drop it in and connect two bolts whether you have a kid next door help you or however that goes it's really not a bad deal and with the help of a small piece of plywood even still my near 70 years old I can slide the battery in and out and make it sit where it goes with minimal effort and I smoke and drink sometimes . And then not in any kind of true shape or form at this point but good enough to do whatever I want out in the yard around the house.

 

the brake actuator at 3k is a deal breaker for me, at 300k miles there will be more unexpected repairs coming and I don't see any returns for that for a 20yr old car (unless emotional attachment is involved) It's even hard to sell it at that mileage but it's time to let it go.. there are other cars you could enjoy for $3k spent on an abs actuator (and what else in the future)

 

Well once you add that factor in, it's enough for me to pull back or even reverse my prior suggestion.

If it is the original battery and you aren't ready to pay for both battery replacement + brake repair (knowing that you'd recover at least some value for them as parts a little bit later) then I'd say now's a great time to get out of it.

One bit of information that has some bearing here: How much driving do you actually do?

If you're driving 35,000 miles per year then ok maybe you do have a shot at 400k.

But if it is going to take you more than two years to get the miles in I probably wouldn't risk it if the battery is a dealbreaker.

 

The nature of car repair has been the bathtub curve: some expensive repairs needed right away, then few needed for a while, then more and more expensive repairs needed as the car ages. You described that you love the car. The answer to whether or not you should keep it is based on if it’s worth it to you to spend $2000-3000 a year on continuing repairs. If the car is worth that much to you on an ongoing basis, then keep it. If not, then I would look at buying a newer used car in the lower part of the bathtub curve expenses.

 

Bro you wore all that stuff out. What do you do when you wear out your shoes?

 

Well, you could keep the car for bragging rights or sentimental reasons but it does not make any financial sense. I also like my Prius which I bought brand new in 2006 but at some point we have to cut our losses.

For example, if the market value of your working 2004 with 330k miles is approximately $2500 and you spend $3000 for a large repair you are losing money. Then, you are assuming an increased risk at this point for additional repairs. It can only get worse from here. Just sell it for $1000 as is and invest some money in a newer car.

I felt the same way when I had to get rid of my perfectly fine 32 inch tube Sony television.