Hello, I’m near Santa Monica, ca and my beloved 2001 4 door w trunk was in a fender bender. Due to airbag deployment and cracked windshield I’ve been advised by “experts” that I should sell to junkyard. They only offer $270 and it’s hard to let go at that because I just bought refurbished battery 2/2024 for $4500. Doesn’t anyone want to buy my excellent condition otherwise, car for parts for heaven sakes?
Very sorry to hear this. How bad was the fender bender? If it's still drivable can't you fix it up by maybe getting airbags and windscreen from a breaker? And you may even be able to source new parts from a Toyota dealer there, or even direct from Japan. I was amazed 3 years ago when I was able to get a brand new windscreen, fitted within a couple of days from a mobile operative here in UK, for my 1998 Japanese import Prius (gen0) If not, I hope you can get something back for the battery. If it weren't for the distance/shipping hassle to UK I'd maybe even consider it. Best of luck, Jay
The Gen1s are worthless - in California. That's because the insurance companies look for any excuse to total them knowing that they'll be paying for multiple cat replacements going forward, which is because the CARB regs require they be replaced with high-dollar cats, which then just get stolen again. CA doesn't want you to drive your car. You'll have a hard time getting comp and collision coverage. You can get more than $270 by selling the cat to a recycler. Or better, another fool in CA. Someone will buy the battery as well. There's still a market for other parts - in CA because that's where almost all of the remaining G1s are. I can't sell many of my parts because it costs too much to ship to CA. Other than my 15, there's probably only another 4 or 5 G1s in Houston. I haven't seen one in almost a year. If I were you, I'd fix the car. Windshields are cheap, airbags are cheap on the used market. Fenders are cheap. You'd pay for all of that in 6 months of driving it instead of making car payments. But, if you want to sell, get your money for the cat and battery, remove the front clip (fenders, hood, bumper) and rear bumper and sell those on Marketplace, then dump the carcass at a crusher - they're worth $200-$250 just for the scrap metal. If you decide to drive long-term, build a second exhaust with a cheap aftermarket cat and install it as your daily driver so thieves won't steal your cats. When you need to get it smog inspected, swap in your original - just 4 bolts and 2 rubber bands - for the day.
