I was wondering when you all plan to sunset your gen 2? I got a 06 with only 160k miles. Its still on original hybrid battery. I had a conversation with ai about it. AI thinks i am solid through 2031 (can get classic title stop smog) and sunset by 2036. It says by 30yrs old its just time. A round of belts and hoses is more than the car is worth at that point. I am just starting an end of life plan for the old prius and i am wondering what you guys are doing. I feel sad after that though as i might be going back to conventional which seems wildly regressive. I wont be driving as much in old age.
AI is worthless. The worst part is that it doesn't look worthless. Imagine a steaming pile of crap that looked exactly like a solid gold bar. No matter how much you want to have that gold bar, it's still a steaming pile of crap. Is it worth it questions are much more dynamic and complex than KBB value minus cost of parts. There are so many variables that go into it that are impossible to quantify. If you look at a car through the lens of the big 3 simultaneously: reliability, economy, and cargo space, what can beat a gen 2? I won't hold by breath.
Twenty years is plenty for the average high quality car but only as a second car in my view. Does not mean you can't keep anything running if you don't mind an expensive downtime on a regular basis. Some people don't want a primary car to have any unexpected downtime and trade every three years. With higher costs upfront and better quality, my 2017 primary was sold in 2022. Some who run on tighter budgets might go ten to fifteen years. A twenty year old car is usually bought used, often diy'ed because of economics and can generate a fair amount of stress as major items need replacement. Especially hybrids. Or is babied by a retired grandfather.
I been working with ai for a yr and i love it. If your not getting meaningful results its because you need to organize better input. You also need to monitor it like a hawk as it never admits mistakes or failure and makes plenty. This project asking when to sunset prius was messy I don't have a lot of knowledge on the subject and i don't have any meaningful data to put in there so its just pulling these results from the broad web. I talked to ai more this morning and it was actually confidence building. It said primarily 2 things sunset the gen 2 hybrid battery and brake accentuator. This is like 3000 and 2500 full cost. I can find these parts under 1000 a piece. I think I am good on this car up to 25 yrs 2031 and then between 2031 and 2036 is a lot more speculative. The hybrid battery wont leave me stranded I can get back home. AI said don't worry about going camping or nothing this is still one of the most dependable used cars on the market. It drives like new practically. My family loves this car and I think i am going to keep investing into it until at least 2031.
