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.
Belt, not belts. My wife's car is a 1998 Accord. The paint is crapping out (sooooo much UV in LA, and the previous owners also had body work done after a branch landed on it, maybe 18 years ago, where the quality of the paint job wasn't top notch), but it only has 100K miles, and is mechanically sound in all major components. It would be hard to find a car that costs less to insure, she only drives a few thousand miles a year, and "big" repairs are rare. The last one was changing the timing belt, water pump, and the various accessory belts, which I had the shop do 2 years ago for very close to $1k. That may very well be what the car is worth, given its age and that it looks like it has leprosy. How much of a car could we get for $1k? We also put on new tires last year, which was around $800. Any car needs tires though, that's a wear item, not a repair, and the cost would probably be more on any newer car because the wheels would be bigger. Honestly, paint is the biggest problem I see in its future. We can't get tractor paint in California (banned by CARB because that has too many VOCs) which is unfortunate because that was one way to get an OK (but not great) home paint job. I'm not screwing with isocyanates at home. Commercial paint work is now stupid expensive. A Maaco level paint job (that is,not very good) is around $2500 and a decent one probably in the $5-7k region. That is a lot for a car this old. Regarding the tractor paint, forums are full of farmers and people who maintain machinery complaining that they cannot fix the paint on their equipment themselves anymore. I wonder if the paint ban also took out the paints used on classic cars? Well, maybe that doesn't matter, the cost of a paint job, even an expensive one, probably isn't a worry for people who own Duesenbergs!
Your approaching 30 yrs and still investing in the old Honda. All the conversations have been confidence building. I bought the first gen 2 in 2016 (it was an 08 that was totaled in an accident and replaced with a 06) it was wildly under valued at 5k and still had 2 yrs warranty on the battery. Its now only lost 1k in value 2 yrs older and I am not sure that it isn't undervalued at 4k at 20yrs old.
I don't think of it as investing. I think of it as a reasonable price to maintain a tool which still serves its purpose well enough. Coincidentally our washing machine and drier are about the same age. No logic boards on either, they are entirely electromechanical. If something major breaks on one of those I will fix it (assuming a part can still be found), because newer devices of these types are far less reliable. To date on the drier I have replace the plastic door handle (it snapped off) and the light bulb inside. On the washer the lid sensor has been replaced 3 times (mostly because persons who shall not be named insist on putting heavy things down on the lid) and the water level sensor hose once (when it developed a pin hole). I do this work myself, this wouldn't have been economical if there were service calls involved.
That Gen 2 is highly repairable, unlike some of the older cars from the other brands. As to belts, there's only one that I know of. Hoses are another story, but I don't think Toyota would make them unobtainable (once again thinking of other brands). If it sits in a garage, isn't exposed to salted roads, and still works for you, I don't see why you wouldn't want to keep it. If the interior is faded and cracking, if the body has multiple dents and dings, or peeling paint that you can't put up with, that may be a different story. If the chassis and suspension components have major rust damage that weakens the structure of the car, it's time. If you're looking for an excuse to get another car, want an upgrade, don't look to me. Be honest with yourself and say you want a new car with more features, style, whatever. I'm not one to sell a car because it's old. If it's paid for and suits my needs, and is reliable, then I'll keep driving it. Every new car turns into an old car at some point. They don't get better with age. But you're also at a point where you aren't giving your money away to the car dealerships and auto manufacturers when you don't have to. That's just my two cents, though. You've gotta figure out what your tolerances for things are. I'd look beyond how old the car is and ask does it jmeet your needs still.
