I've officially been on this forum for 1 minute. Apologize if this is a repeat, but I did search the forum before signing up and did not find much. I have a 2020 Prius Prime XLE FWD. It has a Prius Off Road lift kit just for the height, never off road) and a hitch to tow my motorcycle in an emergency which I've never used. I bought the car (named R2) in Nov 2021. It was exactly 2 years old with 5200 miles. It now has 61k. I'm currently putting about 15k per year on it commuting, and when I retire in 2030 it'll be 10 years old and have ~120k miles. I drive it easy (under 65 mph) and charge/deplete daily. I'd like to drive it into the ground, but the Prime has that unique expense: a $10,000 battery uninstalled. I know, I can get a greentec for 7500 and a refurbished for 5. Still... There are also other potentially large expenses: brake actuators, exhaust heat exchanger, infotainment, etc. R2 is 6 years old. The Prime has a "value cliff" at 10 years when the hybrid battery warranty expires and the value of the car drops about 30%. That, combined with the potential large expenses, is concerning for someone wanting to keep the car it's 15+ years old. Thoughts on when to sell? 8 years old at a premium price? 10-12 years old: take the hit on depreciation but got a few more years? Worth the risk? Or do the old formula: drive it until you have to pay for one large repair. If a second one surfaces, sell it for whatever you can get. Appreciate your thoughts.
Prime batteries are lasting forever. No worries, hang on and enjoy the ride! If you said, ‘I want to keep it for 25 years and half a million miles, I’d tell you to sell it. At ten years and 120, it’s just broken in. All the best!
I have over 200k miles, and I do not see any signs to indicate any big issue. My biggest complaint is the flimsy plastic body work and the rubber grommets used to hold them together. They get brittle and fall apart.
