04 Prius- keep or sell

Advice on this forum is always appreciated as there is a plethora of Prius knowledge assembled here (as I do try to give back as much as possible from my small pool of info I have gathered through buying a 14 year old prius and having the cat stolen on it).

That out of the way, I've owned a 2004 prius since 2018. Bought a set of custom pvc Clazzio seat covers (approx $360). Went through heck diagnosing and fixing a water leak in the trunk. Went through the cat being stolen and the whole process with insurance. Now the rust from the underside is starting to peak its head out right under a passenger side door. Champagne color, paint looks virtually flawless save for a few dings. Now that I see the original hybrid battery is getting on in years (18 at this point), showing its age in reduced MPG and in obvious need of reconditioning/ replacement.

With the rust creeping it's way up, the noisy cheap replacement catalytic converter and the dying hybrid battery (coupled with the fact that I dont have access to a garage to do a multi-day reconditioning) I'm highly considering letting go of it and just going with another used non-hybrid toyota or honda (until the day when I can actually do a brand new hybrid or full EV). Any recommendations/ thoughts much appreciated

 

Midwest (bad winters, lots of road salt). 144k miles on the clock. Bought at 98k miles, the 45k or so that I've put on have mostly been done at 60 mph on the highway (very light traffic during my commute times)

 

Ha, I love the imagery..like letting a rescued circus animal live out its senior years on a reserve (which would be California)! Does sound profitable but I work and arranging all that seems like it would be pretty tricky. Worth thinking about though. I was just considering letting carmax take it and picking up a solara, corolla or accord. Shame considering what I've already gone through with it..

 

I definitely have been, and yes it's all so overpriced at the moment

 

Another headache with it is finding a competent mechanic outside of a Toyota dealership who knows how to work on it. Its always been a struggle

 

Having a new car while taking time trying to sell the old one would prove difficult where I live due to parking, state registration etc. A dealer will take the car off your hands the moment you're ready, which is a not so profitable convenience

 

Its surface rust..every mechanic who has seen it says its normal for the age/ location of the car, but who wants to drive a rust bucket