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At what point do you trade a Prius for something else?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Isaac Zachary, Mar 20, 2022.

  1. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    Assuming cylinders are worn meaning $2,000 short block plus time. Battery is on last leg. The State now requires California compliant catalytic converters, which also needs replacing on this car.

    But I can't seem to find a 2nd Gen Prius to replace this one for under $10,000, at least with lower miles (100k or less).

    Just keep fixing the old Prius?
    Get something else (I don't want a car payment)?
    Or just start walking everywhere?

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. nancytheprius

    nancytheprius Active Member

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    how many miles and have you put any money into it recently?
     
  3. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    Unless you really know the history on a Gen2 and it’s a cream puff, I wouldn’t spend $10,000 on one and even then unlikely.
    Do the arithmetic on yours and see what it’ll cost you to repair known items. It’s not rocket science.
    The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know. at some point you’ll have to spend what it takes to get the job done or bail out and buy something better.
     
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  4. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    Maybe $1,000 in the past year. 215k miles.

    Ya, that's kind of what I'm thinking too. Here's a worse case scenario not including time:
    $2,000 engine
    $2,000 catalytic converter
    + $2,000 OEM battery
    $6,000

    But an older, lower mileage Prius might have a worse case scenario of:
    $10,000 used car
    - $1,000 sell current car
    + $2,000 OEM battery
    $11,000
     
  5. nancytheprius

    nancytheprius Active Member

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    those numbers make the decision easier! also, yesterday someone posted a listing for an OEM battery from toyota for like 1300 in florida. shop around the parts centers at dealers in your area. For the cat if you have to buy a new OEM one, you can recover some of that price back when you do end up scrapping the car. you can find some ways to lower that 6000!
     
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Book Cover Judge

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    Sometimes a lighthearted aside can become reality. We're fortunate to be walking distance to a lot of stores, and between that and Amazon, I wonder myself sometimes. Currently we're lucky to put 4K kms on our 2010 yearly.
     
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    these days, repairing is usually the most cost efficient route. there is no cheap way out though, until supply/demand return to normal
     
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  8. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    lol, I mean I'd love it if the Titanic suddenly started floating again too, but... The financial commitments we all signed up for at this stage in human history... I mean canceling the Russian economy was the right thing to do but every one of us is going to suffer some pretty awful consequences that will redefine us in coming years.

    Hoepfully sooner rather than later we'll realize that all the billionaires are gonna have to give everyone their money back.
     
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  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    well, without getting us thrown into fhopol, i'll just say that most americans are soft and lazy.

    we don't expect to ever have to suffer for any reason.
     
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  10. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Not sure what a "fhopol" is? I tried to google it but nothing... And yes I'd agree with your soft and lazy Americans statement if you're referring to the white dudes. But all the other folks got it so much more hard they've not really ever known much of any kind of soft.
     
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  11. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    And this is based on the all-encompassing demographics of the PNW?
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    'Freds House Of POLitics' :cautious:
     
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  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Can't believe it didn't come up when googled....

    BUT, if using BING, it is the very first result!!! and I hate Bing...
     
  14. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    No... It's based on the fact that white dudes have no idea how much harder life is in this country if you aren't one of them.
     
  15. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    I'm white, and I think I can relate. I wasn't a rich boy. My parents suffered finacially when I was a young kid. For a long time we didn't have a car, and there was no public transportation besides the school bus. The house (19th century log cabin) was so cold frost formed on the wall by my face in our (four children's) bedroom. It was also very hot in the summer with no air conditioner. It also didn't have plumbing for a while so we used an outhouse and had to fetch water several blocks away. Heat was all chopped firewood, including the cook stove. We allways had a vegetible gardin and the forest service would provide at times give us a poached deer that we had to cut up ourselves. I remember having to share only one Top Ramen package with my siblings. Things got better for our parents and we got richer as time went on, but never to the level of a typical white American family. I also married someone from a poorer country who was making the equivalent of $15 per week at that time.

    But hey! We're debt free (still paying for the Avalon but could pay it off today with savings), live modestly (our bedroom is 6' x 6' 6" for an example) and some of our worst worries are how best to fix up our second car.
     
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  16. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    We're thinking more and more of at least trying to sell the Prius and living with just one car... We can live with just one car, I know we can. It is ironically about $35 per month more expensive to own just one car than two because the multi car discount here is more than the cost to insure another car. But with Prius prices going for some $7,000 or more (I got some $1,000 total tied up in this car) I figure I can make a profit from selling it. Still, we're not sure if we really want to go that route.

    Pros and cons.
     
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  17. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    I’d get another insurance quote. Never seen insuring two cars cheaper than one. Cheaper each but not in total.
    Never been a better time to sell a Prius but YMMV as the prices are geographically variable. Drive it 800 miles west and sell it for more in the Nation of California for best price. Getting back is an issue though. Or I forget, since the thread is so complicated, does it have catalytic converter issues?
     
  18. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    Yes, it does have a dead catalytic converter. My state recently made California cats mandatory too. So it's California Compliant or bust, OR I can just keep driving it with a dead cat as there are no emissions inpections here (you'd think they'd make emissions inspections mandatory before making California compliant catalytic converters mandatory). The engine has an oil burning problem too, mainly at higher cruising speeds (75mph uses more than at 65 it seems).

    The question I have is if I change the catalytic conveter for an OEM converter, how much can I sell the dead one that's on the car for?
     
  19. nancytheprius

    nancytheprius Active Member

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    how will they know you have an aftermarket cat if there is no inspection?
     
  20. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    They don't unless they move to the eastern slope where inpections are required.