Prius Generation 1 as an investment

This could be anyone's guess. It is a tough call to estimate the price of a possible classic car in 10, 20 or 30 yrs. How tough will it be to obtain parts for this Prius in the future. Will Toyota or the aftermarket continue to support it?

We are not talking about a Muscle Car or a Corvette

Hey, I will guess 10-15 K in US dollars? But, only a Prius fan would pay that much, not your average car person.


No disrepect or harm by this. Whatever the traffic will bear.

 

A lot of the interior uses structural plastics and their long-term life prospects are unknown. Keep it out of light and probably in an inert atmosphere might be a good idea.

Bob Wilson

 

For Generation 1, replacement battery is less; well less expensive vs a few years ago. DIY Maintenance is easier IMO e.g. brake jobs, tune-ups...

Classic or not, I think that's attractive in any vehicle.

 

Part of the appeal would probably be the rarity.

I'm not sure how they predict these things and how accurate the predictions are but one thing for sure is condition and supply will have a huge bearing on the price. So you would have to find the lowest mileage best condition model with all the options in a desirable colour then you would have to store it for 10-20 years. Hardly a money maker.

Classic cars are a very fickle investment. .

 

Besides the question of rarity, the NHW11 represents the first example of this drivetrain manufactured for the global market. Unique technology figures in the valuation of more than a few classic vehicles.

Another intangible could be purely emotional. How did NHW11 'pioneers' feel about their cars? Feel while driving their cars? Some classic cars represent a this aspect of the vehicle experience.

The HV batteries appear quite fixable; transaxles somewhat less so. Any example with more than a few miles on the road is going to have issues with exterior paint on the front contact surfaces. How can we predict the long-term function of the 3 potentiometer systems? (steering, throttle body, accel pedal).

In any case, NHW11 maintenance after Toyota turns their attention elsewhere might involve independent garages and individuals with interest and experience. PriusChat provides a good rolodex (TM) file for that.

 

A bit radical, I would think the NHW10, a Japanese original, would be a better investment both because of their rarity but more importantly ... the technical breakthroughs it brought to the road.

Sure, I love the NHW11 for what it does and represents but gosh darn, the NHW10 was the first and the transaxle and computer control systems remains even today, an engineering wonder. It is like having an 1850s telegraph or an 1880s telephone. Even today, nobody outside of the hybrid community 'gets it.' They really don't and having studied it for 5 years, I know what a steep learning curve it is.

As for the NHW11, my thinking is their best days are spent extending the remaining petroleum fuel supplies until we finally burn-up the last of the d*mn stuff.

Bob Wilson

 

I think the Insight I would be a better investment then a Prius when it comes to value in 2020 or later. The Insight is even rarer and has a more iconic look then the NHW11.

The NHW20 also has a more iconic look (the most iconic hybrid!) but of course they are made in much greater quantities so the value may not go up as much.

 

There will be a problem maintaining the electronics in an old car. Consider what it would take today to read the data off an 8" floppy disk. Or a 20 year old CD. Better archive the control code for all the computers in the car, including things like a MasterTech 3100 scantool required for loading it into flash memory. For ECUs without flash memory, what will you do when the "permanent" memory fails?

There are machinists who can fabricate new parts for that old Bugatii that got taken out of the water. Quite who is going to fabricate a replacement engine control computer for a NHW11 escapes me. The data is all Toyota proprietary, and someone needs to archive it.

There will be a market for current technology replacements for obsolete (or is that "Classic"?) electronics. But any non-original design parts will reduce the value of an antique car.

Toyota is the only place where much of the design data exists. Maybe some archivists need to start working on preserving that data now, while it's still available.

 

I agree with this. Jay Leno has more discretionary income than most of us, so he can afford to maintain an NHW11 Prius.

When the market value of that car drops to $5K and the non-DIY owner is faced with a $6K bill to replace the transaxle, then you need to consider whether it is financially wise to effect that repair. OTOH, as long as salvage parts are available, the DIYer can keep the car running fairly economically.

eBay Motors currently shows zero availability of NHW11 salvage traction batteries. That's an early example of what will happen when demand (due to part failure rate) exceeds supply (from totalled vehicles).
prius battery, buy and sell Car Truck Parts on eBay Motors