How to decide whether to replace hybrid battery or Prius?

I was entertaining Greentec, with an '06 civic hybrid. Honda finally came thru, so dropped it. Maybe, maybe.

Maybe Toyota will meet you half way? That's still a good deal.

As far as getting another 10 years, I do not know, issues tend to build. Enjoy a couple of years and trade while its in good shape would be my plan.

 

Here was another recent MD Prius went to Greentec. Thread may be of interest, in some cases cleaning the batt vent fan solves the problem, and can be the root cause so be sure to have them check it.

search on Greentec this was Feb_2015

 

Read from the OBD port

 

Your advice assumes:

1) That you have another 10 years hassle free with only minor repairs. No guarantee there at all. In fact, I'd call that wildly optimistic.
2) You're paying interest on a loan. Right now, there's 0% financing from Toyota right now in my area, so you'really paying no interest and with future dollars.
3) Yes, you'd have to have full insurance. But if you have one-way insurance with the old car and get into a bad enough collision that was your fault, then you just lost the value of the car ($5500) + the cost of the new battery.
4) How horrible is it to buy a car for $1,700 per year with 10 years trouble free? I would. You wouldn't, and that's fine. Don't forget though that at the end of the 10 years, that new car is still worth $5K.
5) You hold no value to peace of mind for the next 10 years or the latest safety standards, which is your choice. I personally think there's value in that - one that I'm willing to pay for.

 

\OK I am not recommending Greentec just seeing if they are on radar screen for DC area. If it happens to me I will try for Toyota assistance due to my good behavior <Uh oh!>

 

Reread my post please. I did not say 'hassle free' (outside of the traction battery) or 'minor repairs.' Although I left it unsaid, it should be easy to connect the dots and realize that the break-even point in my analysis was $(14,000+1,700+3000) in future repairs after the traction battery is replaced.

If you qualify, then yes you save interest. No to 'future dollars.' Your monthly payment of about $219 will start in a few short weeks. And the existence of this thread implies that either money is in short supply or OP does not want to spend it. So taking on unpaid debt for the next six years is not an attractive proposal. Hocking your future is a suckers gambit.

Wild speculation, that the accident is a total loss and the traction battery is trashed. I will agree that self-insurance has a cost, but on average for an older car it is quite low if one presumes that dings are not going to be repaired. IIRC, about 1% of cars are 'lost' to accidents annually.

If you do not have the money, pretty bad. I do agree about the possible residual value but it is considerably less than you guess because it implies that the car is in at least good if not excellent shape. You paid expensive insurance or cosmetic repairs all those years to keep it that way.

Obviously. It is an oxymoron in a $ analysis. Next you will be telling me that bragging to your friends that you have a new car loan has 'value.'

 

The existence of this thread implies no such thing. The poster simply asked what rules to follow to replace the battery or buy a new vehicle. Re-read the title if you have to. You've posted your point of view. I've posted mine.

I will gladly take on unpaid debt at 0% interest so long as I have the capability to pay back said loan in its entirety at any given time. I'd hardly call that a sucker's gambit, nor is it hocking your future.

 

Arbitrage ? Sure
Investment ? Maybe

To spend more money on a car than you have to ? Foolish, if the intent is to not waste money.
Mind, I waste money all the time on things like convenience or preference. I just do not make silly rationalizations for my behavior.

 

I just faced the same decision. 2006 with 167K miles on it. No major problems over its life so far until past two weeks. Just routine maintenance, tires, regular battery out at 6-year point, and cosmetic repairs from deer hit. Then two weeks ago I admitted there was a problem and that passenger side front bearings had gone bad and invested $750 into that. Then a week later had the horrible red triangle and check engine light come on. Turns out it was the hybrid batteries. (Code P0A80). Debated rebuilt installed for $2200 at nearby shop or new at dealer for $3000 (the labor was same, only battery cost differed). They did say all the other systems and transmission etc. looked in really good shape. My main consideration is that I think I can get another 100K miles out of this car so the $800 for longer security is worth it (rode in a Taxi version in DC that had 245K on it!). So went with new battery pack. I'll never know for sure. But not in the market to finance a new car when all the payments are done on both our Priuses. Will report back if evidence suggests this was a bad gamble.

 

Since Jan-1 there is now 3-yr warranty on the new Toyota batt so that helps

 

3years when installed by a Toyota dealer.

1year if installed by anyone other than a Toyota dealer.

 

There is no gambling involved. This is basic math. You do the repair if cost of vehicle as-is + cost of repair < than equivalent vehicle. Say your 2006 can be sold for $1500 as non-running or for parts only. Well $1500 + $3000 = $4500. Can you find a used 2006 example for $4500? If you can, sell your current Prius for $1500 and use it to buy another car.

 

$750 spent on that wheel bearing was a repair, not an investment. If you did not perform this repair, the noise would drive you nuts, followed by the wheel separating from the car one day, likely result in a wreck. The overall value of the car would not goup in relation to the money spent on maintenance/repairs.

Now if said car was a Shelby Cobra from the 1960's or a limited production super car (ie Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maclaren, etc), that would be an investment. The value of these cars goes up.

 

The term "investment" does not preclude the purchase of a good/service that depreciates. A Prius is not a Big Mac. A Prius drives you to work. A Prius enables a more productive lifestyle that can have greater returns than the initial *investment*. A Prius (or rather, just an everyday driver) is more of an investment than a weekend project toy that you hope to one day turn a few bucks on.

I think a repair can count as an investment also, and you pointed out why. Don't make the repair, and you risk far greater damages. That $750 expense could have prevented thousands of dollars of damages.

I know it's just semantics, but you took it there.

 

I have a 2006 Prius with 11300 miles. I've replaced regular batter a couple times, but not the hybrid yet. Noticing my monitor and my dash lights flashing every now and then, getting dim and bright, small glitch. Is this another issue possibly or is this a sign of the battery life? I did take into dealer and they tested my battery and said it seemed to have enough juice in it and didn't need replaced yet. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

could be something as simple as the dimmer switch, or a loose connection, but it's not the hybrid battery.

 

I would also go the route of replacing the HV battery, with a new not refurbished one. I am not a believer in borrowing money to buy vehicles. The way I see it, if you were to buy a new Prius, you would pay about $1500 just in sales tax alone (conservative estimate). If you were making payments of $500/mo then in 3 months you would have spent that $3000 you would have spent on a battery. Normally the logical way to think about car repairs is to avoid spending 50% or more of the car's value on a repair.
The GenII Prius might be an exception due to the exceptional reliability and fuel savings it provides.

If you do a little research, you may be able to find a better deal on a new OEM Toyota Battery. I paid $2400 installed for a brand new one in Dallas.

 

Another serious consideration could be the new battery option from Bumblebee. $2395 for a new battery plus have somebody local install it. Make sure you tell Toyota what you are doing and that you are pretty well done with pouring any money into their service department. Make their intransigence cost them.

Toyota Hybrid Batteries - Bumblebee Batteries

 

How do I check loose connection for the dimmer switch? Has anyone done this or experienced their lights on dash and monitor flashing from dim to bright several times a day? They checked my battery several months ago, said it would need replacing before too long, but as I said seemed to be ok at the time. Thanks for any responses you may have!