My Prius battery finally gave out after getting quite a life out of it. I'm on the fence about having a new one installed or scrapping the car being that it has so many miles on it. Don't know what it's worth in it's present state. Estimate from dealership is $3,400 and from a local hybrid mechanic ( Hybrid Repair Petaluma - Auto Repair Shop | The Hybrid Haven ) the quote given was $2,600 after a recommended engine compression test. I had the diagnosis done at the dealership for $110 a week ago and have been renting a car to get to work and back since then. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Had to chime in here. $2000 for a Dorman battery is CRAZY. You can order those from Rock Auto for $1150 or get them from O'Reillys for $1400. Any shop that knows what their doing can install a hybrid battery in 1 hour and there's no way that's worth $600. I rebuild these batteries and I will be the first admit that rebuilds are not as good as new and they never will be. The only way it's cost effective to buy a rebuilt battery is if the price is a third or quarter of the new price. If your considering the Dorman for $2600 you may as well spend the other $800 and get a brand new battery from the dealer. Good luck, Matt.
I agree with Texas: If you can possibly find a way to afford it, get the NEW battery from Toyota. The $ 2,600 quote from your local repair shop seems too high to me. They'll get a discount on the Dorman battery; it might only cost them $1,000. So they could be doubling their money on the battery and also charging you another $600 to install it. There's another issue with the Dorman battery: It isn't actually "new." (read below for details). There's another thread on priuschat hinting at the possibility of getting a ***NEW*** battery from a Toyota dealer for a discounted price (perhaps $2,100). I recently removed, rebuilt, and reinstalled the HV battery in my own 2005 Prius (83k miles). My HV battery had 2 faulty modules in it. The other 26 modules were still OK. I purchased used tested modules on eBay for about $50 each. I should mention that I'm both a dedicated DIY and a working EE. There's some huge threads here on priuschat about rebuilding one's own HV battery. Please understand that rebuilding your own HV battery is a rather difficult task. But most people with reasonable DIY skills should be able to remove/replace the HV battery pack in their car. If you can get a brand new genuine Toyota HV pack for $ 2,100 + installation that certainly could be a viable option. Or if you can get a mechanic's discount from the local auto parts store, the Dorman battery might be $1,000 + installation. There is one BIG issue with all "remanufactured" or "rebuilt" HV batteries that come from vendors like Dorman: These batteries DO NOT contain "new" modules, rather, they contain used/tested modules of unknown age. To compensate for what might be a much shorter life, I think the "fair market" price for a so-called "remanufactured" HV battery can't be much more than $ 1,000. -EB
There is a 3 yr warranty for the Dorman battery. I appreciate all the responses, unfortunately time is not on my side. I'm running up quite a rental car bill (for commute to work) while deciding whether or not to opt with keeping the Prius or buying a different car. I think I'm going to bite the bullet on this one and just get'r done.
