It’s time to purchase a new car and I have to decide which of my 2 should be put out to pasture. Opinions please: Car 1 - 2002 Odyssey with 225,000 miles. Multiple non-critical problems like wonky sliding doors, burning a small amt of oil, broken glovebox door, etc etc. The engine had lost a fair amount of pickup but seems solid. 25k overdue for timing belt. Car 2 - 2005 Prius with 175,000 miles. No significant problems beyond wear and tear. Headlights died. AC blower loud and creaky (hard to explain - sounds like groaning plastic behind the dash on passenger side). Surfaces show all sorts of wear. The one I keep will mostly be the run around car - groceries, take the dog to the dog run, etc. Could get as few as 6,000 mi/year. I live in NC so seriously hot 3 months per year and hot for another 3. Any guesses on which is more likely to get me another 10 years/75,000mi without major incident? I’m leaning strongly toward keeping the Prius. Will be replaced by who knows what - finalists are an Outback and a CPO Lexus RX. Thanks for reading my long post!!
Prius is likely to need a battery, for ten years you should go new, so call around for pricing. Hard to say on the oddesy.
Yes, I figure that at some point the Prius will need a battery and the Ody definitely needs a timing belt. I’m trying to guess what else might be on the horizon.
A lot of expensive parts on the Prius, but many go 300+ without much work. But it’s a complete guess. Does it burn any oil?
No way that Odd will do another 10 years. I don't know enough to tell you if the Toyota might but I'd give it a fighting chance while selecting the correct fork to stick in the Honda.
I'd keep the Prius as well, but you will absolutely need a new battery. Letting the Prius sit for extended periods of time allows for the pack to self discharge and get out of balance. This means a weak but working battery will quickly turn to a weak and not working battery within some time of such minimal use. All cars have rot when they are used so minimally, some just do it differently.
Which vehicle serves you purposes better, the Odyssey is quite large compared to a Prius and the Prius is small and gets good gas mileage. Up north in the rust belt body condition is where I start with my decision not the mechanical stuff. It isn't worth putting big bucks in a rust bucket, trust me I know. NC body is probably not an issue.
Rust is the least of our worries. When we get 4” of snow the kids get 3 snow days! (I grew up north of NYC and went to Syracuse so I know from snow, salt, and rust) I don’t anticipate the Prius sitting dormant for any period of time and I can certainly make sure it gets a good bit of highway driving once a week to keep things moving. Perhaps I should have mentioned that it spends very little time in what we call stealth mode - the ICE runs a lot more than it used to. Is this signaling that it’s time for a new battery or could there be a bigger problem?
Oddysey will have transmission issues, prius will have battery issues. Both will run $3000 I choose the prius to save gas
Ody got new tranny at 60k (HondaCare paid for itself) and this one is silky except for the tiniest hiccup between 2nd and 3rd. Battery will really cost 3,000? I’ll have to start doing some homework.
You the DIYer type? If so, you can get away with battery stuff down the line for less. Good luck and keep us posted .
That generation of odyssey has known transmission issues, even on the new replacements. Can't fix a design problem. Yes a new prius battery will be around $3000 at the dealer, less at some special hybrid dealers. Refurbished used batteries are less but not very reliable
My concern is the low annual mileage on the Prius (hybrids prefer to be driven). However, a new battery in a Prius can feel like driving a new car again. A new timing belt on the Odyssey still makes it an old car so my vote goes to the Prius (plus you're still emitting less pollution with the Prius than the Odyssey) My HV battery replacement experience - Australia. | PriusChat
It took a 5 hour road trip last week and another this week. Mileage back to 50-52. My prediction of 6,000 miles/yr was based on the ignorant notion that fewer miles would equal longer life. Test driving something this afternoon...
My DIY skills max out at changing the battery on the minivan and polishing headlights so I doubt I’ll be much good here. If Prius came in AWD I’d test one - maybe I should try out a RAV4.
