New knockoff battery pack worth it for my 2005 - 299.999 KM?

I have a 2005 GenII with a little over 300.000 KM (200K miles) with a triangle of death, a P0A80 fault code, loss of power and cooling fan on in the back.

Took it to a shop that specializes in hybrid replacement and they confirm one or more bad cells and I need replacement of the battery.

Been here before 1.5 years ago and at the time replaced my battery for a "revised" one (they take good but used cells to create a "new" used battery) but it has only lasted me 1.5 years so doing that again is not really a viable option I think as the warranty is only 3 months which is a big risk (costs 500 euros).

I have been looking at buying a 2010-2012 Prius with less mileage but they are quite expensive (~10.000 euros for > 100.000 kilometers) and I really love my current car. The GenIII does not really offer me anything I want over what I have now, except reliability as my current one is dead.

The hybrid shop offered me a new battery instead of "revised". It is a Chinese knockoff and not Panasonic. It will cost me 1450 Euros and comes with a one year warranty although they claim to have never had any problems and have been selling them a lot for over 4 years.

I read positive things on the knockoff batteries on this forum and am tempted to take the offer (I really kind of already did) and have it built in this Friday.

Does anybody want to chime in? Is this a smart way to enjoy more years with the car I am happy with or am I taking a big risk and throwing away my money?

What do you think?

 

Not sure, I'd have to call the dealer but if I remember correctly from the last time it was roughly € 2500. I also have the option to purchase official Panasonic from the hybrid shop I visited, this costs € 1850.

Care to elaborate? Does that mean that the other knockoffs often fail soon? Do you have any experience with this?

 

@SFO @Prodigyplace thanks for your replies!

I have contacted the shop and it is indeed a new CEBA that they will use as replacement. I searched the forum for CEBA and indeed found a big topic from 2K1Toaster detailing his quest designing his own battery based on the ceba formfactor.

After reading this I would definitely prefer his battery however it is not available here in the Netherlands and as I need my car AND need someone else to install it, his battery is not really an option for me...

The option I do have is to have the new CEBA installed Friday. From this forum I understand that it is not as powerful as the original from Toyota, but it is difficult for me to know how much less...

In other words, is this battery likely to die within a few years? Will this battery make my car use a lot more gas than I am now?

If not than I don't really see the issue. It is not as good but also not as expensive. Original at the dealer will cost me 1900 which I find too much on my 2005 car with over 300K kilometers.

 

Bedankt @dolj

If I can get 5 more years (~125K KM) out of this car with the CEBO battery I would be more than happy to pay the 1500. Indeed no mountains here, mild climate and I am gentle on the battery with my driving style.

 

I guess that's true, but we are talking about resale value on a 2005 car with an odo meter stuck at 299.999 so I am not sure that would be worth investing an additional 500.

I didn't ask but am sure they will not let me keep them as they will definitely be using them to create a new reconditioned set to sell to someone else...

I have no idea, never by me in the 3 years that I have owned it. Perhaps when I had the battery switched for a reconditioned set 1.5 years ago? Not sure...

 

I did not verify this with him yet. It would mean longer wait during which I don't have my car and depending on weather he knows the kit from 2k1Toaster it could also present difficulties for them concerning the warranty as they normally work with CEBO and have spare parts/cells for that probably. But of course I can always ask.