Gen 2 worth investing?

My 2 cents. It all depends on you. I don't see anything vehicle related, not this car and not the next, as a good "investment." Yes, the best way to use your money usually is to drive it until it's dead, while trying to not kill it on purpose of course. At some point it will give you issues, and when it does you only pay to fix it up only to the amount that matches your love for the car, whether that's through a mechanic or if you do it yourself. If you're a DIYer and take your time to do things right you will get a lot more out of the car in the long run. I've gotten half a million miles out of a car before, and it still runs! But you also have to keep in mind that you could put thousands or even tens of thousands into the car and tomorrow it gets clobbered by a big pickup and their insurance will take it as "totaled" and only give you the KBB price for the car. So you got to factor that in too unless you're willing to get special insurance for your car that will pay you an agreed price if it's totaled.

 

it's always worth it if you intend to keep the car

 

The worst issue and it’s a guarantee is hybrid battery failure and the hassles that gone along with it. The car is dead in the water with no hybrid battery.

Hybrid failure is no 1 post on the g2 forum. If the car is still doing well sell it now. We see many a clueless poster on here who just bought a high mileage g2 and it now has a guess what.

 

With enough time, every car will have a major failure of some sort, be that the engine, transmission, frame, etc. Is it worth it to fix that sort of stuff? That depends on who you ask.

I recently bought a Prius knowing dead well that it has major problems. I know that a new battery can be in the thousands, a new catalytic conveter in the thousands, and an engine rebuild in the thousands. But to me it's worth it. I've bought cars with major problems before, rebuilt the engine and whatnot on them, and was very happy with the results. That's because I like cars and I like working on them.

And it also makes sense from a financial standpoint to a degree. I remember years ago when a young buddy of mine decided he had to have a pickup. So he went and got himself into a heap of debt to get a used Chevy Sonoma. Between insurance and payments, he was paying some $600 a month. But I had just bought a little economy car, a Mazda 323, for $250. The way I figured it, if I spent on my car what he spent on his truck, in no time I'd have a like new car. But when he was finished paying off his truck all he'd have is a pile of junk. And I ended up having far fewer problems and kept that car much longer than he did with his truck.

As for the question in the title, you got these options:

1. Sell it right now. Figure out how much you can get out of it (kbb.com) and put it in the paper, Craigslist, etc. If you sell it to a private party KBB says you might be able to get 3 or 4 grand. That's not bad if you can actually do that! Or you could take it to a dealer and try to "trade" it in for something else. Their price will always be much lower one way or another though.
2. Drive it until it's dead. The car is paid off and every month you drive it is another month you don't have to make a payment on another car. You don't know how long it will be until the battery gives out. It could be tomorrow or it could be several years from now. And when it does, you could always go with whatever is the cheapest option to get it going again and then sell it. I'm looking at less than $60 if I do it myself. ($20 OBD to BD scanner, $5 Torque Pro app and a $30 module.) Then sell it and let the next owner play whack-a-mole with dying battery cells.
3. Or get whatever battery makes you happy and keep the car. Sure, a dealer battery might cost you some $1,800 if you can do it yourself. But at least you'd know you have a new battery that's going to last you another 13 years or more. That's a lot cheaper than another car.

I think anything you do is a good option. Just don't let someone talk you down and give it to them for free. Unless that person is me.