2005 w/86k - what to look out for going forward?

Given the above, it is clear that you should "Keep her and see what happens" while building up the 401K and college fund.

 

I agree keep the car and fund the retirement fund.

I suggest you review all the preventative maintenance again. The dealer may be able to print out your service records if you don't have a copy of your receipts.

Replacing the transaxle fluid at 30,000 miles and very 60,000 miles thereafter may save you from that huge expense. If that was never done do it now. It costs about $100 at the dealer. Flush is not necessary just drain and fill.

Have them do a multi point inspection. They can tell you the health of the traction battery.

Other than that be sure to keep up with the maintenance. Your coming up on some big fluid changes, inverter fluid, antifreeze, brake fluid, etc. this will keep your car healthy. I believe the tune up is 120,000 miles so you got time.

 

Like you, I keep cars untill the repairs don't make economic sense anymore.

Traction battery will go, just a matter of when. I looked up the cost of this item at Camelback Toyota: $2174.48 battery + $1350 core charge + ZERO shipping = $2,174.48 after the refund of the core charge. Don't know if you have to send the battery back to Camelback. If so, shipping would be expensive. Hopefully Toyota would allow you to return this core to any Toyota dealership for core credit? Something to look into.

Not looking forward to this replacement cost either, but its actually not that bad when you look at cost per mile, esp if you get a lot of miles before requiring replacement:

$2174/100k miles = $.0217/mile​

$2174/150k miles = $.0144/mile​

$2174/200k miles = $.0108/mile​

$2174/250k miles = $.0086/mile​

The other good news is that with so many Gen2 Prius' out there, I'm sure someone will make a knock off battery, if they haven't already. Hopefully it will be a quality replacement. Unfortunately figures above exclude labor costs which will vary depending on where you live and who you go to (dealer vs independent).

Open this link in a new tab or window, and read post #12 (this was a Priuschat thread titled "any experince with AUTOBEYOURS?"). Some sound reasoning for getting a new battery over used, and this was comming from a mechanic who specializes in Prius.

 

The only thing I can think of is how much time you have left in your working career. This scenario may not apply to you. Many near retirement workers may replace an old car with a New car and have It paid off prior to retirement. Others it is not an issue since retirement income is high and can support a car purchase. Many try and get the financing before they retire while there working.

This scenario may not apply to you. Some enjoy the peace of mind of a New car and worry free motoring for many years. Some may wait for the Generation 4 Prius to be released in 2015 and be the early adopter.

 

Lucious Garage charges $420 (4/24/2012 posting) for a new traction battery install. Less than what I was expecting. Click the link to see the break down. Down the road may get cheaper as more Gen2 Priuses require this?

Two good articles from Lucios Garage essentially regarding:

• New vs rebuilt.
• Problems w/ rebuilts now that many used batteries have reached end of life.

True replacement cost now that we have a labor benchmark rate of $420 (which will probably go up in time).

$2174 + $420 = $2594/100k miles = $.0259/mile​

$2594/150k miles = $.0173/mile​

$2594/200k miles = $.0129/mile​

$2594/250k miles = $.0104/mile​

If you can do the install yourself, you'll be looking at prices copy/pasted from post #5 above:

$2174/100k miles = $.0217/mile​

$2174/150k miles = $.0144/mile​

$2174/200k miles = $.0108/mile​

$2174/250k miles = $.0086/mile​

 

New car in California a CARB state battery warranty is 10 years or 150,000 miles.

 

According to the article by Lucious Garage, ONE Year for a NEW battery. Can't confirm this w/ any local Toyota dealership as the parts department are all closed.

I am currious though. I hope its not ONE year.

 

Yup. Called a local Toyota dealership this afternoon. $4k for parts and labor, and ONE year warranty. Premium mark-up on labor rate.

 

The parts warranty on any Toyota part is for a one-year duration, whether an engine, transaxle, inverter, traction battery, etc.

 

Any suggestions on how to find an independent mechanic in the Philadelphia area that specializes in hybrids? I need a new battery, too ...