I'm getting ready to sell my 2001 Prius to my friend and I want it in pretty good condition because she knows nothing about cars and isn't inclined/able to learn. So I'm going to replace the shocks and I'm not sure how to tell if I need to replace the mounts too. Without the mounts, I'm spending $329.96, but replacing all the mounts bumps it up to $451.92. So I guess I'm just wondering, what should I be looking for to know if I need to change them out?
If your car has logged more than 100K miles then you should replace the front strut mounts. They need to pivot and therefore are subject to wear. There is less need to replace the rear shock mounts.
I'm at 223K miles. I'll grab a set of mounts, just in case. Honestly, don't expect the battery to hold out for more than 3 years. so I'm going to be cheap on them.
If you have 233k on the original hybrid battery don't expect it to last even another year. Gen1 batteries are dropping like flies mostly due to mileage, but also due to age. If the buyer is a good friend, tell them to budget for a new battery in the not to distant future.
When I bought it, it had a re-manufactured battery. That was at 160k. So I think that's got about 3 years left on it, which is all she needs.
Remanufactured batteries are all different. Some are good, some are awful. Hopefully the battery was purchased from a vendor with a good warranty and still in business. I've seen reman batteries fail within weeks so anyone buying a reman should be extra careful, do their homework, buy locally so if there is a problem you don't have shipping hassles, and pay with credit card in case they need to dispute the charge.
Update: Yeah, definitely needed to replace the mounts. It was all in bad shape. I actually am missing about a half turn on one of the springs. And anything that is rubber is absolutely shot. So looks like I'm going to have to pull 'em off in a few weeks after I buy even more gear.
