Dear Folks , this is a big one for me , I bought this prius in 2014 for $19,400, it was 31000 KM driven , now its 185000 KM . the rings on the engine are weak , consumes oil , I have the option of importing used engine , HV battery , ABS , Exhaust and other parts from a salvaged Prius alpha in Japan , expected cost of imported parts is around $3000 to $4000 , i can sell this prius for $15000 and then i have the option of buying the used prius 2014 , 2015 for $22000 I am wondering if i swap the engine , HV battery and keep it for 4 more years , or sell it and buy the newer model ?( which are driven 30000KM in Japan ) , I like my prius and provided the options we have for my budget , i couldn't have any better car like Rav 4 etc , we have limited options of vehicles available in Pakistan ,
What confidence do you have that the parts from the salvage car will be good? Who will do the engine swap? Everyone has a different tolerance for risk. And different financial resources. And your country to country parts makes things even more risky.
HV battery on those are Li-ion. Are you confident it is no longer good? Li-ion batteries are stronger than the NiMH batteries that we get here in the USA....
well the Japanese Vendors can be trusted , but as you put it , these apprehensions are the reason i posted it here to get may be some one who already did a job like this , lets see if some one from New Zealand or Australia has imported parts like used engine or HV battery from Japan and are happy .
Yes you are right , the HV battery is good , but since there will be a shipment , and used HV are for 700 to 1100 US$ , its better to have one in store for that moment , when you need it and its not available , shipment takes about 60 days to arrive to where i live , infact the ABS is also working , but again you never know , the Prius alpha is not manufactured here in Pakistan , hence no parts avilable
So you can have a newer Prius v for $22k - $15k = $7000. Your other option is buying used replacement parts for $3k to $4k. Does that include installation fees? I wasn’t clear on that I’m afraid. If not how much for installation? Other parts will eventually wear down so this is a complex decision....
installation is $300 for all , indeed its a complex one , i couldn't decide myself , car still drives better then local available cars, thats why i decided to keep it for family .
$300 for installation is REALLY CHEAP! As long as good workmanship that’s the way I’d go. Here it is cheaper to keep an older car than to buy a newer car, plus labor rate is much higher than there from your estimate....
yes , i have seen friends buying used car for a very good price Dallas Fort Worth area , we on the other hand are paying too much for even a used one e.g a used prius 2017 with 50 to 70 thousand on odometer is available for $27000 here , which is too much for an old car so mostly consumers would stick to older vehicles .