2005 Driftwood Pearl (Brown) Prius Good: Hybrid Battery replaced and warrantied by Green Bean till August 17, 2023. Engine runs fine. Smart Keys Bad: Rust on undercarriage, failed inspection Blower Motor removed (replace for heat/AC) Loose heat shield over muffler 12 V battery dead My faithful Prius failed inspection because of structural rust on the undercarriage, just a month after I replaced the hybrid battery. I'm looking to sell it, and hope it can go to better use than the junkyard. I got an offer around $500 to junk it, so I'm looking for offers to match or beat that. I'll take any advice too, if anyone has a better idea of how to sell it. Location is in Nashua NH. Thanks for reading!
Sell the cat if its original. That will net you more than the junkyard offer. I would part the whole thing out if I were you.
You can’t remediate it yourself? Like take a grinder to that area, get off all the larger issues, spray ospho to convert the rust, prime it, fill everything in with bondo and prime/paint. Or is it actually dangerous? Even an amateur should be able to get that almost passable unless it’s really dangerous and can’t be patched.
My faithful Prius failed inspection because of structural rust Structural rust issues are not something that can typically be repaired by an average DIYer. The issues shown in the photos are cosmetic rust on the body panels. If his structural rust is anything like I've seen on some Ohio cars/trucks, the only "repair" is to "replace" for suspension and frame components. If not replaceable, then you're looking at tremendous labor to cut out and replace.
I understand what he said but the side panels aren’t that bad compared to other vehicles I’ve seen where the frame is actually compromised. Of course compared to mine, it’s bad but the frame is obviously thicker and probably isn’t as bad as the side panels where there are holes.
And you are dealing with a state inspector or a 3rd party that doesn’t want to put their name on something. Sometimes it’s not actually as bad as they make it out to be. You should have seen my old 4Runner.
The failure was not just because of the rocker panels, but because of a small hole under the driver's seat, and one of the main frame supports that runs the length of the car from the front to the back. The passenger's side one was almost totally gone. The mechanic showed me it while it was on the lift. I actually took it to some rust specialists and they quoted about $1900 to fix/rebuild. More than I was willing to spend. Interesting operation though, they cut out all rust and replace with new metal pieces welded on, often pulled from other cars. I ended up selling the car today to CarsForCash.com, and got $1200. Maybe I could've gotten more via private sale, but my wife wanted it gone now, so she's thrilled.
but my wife wanted it gone now, so she's thrilled. This is the most important statement of the entire thread!!
