B14596E4-6F3B-41DE-85D7-C55DE06591C7 by OldManHatch posted Aug 7, 2021 at 3:47 PM So for months I have seen this just parked not being driven. One evening OTW home from work I saw my neighbor in his driveway and asked about it. He got his wife as it was her car. These are the specs she told me. 2005 232k miles Traction battery replaced 6 months ago 12v batter my dead and some issue with the MFD. She told me she was gonna give it to the junk man but he didn’t want to recycle the traction battery so she has just let it sit in her driveway. I asked her how much she wanted and she said how about $500 but I had to come check it out and drive it around. So that was three days ago. This morning I went to ‘check it out’ The 12v battery was indeed dead. Oil was low but it also had 11k miles since last oil change It had 203k miles on it And lastly the kicker, all the maintenance was done at the dealer from day 1. The traction battery was replaced in 2015, 6 years ago not 6 months ago. The 12v was less then 2 years ago The MFD looks like it had CRT burnout The latest repair record I found was from 2018 where the dealer did a evac and recharge. They put dye in the system and noted for the customer to return when the AC quit working. Well the ac isn’t working. The mileage in 2018 was 3k less then it is right now. So after my drive I told him I would take it. He said well since you have to replace the battery how about $300. I said OK. So it sits on my driveway. Needs a major detail on the inside. It’s just dirty but no rips or tears. Lots of stains though. Had the oil changed. Just went with conventional right now to limit my investment. Gonna put the 12v on a trickle charger overnight but I think it might be good. Thinking of putting two cans of r134 in it. And lastly looking at getting a replacement MFD. Oh lastly the tuner button on the stereo is stuck in. Edit - it has NAV and JBL. Cloth interior
42CEF0BE-580B-4C4C-A67B-50C1E30BD064 by OldManHatch posted Aug 7, 2021 at 3:47 PM 80B0A53D-3B03-41A1-9346-A1F365ECF179 by OldManHatch posted Aug 7, 2021 at 3:47 PM 0F01CED2-86A0-43BC-B1A4-8E85216BEB8E by OldManHatch posted Aug 7, 2021 at 3:47 PM D5CFF7C8-A426-41FA-AF98-414B865EA387 by OldManHatch posted Aug 7, 2021 at 3:47 PM
Nice find. Be careful with the AC. You'll wreck it with the current plan you mentioned. Here's a basic rundown of the repair manual: AC Charge | PriusChat
Thanks Guess I should of made the title ‘stole a Prius’ Here is where I am at today. Day 2 of owning. Charged the 12v overnight via trickle charger. Tested good!!! Put @8oz of Freon in. AC is cold Vacuumed the inside. Boy it was nasty. Had some unknown yuck in the rear pass door handle cubby. I am torn right now. I have about $400 tied up in the Prius. This includes purchase price, oil change, car wash, can of Freon. I drive @60 miles a day mostly interstate. My DD is a 2011 Sentra that gets @30mpg and had 140k miles. Daughter doesn’t like the look but she is 15 and doesn’t care as long as she has something to drive to and from school. Ideally the Prius would fit her need as it’s mostly 30-45 mph in town driving @6 miles one way. or I can sell it for at least $2500
Unless the AC repair you did is not permanent, I think my daughter could convince me to drive the Prius for my 60 mile commute and she can have the Sentra. I usually prefer to put more miles on the oldest vehicle so that it gets run down ASAP to keep the average age and mileage of the family fleet low. Great job on the 2005 find. I gave my 2005 go my dad 4 years ago and still dearly miss it. It was functioning just fine then and still is.
it's worth about a grande in precious metals, and they are being stolen in great numbers. your cat is only safe in a locked garage. aftermarket is only $250., so you make $750. and only another $250. if you have to replace. but only some states allow aftermarket.
I basically just put freon in but didn’t fix the leak. It will leak down. Don’t know at what rate but after 3 years there was still Freon in the system. I am ok with giving it some gas every summer. I convinced myself. My daughter is happy with the Sentra. I will have to have the tint removed as I put 20% on it and the rear window is too dark for her to safely backup as a new driver. I will start driving to on my commute next week. Will get a tag on it this week. Will give it a dry run this weekend as all I have done is putt it around town with 55 as my top speed briefly. Hate to have issues pop up. Guy is coming to clean the interior Friday morning. The MFD will be here Thursday. on another note: the DMV charges a extra $60 because it’s a hybrid.
@OldManHatch It really is in your best interest to install an aftermarket catalytic converter while you can reap the benefit of selling the OEM. I swapped one about 2 weeks ago and was able to get $1350 for the OEM and paid $130 for the aftermarket. Back in march/April timeframe, they were going for $1900+ a set. Rhodium was $29k per ounce back then but is down to around $18k now. I've installed this aftermarket cat in over a dozen cars and have had no problems. You and I live in SC, no worries like in California where they do a visual inspection to verify the OEM is installed. They have no option, we do. Once a thief cuts the cat out, you're looking a more expensive repair because they usually rip out the O2 sensor wiring. Then they sell it and get all the money instead of you! If you need any advice on this swap, let me know. I've also provided the recycler contact info to a few forum members who have done their own swaps. Like I mentioned, I've done a handful of these swaps and keep a couple of those aftermarket cats in the garage ready to go. It's one way I can help people minimize the cost of repairs.
I am in Lexington. Definitely want to do the Cat swap provided it doesn't cause any CEL or drivability issues. I will shoot you a message. On the MFD, I haven't pulled the one in the car yet so I am unsure if I got the correct unit or not besides I know that I got a NAV unit inbound. I work on Base during the week and only have the weekends basically to mess with stuff. The MFD swap is pretty easy and quick. The replacement isn't suppose to be here until Thursday if USPS is running on time I have to do the upper glove box spring fix as it poking out of the dash.
They're punishing us hybrid and electric owners in WA state too! Because we don't pay as much / or any gasoline tax which goes to road repair. Nice find! That old console display makes me nostalgic for my old 2003 Prius that I sold last year.
Here is a status update after a week. replaced the MFD - ended up breaking all three vents you have to remove. They were extremely brittle. Isn’t there a guy that buys MFDs?? had the interior professional cleaned. Looks so much better. Still has a slight urine smell in it. Not sure what it is. Drove it about 70 miles on the interstate which is slightly over my daily commute to work. No issues. My plan is to replace the Cats hopefully next weekend and replace the broken vents. After that when I have time I will deal with getting the roof repainted or wrapped.
Update - thanks to TMR-JWAP, I was able to swap out to a aftermarket cat assembly and basically make $1000. So when it is all said and done I have a free car and a extra $310 in my pocket. so where do I go from here??? paint roof for $300 Polish headlights (both) for $20 Maybe sell the car for $3500???
Well my Prius ownership has ended. Bought car - $300 Oil change - $40 Display - $170 Freon - $40 Property tax and registration $180 Paint roof $250 Fuel ?? $50 total investment @ $1000 did the cat sell/after market replacement made $1000 car is free Sold car for $3000 New owner is gonna drive it back and forth from South Carolina to Alabama. I did tell him that Prius were designed for city driving. But he it’s his car now.
