Who to choose for Refurbished HV battery

I agree that $2700 is a big expense but it is the virtual equivalent cost of replacing a transmission on a non hybrid. Of course the DIYer could get away with the $2400 expense. Unfortunately, most of the cost is the battery and not the labor.

 

That's true, $2700 is the price of a transmission. However there still is a transaxle on the Prius that can fail, on top of the battery. If a replacement battery is warranted, the car should be around 10 years old.

 

True, but inverter failures are rare and cheap to replace. Plus, that new battery has considerable value in the secondary market if the Prius goes kaput. The transmission repair is a sunk cost, and is a rebuild. Do people expect more than 50k miles out of the repair ? One way or another, a new, unused traction battery replacement works out to ~ 40 USD a month for a DIY'r to resuscitate a 10 year Prius with a bad battery.

That is cheap.

 

I guess I could keep 1 car, my 2006 running for a very long time by replacing failed parts. But it really gets uglier by the day, the paint, scratches, interior........but it's true, keeping it running is pretty cheap compared to the depreciation of a new car.

 

owning a 10 year old car that needs major repair is a conundrum for someone with little to no cash, or diy skills. doesn't really matter what make or model. i'm sure you'll find these kind of posts in all car forums.

 

My son's 18 year old Subaru Outback (worth about $1500 in a private sale) costs almost $1000 in small repairs each year to keep it on the road. Any major failure (Engine, Transmission or Transfer case) would likely mean it's demise.

My 2004 Prius (276000 miles) is worth about $3250 in a private sale (Kelly BB) and a failure of my rebuilt HV battery which I could fix (DIY, using modules from a salvaged Gen3 HV battery) for about $1000 - $1500 would not mean its demise. The 300k maintenance due (Coolants ($200), ICE Coolant pump ($250), ATF refresh ($100), Brakes ($600), Combination Display repair ($200), MDF repair ($350), PCV ($150), and Tires ($575) do add up to a somewhat larger amount and does give me pause (still about a year and a half away).

The decision to give up on an old car that has given reliable service is a matter of the car's value after repair and the cost of repair. I would not pop for a new HV battery at $3400 for my Prius as that would exceed the car's value.

JeffD

 

if you had no diy skills and $500. to your name, what would you do if your '04, 5, 6 needed a battery?

 

take the bus

 

thanks man, all the best.

 

Then it is time to sell your Prius to a DIYer and use the funds to get inexpensive transportation.

JeffD

 

i hear you man.

 

couldn't agree more.

 

have you contacted your state consumer protection office?

 

I doubt that the consumer protection folks in Alabama care about what happens over the internet and at long distance on a rebuilt battery.
It would be worth a try, but my plan is to make certain that anyone who searches for a rebuilt battery knows to NEVER deal with Prius Rebuilders / Falcon Hybrid Soultions since they have horrible customer service and poor quality control and never even call back.
If they had responded with any decent answer when I called about the failure of the first battery then I would have paid for the core and exchange freight as part of that warranty, but with no response after a month I took matters into my own hands when I saw a Craigslist ad for some guys who would R&R the battery and replace a few bad cells for $400.
This got me going again at least for a while.
The following Monday Abe Sokol emailed me to tell me that they were planning to think about building two GEN I batteries (after a month of delay). Of course at that time the battery I had was probably better than the scrap they would ship for a warranty replacement.
Most of the "warranty period" was spent waiting for them to do what they said that they would do. I reread their "warranty" and it stated that the the "warranty" starts at the time of sale which was a month or more before they deliver their CRAP.
Never deal with Prius Rebuilders / Falcon Hybrid Solutions !
I am posting every day on several forums to made it as easy as possible for unsuspecting potential customers to find out what they would be dealing with when they do business with Prius Rebuilders / Falcon Hybrid Solutions.
I also post on their customer feed back links to make sure that I get the best coverage possible.
Perhaps when their business falls off enough they will have time to build good rebuilt batteries, but I doubt it seriously.
I calculated the percentage of usefulness of their battery when they stated in their ads that for 50% of new price you would bet a rebuilt battery.
My 2002 new battery lasted 13 years and 185,000 miles and their rebuilt batter lasted about 1.5 months and no more than 1500 miles.
This is less than 1% of the usefulness of the original battery! Very poor economy for 50% "savings".
As has been stated here buy new if you like your car and don't use Prius Rebuilders / Falcon Hybrid Solutions!

 

You'll probably give up on this soon, and you're probably helping them by doing this. getting their name out there

 

Yeah,
I view the daily copy/paste of RedBarron as an attempt to force Falcon to give him money by being a PITA. It does not say anything one way or another about the company. I imagine the only real result of the daily rant is to make it a sure thing that Falcon cuts off all contact. RB is in self-fulfilling prophecy territory now.

 

I looked up the profile of RB, he's 67?? Very persistent for such a young guy

 

he's frustrated, aggravated and p!$$ed off. i can relate.

 

Yep. But he is not helping his cause or hurting Falcon.

 

that's what happens to me as well, when i let my emotions carry the day. there is some satisfaction derived, and you justify it by telling yourself that you already exhausted every other possibility. which is sometimes true.

it's like taking your old chevy down to the dealership, and setting it on fire on their front lawn.