🔧 BUILD #imwithher. Frank’s ‘07 Prius adventures.

[GTPpower]

I went from buying lawn mowers to this kinda shit now. GTPpower likes this.

View attachment 185500

Hell yeah! Best combine Deere ever made right there.

Careful on combines. The market is collapsing on them and will probably continue to get worse for at least the next year.

 

[Outlaw]

Hell yeah! Best combine Deere ever made right there.

Careful on combines. The market is collapsing on them and will probably continue to get worse for at least the next year.

It’s already sold lol. Bought it in August, sold it right at the start of harvest.

 

[GTPpower]

Haha well you timed that one right.

 

[Outlaw]

Well the good luck had to run out sooner or later.

About a month ago I let the Prius sit for 10 days or so, which caused the 12v battery to finally die out. It threw a bunch of codes at the time, but replacing the battery solved the issue for about a month.

Fast forward to a few days ago. Car threw a mess of lights again and it has a bad hybrid cell. Now, technically, I can purchase a used cell and replace it, but there’s a handful of others that aren’t too long for this world as it is.

So my only real option is to buy a new pack. They can be had OE from Toyota for around $2,000-$2,300. To me that just makes a lot more sense than $1,600 for a “refurbished” pack from the aftermarket.

BUT, the ABS pump is making abnormal noises as well, which is a sign of failure. Those are right around $1,200 to replace and not a fun job from what I’ve read.

So I’m at a bit of a crossroads. The shocks I installed have about 60k on them and are starting to make some noise again. There’s some rust bubbles on the rockers starting to perforate, and I may end up doubling my investment in repairs in the near future on a 17 year old 230,000 mile car. I like it, it does exactly what is asked of it and then some, and with those things addressed it will probably go another 80-100k miles with relative ease. So idk.

 

[Outlaw]

As far as I see it there’s three options.

1) Fix the car barely enough to sell, which still may run in the hundreds of dollar and a job a bit above my skill set repairing the existing pack.

2) Sell the car as-is, probably take about a $1,500 loss over what I paid for it and got tons of use out of it.

3) Repair the issues correctly (roughly $3,700) and drive the car for another 80-100k and hope for no more major issues (engine essentially).

If I were to sell it I’d probably be back in the same boat of what the hell can I buy that’s not a complete pile and checks all the boxes this does for $5,000ish. Not much.

 

[The Beast]

As far as I see it there’s three options.

1) Fix the car barely enough to sell, which still may run in the hundreds of dollar and a job a bit above my skill set repairing the existing pack.

2) Sell the car as-is, probably take about a $1,500 loss over what I paid for it and got tons of use out of it.

3) Repair the issues correctly (roughly $3,700) and drive the car for another 80-100k and hope for no more major issues (engine essentially).

If I were to sell it I’d probably be back in the same boat of what the hell can I buy that’s not a complete pile and checks all the boxes this does for $5,000ish. Not much.

That’s a lot of crossing your fingers on fixing a old car and hoping nothing major breaks for the next 80-100k. I say you dump that heap you got your use out of it

 

[Outlaw]

That’s a lot of crossing your fingers on fixing a old car and hoping nothing major breaks for the next 80-100k. I say you dump that heap you got your use out of it

I can say with relative confidence I would get that mileage out of it. Keep in mind that would only be about 2-2.5 years of driving and they’re pretty easy miles.

 

[bnr32]

If you're interested in selling it as is, last two I bought in similar condition were around 600-700. Personally, if I wouldn't use any other battery than an OEM one, the Dorman and reconditioned cells just don't work well., and by the time you replace two cells, then put it all together for 2 more cells to go out you will go crazy and just buy a new battery. For the price of the Dorman you get nowhere the life out of it as OEM. The ABS pump is a miserable job. lol I have an 05, 07, 09, 11 and a 12 v. I love these cars lol

 

[Yaj Yak]

As far as I see it there’s three options.

1) Fix the car barely enough to sell, which still may run in the hundreds of dollar and a job a bit above my skill set repairing the existing pack.

2) Sell the car as-is, probably take about a $1,500 loss over what I paid for it and got tons of use out of it.

3) Repair the issues correctly (roughly $3,700) and drive the car for another 80-100k and hope for no more major issues (engine essentially).

If I were to sell it I’d probably be back in the same boat of what the hell can I buy that’s not a complete pile and checks all the boxes this does for $5,000ish. Not much.

i have a buddy who has maaaaybe 1/5th the mechanical talent you do and about 6-7 years ago he replaced some cells of his pack himself and didn't die.

take that for whatever

 

[cdh027]

Didnt read the whole thing, but how many miles do you have on this and what year is it?

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Fix the old workhorse.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

#priuslivesmatter

 

[PANDA]

Fix it.

I did some expensive repairs to my cars this past year. (I think I spent $5,000) BMW got new/used manifolds w/cats, MAF sensor, Idle control valve, brake lines, Tahoe got fuel pump with lines and new tires. Sucks putting that much money into old cars but they still do what I need them to do and repairs are still a fraction of replacement. Fuck buying a new vehicle with these inflated prices especially if it could put you back into unknowns. I've wanted to replace my truck for a while, it's rusting bad, but still drives great. A few years ago I put a new GM trans in it at 295K at a cost of $4,000 at the dealer. What keeps me from selling it is I've owned it for probably 15 years and I know its complete history. At 320K It's worth more to me than someone else. Anything I would buy would likely not have a warranty so it would be more unknowns. I know I won't need any major repairs on my 2004, im gonna keep driving that fucker until I go in for an oil change and someone tells me my frame rail is rusted through or something.

 

[FESTER665]

Fix it IMO as well.

 

[Outlaw]

i have a buddy who has maaaaybe 1/5th the mechanical talent you do and about 6-7 years ago he replaced some cells of his pack himself and didn't die.

take that for whatever

It’s not that I couldn’t do it per say, if I watch a YouTube video or two, write down the tools and then get at it I can usually make pretty quick work of things.

It’s time for me lately that’s an issue. 3/4 of my daily drivers are currently down lol.

 

[Outlaw]

Didnt read the whole thing, but how many miles do you have on this and what year is it?

It’s an ‘07 with 225-230k. Which for these cars really isn’t too much, but about when things start going wrong at times.

 

[The Beast]

It’s an ‘07 with 225-230k. Which for these cars really isn’t too much, but about when things start going wrong at times.

Just curious what’s a good running 07 Prius with 230k worth nowadays?l

 

[Outlaw]

Just curious what’s a good running 07 Prius with 230k worth nowadays?l

If it’s clean and well cared for roughly $4,500 with the OEM cat. If I do both of these bigger jobs probably $6,000.

 

[Outlaw]

If you're interested in selling it as is, last two I bought in similar condition were around 600-700. Personally, if I wouldn't use any other battery than an OEM one, the Dorman and reconditioned cells just don't work well., and by the time you replace two cells, then put it all together for 2 more cells to go out you will go crazy and just buy a new battery. For the price of the Dorman you get nowhere the life out of it as OEM. The ABS pump is a miserable job. lol I have an 05, 07, 09, 11 and a 12 v. I love these cars lol

Where have you purchased your batteries from and what have you been paying? I’ve heard the ABS pump isn’t fun, but as of now it’s fine. I just know it’s something that will eventually need attention. It’s pretty much sounded the same for 50,000 miles but from what I understand you shouldn’t really hear it at all.

 

[Outlaw]

Fix it.

I did some expensive repairs to my cars this past year. (I think I spent $5,000) BMW got new/used manifolds w/cats, MAF sensor, Idle control valve, brake lines, Tahoe got fuel pump with lines and new tires. Sucks putting that much money into old cars but they still do what I need them to do and repairs are still a fraction of replacement. Fuck buying a new vehicle with these inflated prices especially if it could put you back into unknowns. I've wanted to replace my truck for a while, it's rusting bad, but still drives great. A few years I put a new GM trans in it at 295K at a cost of $4,000 at the dealer. What keeps me from selling it is I've owned it for probably 15 years and I know its complete history. At 320K It's worth more to me than someone else. Anything I would buy would likely not have a warrantty so it would be more unknowns. I know I won't need any major repairs on my 2004, im gonna keep driving that fucker until I go in for an oil change and someone tells me my frame rail is rusted through or something.

It’s definitely worth it to stick with a known quantity. I’m usually one to just sell stuff but there’s a handful of die hards that have earned their keep, this car being one of them.

The way I view it is I don’t mind losing money on something in the long run as long as I’m getting use out of my investment.

I paid $3,400 (IIRC) for this car over two years ago and have put 65,000 miles on it. Total repairs have probably been about $1,000 (four tires, struts all around, 12v battery and rear brakes). All of those things were done within the past 20,000 miles so shouldn’t be issues for the next 80-100 aside from tires. I feel like I’ve gotten my first round of investment out of it so I’m not opposed to another 3-4k for another round of life. The car is still in great shape cosmetically inside and out.

 

[Outlaw]

And as bnr32 will attest to, these issues are more age related than mileage, but the 05-09 Gen2’s are the best of these cars so you can’t totally avoid the age issue at this point. So selling this car to buy another one is just the same gamble. They kinda fall into an odd niche of “odometer doesn’t matter, what’s been done to it?”

I’ll probably just bite the bullet and go ahead with repairs.

 

[bnr32]

Where have you purchased your batteries from and what have you been paying? I’ve heard the ABS pump isn’t fun, but as of now it’s fine. I just know it’s something that will eventually need attention. It’s pretty much sounded the same for 50,000 miles but from what I understand you shouldn’t really hear it at all.

St Charles Toyota or Schaumburg Toyota. There is a core charge as well, so you'll have to strip some things off before you give it to Toyota. Also do a good cleaning and check the path of the fan, any issues with the HV battery fan will cause issues quick. The ABS pump should be fairly quiet, but a bad 12v can really throws things off on the car. Sitting is what kills these cars. Driving regularly basic Maintenace you'll get 200k easy out of the battery. the Gen 3s can live a little bit longer. Only other thing on the gen 2s is all the coolant pumps, those will be replaced more than anything else on the car. Getting 400-500k out of one isn't hard at all. Typically getting crashed into or rust kills them before anything mechanical.

 

[bnr32]

Just curious what’s a good running 07 Prius with 230k worth nowadays?l

a lot of that will really depend on battery health. Dr Prius app is a good tool to use if you don't have the factory toyota stuff. rough guess, any prius without the triangle of death is worth a min 3k, depending on interior and rust, and service records, HV battery, and over all how clean it is, up to 6k . Bought a clean rust free, serviced, 130k 09 one owner with extra set of winter wheels and tires for 6200 last spring.

 

[Outlaw]

St Charles Toyota or Schaumburg Toyota. There is a core charge as well, so you'll have to strip some things off before you give it to Toyota. Also do a good cleaning and check the path of the fan, any issues with the HV battery fan will cause issues quick. The ABS pump should be fairly quiet, but a bad 12v can really throws things off on the car. Sitting is what kills these cars. Driving regularly basic Maintenace you'll get 200k easy out of the battery. the Gen 3s can live a little bit longer. Only other thing on the gen 2s is all the coolant pumps, those will be replaced more than anything else on the car. Getting 400-500k out of one isn't hard at all. Typically getting crashed into or rust kills them before anything mechanical.

What did you pay for your last ones? The batteries minus core that is.

 

[bnr32]

What did you pay for your last ones? The batteries minus core that is.

1700+tax sounds right.