Didn't I just say that? That I would NOT buy a used HEV at 12 years old.

I did buy a NEW Prius in 2009, and I did buy a NEW RX450h+ in 2024, both with warranties at the time.

That is completely different than buying used ones at 12 years old with no warranty.

In addition, I will point out the replacement cost for an HEV battery is significantly smaller than for a PHEV, and def for a BEV, and even for an HEV I would not chance it.

 

Then why don't you get rid of yours now that its 12 years old? Who wants to drive a ticking time bomb?

Yeah it cost WAY more. The only reason to me to buy a 12 year old car is its really cheap, and if it only cost you a little upfront you drive it till it breaks and then you sell it for what you can get and get something that isn't broken.

It is now, but it won't be forever and it wasn't when you bought your Prius. Replacement battery prices will come way down for full EVs as they become more needed.

When I was a part of the Prius community back in 2004/2005, this was a HUGE thing. Everybody said "but the battery, but the battery" and now we have Priuses running around with 500k miles on them on the original batteries and battery replacement is $1,000 for one. It was $8,000 back in the day.

 

It might never realistically need replacement, given some somewhat old studies of pretty old by now Model S's - the most degraded one had, afaik, >80% battery capacity left, and it was a car driven exclusively on highway with 0-100% supercharging. Battery chemistry is improving, BMS's are improving, charging is improving, basically everything (other than interiors mostly lol, even the crazy exteriors are getting toned down) is improving, there's increasing pressure on manufacturers to make things saner and more repairable, etc.

Priuschat has plenty of info on how to measure/recondition/refurb/etc. a prius ni-mh pack. Make sure you've thoroughly scrubbed all the info there. Take your time, do it once and do it right - even if it means getting a new pack, as Toyota's 6-cell blocks have noticeably improved over time, and you generally get the fresh newest gen blocks with a new OEM pack. Anyways, $2k sounds about right. Make up your own mind on the other options, as there are tons of variables in that decision.

 

If EVs take over like some predict, the used car market will massively change in many ways.

 

I really don't think it will...

 

Then why don't you get rid of yours now that its 12 years old? Who wants to drive a ticking time bomb?

That is actually what we are considering, but for sentimental reasons I am considering eating the $1-2k to replace the battery when it's gone. One owner, one car and all that.

And of course, your argument is besides the point since the topic is buying a used car, NOT keeping one you had since new (and have developed sympathies for) with warranties.

It is now, but it won't be forever and it wasn't when you bought your Prius. Replacement battery prices will come way down for full EVs as they become more needed.

The fact that a BEV battery is 70x larger than the small battery of the HEV will never change, and given that replacement costs for Prius batteries are still in the thousand to several thousand dollar range even after decades AND after millions of Prius sold, I really really doubt prices for the much larger batteries will drop that to parity.

 

EVs are much easier to maintain and repair you end up doing suspension and axle repairs that's about it no more emissions failures. On a Tesla you don't have to worry about blown fuses on the low voltage system because there aren't any.

 

Not in my lifetime for PHEV/BEV, unless everyone suddenly turns over their ICE cars and buy new EV ones.

It might happen if HEVs are counted though, as some manufacturers are switching some models to all-HEV. If they all do this, then it is possible within a decade or two.

 

Study: Only one of today's EVs offers what buyers say they want

Most EVs are either too expensive or too limited on range, but one Hyundai gets it just right

https://www.autoblog.com/article/stu...say-they-want/

 

$1-2k to fix your car if the battery goes bad is nothing. You can spend $1-2k on any old car very easily. Your car is paid for, its depreciated, its costing you very little now to own and operate it. If you are happy with it and don't want something else then getting rid of it to avoid potentially spending $1-2k makes no sense.

No, its not. Buying a 12 year old Prius today costs very little money. You can get one today with 150k miles or so for $8,000. So, lets say you did have to spend $2,000 for a new battery, now you're into it for $10,000 and its a reliable car that gets 50 MPG. A new Prius is $35-40,000. So from a financial perspective buying an old Prius makes a TON of sense.

Replacement battery is $1,000-$2,000 for a Prius, you said it yourself. Its no different than a transmission replacement or an engine replacement or an overhaul on any old car.

Prices may not reach parity, but they will be dramatically cheaper than they are now. You talk as if battery replacement is a foregone conclusion and it is not on any level. Most people who have Priuses have never replaced the battery, most people who have EVs will never replace the battery.

Thats like saying every ICE car will need an engine or a transmission. Well, if you drive it long enough that may be true but we're talking several hundred thousand miles here.

 

I did have a right side body controller die on me in my wife's 3 just before the basic warranty ended. Tesla covered the tow and repair, but we were 2 months out from the warranty ending so I'm glad it was kind enough to fail while it was covered

 

Sorry, what?

Pretty sure that wipers / mirrors / cabin equipment / etc runs off of whatever low voltage is on a particular Tesla, and those things generally have separate fuses just in case - plus a couple more central ones.

 

You keep beating a dead horse over and over. No, I wouldn't buy a 12 year old car, but I did say that I would consider buying a used EV for one of my kids if battery packs/plus the price of the car were cheap enough. I'm not one of my kids. Please go back and read what I wrote

 

Even if out of warranty it would not have been an expensive repair body module on a Tesla is $50 on Ebay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334345917345
another
https://www.ebay.com/itm/115894640224
Some modules are more but not expensive in fact Tesla modules are relatively cheap, that only means one thing no demand.

Plus I would much much rather replace modules than mess around with emissions controls that is a very complex and highly failure prone part of a car. I don't think most people appreciate how nice it is never having to worry about emissions/fuel/exhaust.
Almost all low voltage fuses are replaced with solid state circuit breakers. They can even be reset remotely and the car knows exactly when they were tripped.

 

For one, I don't know of anyone who has bought a used vehicle over just a couple years old, let alone 12. Vehicles here tend to rust out before that time. The only person I know who has an older vehicle than that, is my 85 y/o mother. She has a 2010 Cadillac she bought new with 20k miles. The people who do buy 12 year old ICE vehicles, will still be able to do that in the future. It will just cost them a ton more to drive, due to fuel costs which will continue to rise.

So, my answer should be obvious. Just in case you can't figure it out, my answer is NO.