Current price of Prius main battery

Why not? More radical Islamic terrorist have died during his Presidency than any President in history. LOL

mike hunt

The value of a car will depend on a lot of things. A brand-new Prius with a dead battery will be worth quite a bit. A three-year old Prius with a dead battery will still be worth something significant.

For a ten year old Prius with a dead battery, it will depend on the condition of the rest of the car. If it's in nice shape, and if batteries are still $2300 then, I imagine someone will pay $1K or so for it. If batteries drop, it will be worth more.

I'm glad you're enjoying it. We don't put enough miles on any one car (we have 5) for a Prius to make sense. I bike or walk many of the trips that would make the most sense in a hybrid(*).

The thing that impressed me most was that Toyota went ahead and built something fairly different looking. It's not quite like looking at something in "Amazing Stories" but it does have a certain air of "this is the car of the future."

I suppose you could almost say the same thing about the Insight but the Prius is much better looking.

(*) Although, if the Honda FIT hybrid comes in around what I've seen projected, I'll consider it. I've seen that the regular FIT may be about $12K and the hybrid may be as little as $2K extra.

Yes, it's distinctive. "Hunchbacked", I sometimes think. Parts of it are quite a 3-D maze. Building it must be like assembling those interlocking wooden puzzles we had as kids. I may not have to service it personally, thank Gawd: that engine compartment is _crowded_. (Though that seems true of a lot of modern cars.)

As-is, the only awkwardness is the rear storage space: a lot of space with the rear seats folded flat; not so much if you need to screen luggage with the tonneau cover. Plenty for one person, or two when taking medium bags. A family, I dunno. Once technology advances have shrunk large-capacity batteries, that should ease.

Because at a lower price it fits neatly in your budget. Geeze, do I have to do all your thinking for you?? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wouldn't give $500 for any 10 year old used vehicle - and the good old trade-in manual of almost any dealer won't even show some decades old wreck in the pages if it's too old. Why buy someone else's problem that will surely become some mechanic's joy.

However, if gas climbs - or worse, becomes rationed - and kills the dinosaur guzzler's sales, the Prius will still command a better price than any guzzler around. You couldn't give a guzzler away for free should rationing come into play again.

B~

I can't imagine wanting something that somebody else no longer wanted. Can we assume the woman you marry will have been married before as well? ;)

mike hunt

Yep. I neglected to mention the effect of gas prices. We've seen that before. Remember when even Pintos had value?

If there is a payback with gas as low as $1.80, albeit a long one, why would you think there would be no payback with gas at $5.00?

Did you read the article you snipped? And think?

The comparison between the cost of owning a hybrid or its conventionally powered twin included gas at $5 in the US. If you want to save the world buy a hybrid, however if you want to save some real money buy the twin. ;)

mike hunt

My comments on the value of a hybrid to the average owner are on no way personal, they are what has been presented by numerous sources including CR. Those reports say it cost more to own a hybrid, one can not even recover their initial investment in five years, let alone save money. In ten years, because of the need for a new battery pack at some point when the vehicle will have little value, makes a hybrid an even worse investment. If you have a problem with those published facts you are complaining to the wrong source. Write to the sources of the information, WBMA In any event personal opinions on the subject will not change anything

mike hunt

Awww. In addition to being a moron, you're a misogynist, too. What a delightful combination!

Look back to your own posts. You buy wonderful vehicles (Fords, gah!). You keep them for a couple of years and then unload them.

Are you suggesting two-year-old cars should not be wanted? Disposable?

People get rid of cars for lots of reasons. Some people just like driving new cars. For some people, their neds change and the car no longer suits. One should be somewhat cautious purchasing a used car but that's no reason to declare them all "unwanted" and therefor "unfit for purchase."

I sold my Toyota and Lexus' every two years as well they certainly were unwanted by me. Why would anybody sell something the still wanted? All of my cars, import or domestics have always been like new when I sell them. I love used car buyers. If not for them being wiling to buy the cars I know longer want it would costs me a lot more to buy my cars. No if I can only find people that want to all the clothing and my wife no longer wants I could save on all the stuff my wife likes to buy as well. LOL

mike hunt

Yes I do and I've written complaining to the authors but they know more than I do. I can't save the world and I most certainly can't save you. Bye for now on this subject. mark_

I believe in California (and perhaps other US states), Toyota is required to warrant the Prius battery for 10 years or 150,000 miles. Since no Priuses are yet that old, and I doubt any have reached that mileage, any required battery replacement has been free (so far).

One theory says that by the time 10 years pass, battery prices will be much lower.

Merritt

Is the hybrid Battery considered a "wear item". If so, Toyota will not pay for a new battery if it goes bad even if the car is still under warrantee.

Wear items include: Tires, Brakes, Clutches, wipers, struts, oil&filters, batteries (for the starter starter) and the like.

East-

(Life is too short to drive a car just to be frugal is some way. A sports car is the way to go.)

In California, the warranty is long because the battery is considered part of the emission controls. Toyota had to go with a lengthier warranty to appease the CARB. So if it craps, it's free within the 8 or 10 year window (cannot recall as warranty paper isn't nearby).

As such, the battery is not an issue for me as I expect to have another new car within 7-8 years anyway.

B~

cars I "know" longer want?

Gary Eickmeier

In the UK the Toyota waranty is eight (8) years for components of the hybrid system, of which the main battery of course is a major part. I cannot give you a part-by-part listing of what is in the hybrid system but would expect stuff like the electronic control module, electric generator and e.motor also to be included.

As to estimating lifetimes, there are established techniques for predicting the durability of populations of things, based on the failure rates of a few samples. In any population, some things will fail early. As new products are manufactured and live out a working life then fail, lifetimes eventually are found to cluster around a median point, the "typical" lifetime. Well before then, the few early failures can be used to predict the median -- this prediction gets refined as more failures happen. The early cases can be covered by warranty. Based on how test batteries (and, by now, in-use-in-the-nasty-old-real-world ones) have lasted, Toyota feel able to offer an eight (8) year warranty in relaxed markets like the UK. The special case of California also appears to be one Toyota want to cope with. That this helps buyer confidence (except in witless attention-seeking gorms with secret agendas) is also good.

One hopes so. Prices of materials will continue to rise, as will the energy needed to process them into batteries, but hopefully the design will simplify and need less of both. Meanwhile, the costs of competing processes will, of course, also be climbing.