I’ve had this car for the last 10 years, and I’m up to about 86,000 miles. I recently had to have the catalytic converter replaced, because it was completely blocked. The dealership wanted to charge me $4,300, but an independent mechanic got me up and running for less than $1,200 with non-OEM parts. Before the catalytic converter blockage, I had tried to clean out the engine with CRC intake cleaner as I’ve seen done online. I’m concerned that that cleaning may have led to the catalytic converter blockage, or at least exacerbated it.
Before that, I had to have my crank position sensor replaced.
I know I have the 2.0L 4 cylinder engine, which is generally considered better than the 1.6 that is more liable to failure, but everything I keep reading online keeps me constantly concerned that this vehicle is going to fail in a catastrophic way sometime soon. After the recent repairs, it’s running pretty well, and my gas mileage is going back up to levels that I expect from this car. However, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t get out of this vehicle while it still has some value, and maybe buy something that’s widely considered more reliable.
I’m especially concerned because of carbon buildup potentially accruing in this notorious GDI engine.
Thoughts?
In theory, CarMax might give me up to $6,000. I don’t want a new car payment, but everything I can get around that amount is much higher mileage and much older, though. I did see a 2013 Honda Fit with 50,000 miles for around $11,500, and I’ve heard good things about those.
I’m holding out hope for a good used Honda or Toyota to come along.
I’d really like a Prius. We have a CRV hybrid, and I dearly love getting above 40 miles/gallon. The only concern is the longevity of those hybrid batteries, though a lot of people say they last far longer than expected.
It is kind of wild to think of going from a 2015 to a car two years older yet having that be more expensive, but I would expect the Honda to be more reliable for a lot longer.
The CarMax price should pretty much be the minimum you would accept. A dealership might offer you less on a trade-in initially but you should be able to get the CarMax price from them. Most other used car dealers will offer more than CarMax, sometimes based solely on a written CarMax offer, and of course you can get even more selling it yourself but it might take longer.
I don’t know specifically about the Prius, but I’ve read so far electric car batteries seem to be out-performing their initially forecast decline. Since you have at least two vehicles, depending on your electricity costs if you can charge at home you might want to see if you can find an inexpensive used electric car. When my wife’s Soul needed a new engine Kia paid for a rental and we wound up in a Chevy Bolt EUV. I actually really liked it and at 10¢/kWh it wound up costing 2¢/mile city or 3¢/mile highway, compared to 14¢/mile city or 11¢/mile highway in the Soul. Of course, gas was $3.39/gallon back then, so it wouldn’t be as stark today, but still cheaper. We don’t even have level 2 charging, but leaving it plugged into a regular wall outlet when home was enough for our—admittedly minimal—daily use. I wouldn’t want to take it on a road trip, but for around town it’s an incredibly economical option with lower operating and maintenance costs. If you can’t charge at home, though, the benefits are a lot less.