Nice Looking 2011 Prius Needs Expensive Repair, What to do?

Grim news.

Out of the blue this morning, my beloved 2011 Prius acted up today on the way home from the golf course. Loss of power and rattling when I hit the gas, barely crawled into a parking lot and called a tow truck. Now the Toyota dealer is saying "looks like a head gasket issue" and is estimating "six to eight grand" (final diagnosis and estimate in the morning when the shop foreman looks at it).

Dang. Car looks great. Ran like a top since I bought it four years ago for $5,700 with 104,000 miles -- now 124,000 (got a super deal because the seller was an attorney buying a Tesla who was eager to get rid of the Prius). I changed the engine oil regularly, changed transmission oil, both coolants and brake fluid. It has brand new tires. Super clean inside and the body is in great shape since it's Florida car. If the dealer's diagnosis and estimate are correct, I'm not paying six to eight grand to fix it.

How can I get the most money for it? I hear the term "part it out" but I've never done that and have no idea where to start. Post an ad on Facebook Marketplace?

 

Solid advice. Just got an offer of $2,000 from a local place after getting a $1,665 offer online.

I'd like to keep the car so will explore the engine swap angle. I have a small business Toyota specialist I've worked with before.

Thanks!

 

Thanks, Mendel. I was on top of the EGR cleaning.

As for golf, I made it through 16 holes with no flubbed shots! Fell apart over the last three holes due to age (71) + Florida sun and heat. But I was pretty close to a clean round.

 

Quick update: dealership just called. Estimate is $7,470 + tax.

Codes are:
PO301 Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected
P219A Bank 1 Air-Fuel Ratio Imbalance
P0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0302 Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected

In plain English, they said "head gasket issue ... oil is mixing with coolant."

 

Great info, thank you, and this rings true. The service tech actually walked me to a salesman's desk. Spent an enjoyable hour exploring a used black 2021 Corolla and a white 2025 Prius LE with six miles. The dealer matched the $2,500 I told them I was offered by a salvage yard (slight fib, actual offer was $2,000). The Corolla was ... okay. I fell in love with the Prius. It felt very good and it's been many moons, as in decades, since I treated myself to a brand new car.

Another option, not entirely unappealing, is to buy my neighbor's 2005 Cadillac Seville for $2,000, basically a swap if I salvage the Prius. The Caddy is like rolling along in an Amtrak train, very quiet and stately and a nice ride for South Florida. I only drive a car around 1,500 miles a year because most of my transportation is on a motorbike. At $2k the Caddy is probably a safe bet for awhile and not a huge loss if it fails eventually. Northstar engines have a bad reputation.

I'm less optimistic now about the engine swap in the Prius because the last thing I want is to invest a couple grand in a failure. I'll go ahead and talk to the small biz Toyota specialist on Monday. Weather here has been perfect for weeks and I have a Suzuki Burgman 650 maxi-scooter for transportation, so it's not exactly a terrible dilemma.

 

The dealer gave me an electronic estimate. I deleted it as I’m a little OCD about a clean inbox — it’s a to-do list for me. The tech walked me back to the sales guy without charging me the $185 diagnostic fee he cited upfront. I figured he was letting it slide to grease the wheels for me to buy a car. If he contacts me, I’ll pay and ask for another copy of the estimate, then post it here. I remember three major jobs, $5,800 for the head gaskets/rebuild, then $700 and $800 jobs on top of that.

 

Part of a clean mailbox is emptying the trash, so it’s not there. Not sure why I “should have a good understanding” of what they’re proposing to do since there is a 00.00% chance I will accept their proposal.