Should I sell?

bisco · May 7, 2022

gboss said: ↑

So here is the situation - I picked up my Prius (2013 level 5 trim) ~8 months ago to travel the country, which I have done across several trips. The Sprinter vanlife didn't appeal to me or my budget and doing 17mpg around the country in a Tacoma also wasn't that appealing so I bought a used Prius in my price range. The only trip left that I want to do is from CA to Alaska, which I may end up doing next month depending on my work schedule. The car is at 85k miles, immaculate inside and out, and there are no mechanical issues whatsoever (got super lucky buying used). Battery life is ok too according to Dr. Prius. The only cosmetic issue is a small crack in the bumper where the previous driver must have gone over a curb, but it is very minor and looks/drives brand new other than that.

As a previous car/motorcycle guy, I still have some issues with the Prius's lack of driving personality / macho image....but I have really fallen for this darn thing through my travels. I also really like the look of the gen 3 and am inspired by a few of the off-road overland builds that I see on the forum. Owning this car has been the difference between me going on epic long-distance trips and not doing them at all. I have already received tremendous life value out of owning it so far. I feel like I have unlocked another universe traveling/sleeping with the unbridled autonomy that comes with Prius overlanding. Highway driving experience is great in the L5 trim, I have an inverter wired into the 12V battery with an extension cord to run computers and cooking equipment outside, and in the rare event that I need climate control while camping...its there! This horse is an incredible travel camper and I couldn't be happier.

My issue is that more than half of this forum advises against buying gen 3 due to the risk of head gasket failure around the 150k mile mark and I probably need to do the EGR circuit soon. I live in an apartment complex that doesn't allow us to work on cars in the garage (i.e. no space for wrench time and super annoying building management) so I will probably have to farm this job out ($$) unless I can do it in a day in a parking lot somewhere. Maybe it will be okay if I keep granny'ing it in Eco mode? Maybe not? The KBB value is also excellent right now.

Do I keep this thing, roll the dice with EGR, and mod it to my needs....or sell it while the value is high and buy a newer model? I'm torn.
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Should I sell?

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Should I sell?

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