Buying a new car or not
I have a second gen 2009 Prius with 180,000kms on it. The car is still very reliable, I just replaced 12v battery, and spark plugs 4 years ago. Front and back struts have been replaced, brake pads, brake shoes(?) are recently replaced. Also rear suspension springs have been replaced. Front wheel bearings were replaced 3 years ago. No visible rust on exterior however there is rust at the bottom of my car.
I spent $2500 last year and $2000 this year for those repairs/replacements. I have all season/winter tires sets on the rims.
The thing is, probably the hybrid battery will die in a couple of years, which will cost $4000-$5000 to fix it with OEM model, labor included.
I already put lots of money into this car. Should I just bite a bullet and replace the hybrid battery in the future or sell my car and buy a new car like Tesla model Y or Rav4?
If I replace the hybrid battery, my car should be able to work another 10-15 years with $1000-$2000 maintenance fee expected a year as lots of works are already done on my car.
I’m 28 yo, my car insurance is only $113 a month in Toronto downtown which will likely to be increased with a new car. Another point is I barely drive. Like I drive 5000KMs a year. Maybe less than that. I walk to my workplace so I only use my car for groceries. Like I drive once every 10-14days lol.
No other debt, currently saving at least $2000 a month. 200k in a stock market, tfsa, rrsp and fhsa are maxed out.
Financially, I think I should dump another $4000-$5000 into this car for the hybrid battery but at the same time, this car is already 17 years old. The hybrid battery alone would be like 70% of my car’s value now. Should I sell the prius and buy a new car? I just wanna hear other people’s opinions.
Additionally, I am only considering the Toyota’s OEM hybrid battery as third party battery could be not reliable; I heard lots of bad stories.