My son’s 2002 Prius was stored in my garage while he was overseas & of course, from lack of use, the 5+yr old starter battery had to be replaced as it would not hold a charge. After replacement of the starter battery by the local dealership, it seemed fine, but the entire panel of warning lights soon came on & I returned to the dealer who determined that the main hybrid battery had to be replaced. Long story short, the quote from the dealer to replace the main battery was $4.5k AND if after replacing the main battery, they were to find the inverter bad as well, it would be more than $10k. The dealer advised I trade-in the car for a new one. Other than the battery, the car was in excellent condition and it made no sense to trade-in for a new car that would see little use other than perhaps a once a week run to the grocery or post office a few miles away to keep the starting battery charged. I ended up taking the car back home to find a better solution.
We discovered Greentec online – a few conversations with Silvia, their very knowledgeable service advisor, we decided to proceed with a mobile tech who would install a rebuilt battery and bring along an inverter, just in case. The nearest tech was dispatched from NJ – a 4.5hr drive in bitterly cold weather – to my home. He arrived on the scheduled date, confirmed the diagnosis, installed the battery, tested the system & determined the inverter was fine. The total job was $1950 including a 1.5yr warranty. The tech was professional and obviously experienced & efficient – he took time to answer questions & provided guidance about caring for the car while it wasn’t in use (keeping the starter battery on a “maintainer charger”- $20 from the local TractorSupply shop) – and since the car was due for inspection — I needed to drive the car at least 60miles to reset the computer for the inspection test.
From start to finish – the experience was excellent. The car is running beautifully.
