Prius Owner Summary (new document)

[john1701a]

My 5-year anniversary with this Prius is just 2 days away! There's lots of real-world data available, but getting at it for quick referal & sharing wasn't as convenient as I would like. So, as a departure from my usual approach, I created a document that's specifically about my own experiences. But to boldly go means trying new stuff...

. .

You can download a copy from this webpage.

Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Did I miss anything vital that people tend to ask about?

.

[efusco]

Nice summary sheet John. Today is my 5 year anniversary with my Prius (I'm about 20k miles short of your total). I didn't keep track of total costs or fuel prices as carefully as you did so I wouldn't have all the data for such a complete summary page.

I think I've used ~1476 gallons of gas and average 55.6MPG over the lifetime. The last 3 years much better than the first 2, and the last 2 winters much better than the prev. 3 thanks to EBH use.

[john1701a]

One of the underlying reasons for creating a document was to help prevent errors that come from those that don't look closely enough at the data. And wouldn't you know it, I did that very thing! My bad.

I included gas-price information all the way back to my 2001 Prius. Oops! That total looked terribly high. Now I know why.

Anywho, it has been corrected.

.

[efusco]

I was wondering about those sub-$1 gas prices!! I think the least I've paid was about $1.60/gallon.

[usbseawolf2000]

John,

If possible, can you add insurance and current resale value in there? This way, we can calculate the cost per mile.

Without including the insurance cost and the current value of your car deducted, it cost you 32.6 cents per mile.

[john1701a]

Originally Posted by usbseawolf2000

If possible, can you add insurance and current resale value in there? This way, we can calculate the cost per mile.

Hey! Where were you a few weeks ago when I pointed out that very requirement for per-mile calculations?

That is a very good idea, but I'm not using my own personal data for that. Unlike direct costs for the vehicle, which are fairly generic for everyone, insurance is something that varies dramatically from person to person. Instead, is there a industry standard we can refer to?

Also, the per-mile value should be amortized in some way... since a few costs will not grow... like my tires, which will still be good for at least another 60,000 miles.

.

[usbseawolf2000]

If we go by Edmund's average insurance cost for 55071 zip code, the cost is $6,355 for 5 years (My zip code would cost $9,570).

KBB.com appraised a fully loaded 2004 Prius with 106k miles in good condition for $13,775 for 55071 zip.

If I may add those to your data:

Fuel gallons
$5,336.12
Oil & Filter replacements
$439.07
Comprehensive services
$521.82
Intermediate services
$454.91
Tire replacements (full sets)
$984.41
Tire services
$319.83
Misc routine
$287.06
Misc unexpected
$402.83
Insurance (Minnesota)
$6,355
Purchase Price
$25,989
KBB Private Sale Good Condition Value
-$13,775
-------------------------------------------
Total Expenses
$27,315.05

Cost per Mile: $27,315 / 106,443 miles = $0.26. Hey, that is also Prius' aerodynamic drag in Cd. Cool, very low.

[thedutchtouch]

to take the calculations another step further you could subtract off the tires and oil change expenses as a percentage of thier use. IE you said your tires are good for another 60k miles. assuming that the tire lifespan is 60k miles, simply subtract the current number of miles driven on the tires from this total. then divide 60k by your "miles yet unused" value to get a % of tire use left. then you can multiply the cost of the tires by this percentage, and subtract it from the total.

too confusing? here's an example in number form:
purchase price of tires= 984.41/2 or 492.20 dollars.

tire wear= X miles (i'll assign a random number of 10k because i don't know your mileage)

so your tires are at 50k/60k or 83.34%.

83.34% of 492.205= 410.20 dollars.

subtract that from usbseawolf's total and yo uget
26 904.85

divided by your mileage 106443

you get .253 cents per mile

[john1701a]

Today is my 5-year anniversary! So, I've revealed the document with updates to the web (prior was only here). Thanks for the suggestions.

Looking back, it's somewhat surreal that my Prius ownership began 8 years ago and I'm now (patiently?) awaiting the purchase of my next...

.

[Swanny]

John, you are the Prius master! I found your site before I found this one a few years back when I first drove a Prius (04 I believe it was). Congrats on 5 years.