Getting an 2008 Base today!!!!!!!!!

Calculate the dollar savings per month in fuel you will experience and share that with your friends while you enjoy one of the most technologically advanced cars on the road. If you really wanted to get their attention you could calculate the dollars saved in fuel per month, then per year, then the return of that savings invested at a minimal return over 10 years and 20 years. Enjoy!

 

Personally the SKS system which is not available on a base, is a must have for me. I am never buying another car where I must take a key out of my pocket unless it is a collectors. But it seems like you have already bought it, so congrats.

A 2008 with 47K miles is about dead-on average use which is great. I would change out the ATF and swap the oil to 0w20 synthetic now before it is too late.

I don't think you need studded snows. I have Michelin X-ICE2 on mine and I go up and down the Rocky Moutains in the snow. Studded will destroy your mileage, whereas a good snow tire will only hurt it alot!

If you are a techie you might be interested in seeing all the car gauges hidden on the CAN bus. Since you will have a smartphone in the car already, torque + a cheap ebay reader would be nice. I have built my own that I enjoy playing with. I always brake better with it on because I can brake to where I get the full 120A regen and no more to save brake pads whereas otherwise you have to guess and/or listen/feel for the friction grab, then back off a bit. Of course this is not needed, it is just a geeky factor that helps in maximizing fuel efficiency when you are in that mood. More than half the time I drive it like I stole it and still get high 40's mpg.

As for 4, I think any improvements in life expectancy will be taken away if you form an addiction to the site. There is so much to learn you can read forever. And once you start reading, you will start knowing and then you are caught in a loop of responding, researching, and reading. The Prius is so complex in some ways, yet simple in others. And I fully believe in understanding what you use and not just blindly accepting it, so I am stuck in the loop.

Welcome to the club.

And as for your put downs, there are many comebacks.

FBI director drives one because he wants to stop financing terrorists. That usually shuts up most people. Or you can talk about the lots of advantages the hybrid system has that has nothing to do with fuel economy. I have 106K miles on my car and I have 8mm of original brake pads left on the fronts. Never been replaced, probably will never need to. The car is quiet and peaceful. The electric motors provide more torque at low speeds than most other cars on the road. The non-existance of a conventional transmission means there is no shifting which means no jerking when going up hills or overtaking people on the freeway. The lists go on and on.

 

I live in the U.P. of Michigan and drive in snow quite a bit. Stock tires are ok. Just slow down and you'll be just fine. Try them out, if you don't feel safe get a winter set.

My mileage goes from a high in the summer of about 50-55 to 40-45 in the winter.

 

I saw a bumper sticker "My Prius has more Torque than your truck". lol

 

Congrats on the new ride.

Im also a younger guy who takes flack all day and all night about my Prius from my friends, of which Ive converted one already and they will be Prius-shopping for themselves around tax return time

FWIW, I also sold my SUV with a 15mpg average for my Prius. Welcome to the dark side, we have cookies! lol

Be sure to post some pics of the new electrifying ride

 

best year and color! my daughter has mine now. all the best!

 

Good news or bad news first?

Good news is: Congrats on the thin mint Prius!! Another thing you forgot on your list; owning a minty colored Prius means you'll always have minty fresh breath

Bad news: programming a FOB to the Prius isnt as easy as you are probably accustomed to in other vehicles. Search the site. I used to love the days with my GM vehicles when you'd press and hold 'lock' inside the vehicle, the car would honk twice and you'd enter a programming mode and could super easily program a new key FOB. Not so in the Prius.

 

push hard for the second fob, some have spent hundreds on a new one and you don't want to lose the one you have, that gets really expensive!

 

Congratulations!! It's a new day in your driving life. It will take some adjusting but you will get use to $25 fill-ups... with change back most times. It will take some time but the $50-80 fill-ups will slowly fade like the bad memory they are. It is amazing how much fun it is driving 50 mph while seeing 55-65 and higher mpg. And how gratifying it is to see the readout go to 99.9 mpg when you let up on the accelerator going doing a hill or when slowing. And that when you depress the brake peddle the energy that was used by the ICE and the battery to get up to speed is now being recaptured back into the battery while slowing, while you are seeing 99.9 mpg. Knowing you are driving one of the most technologically advanced cars in the world, and that it is working hard to save you money, all the while creating a level of pollution about half that of the average compact. It's a good day to drive a Prius.

 

Congratulations!! It's a new day of driving experience. The days of $50-80 fill-ups will eventually become a bad memory. Enjoy the $25 with change fill-ups while driving one of the most technologically advanced cars in the world.

 

By "share that with your friends" that's "let them know how much you're saving", not treat them to dinner.

If it's comfortable for you, a Prius is a great vehicle for high-mileage drivers. If you don't have much cash flow, start setting any overall savings aside for any costly repairs or replacements that could come your way. Not meaning to scare you, since it's a reliable car, but bad luck (and it would be bad luck) with high tech can be costly.

Tips:
- Check the 12V battery
- Make sure it has had all recall work done
- If the Prius throws a code or warning light, don't delay taking it for investigation since there are a few potentially very expensive repairs.

Enjoy.

 

Well, yes that was what I meant. But the other option is a good way to silence the critics while educating them on the savings too. Dinner brought to you by my Prius.

 

Petch, where do you live? We are expecting the same weather here in Michigan too.

Right after I bought my Prius in September, per the advice of this site (and thanks to the PriusChat store - be sure to check it out!) I installed an engine block heater in my ICE. It helps bring the ICE up to temp quicker, helping with mpg's in cold weather and helps get heat in the cabin a lotttttttt quicker! I set it on a timer to come on at 530am and turn off at 8am.

Oh and I viewed your question about the spare change two different ways The spare change I save by owning my Prius I use to make the Prius car payment. So far Ive saved $1200 in gas over my last vehicle (Envoy -15mpg) and Ive only made $810 in car payments

But... if you were talking about actual spare change, coinage, I kept it in the tray that floats on top in the center console but it got to be a PITA when I was digging for it real quick in the drive thru or whatever so I now put it in the covered cup holder. I seem to have a lot more of "coin" change too since I bought the Prius

 

Check this out:
Toyota Japan Genuine Prius NHW20 Interior Console Tray 2004 2008 JDM | eBay

This is the one my car came with and the one I was talking about:
2005 2009 Toyota Prius Center Console Insert Tray | eBay

Also, its recommended not to let the Prius warm up. It stores hot coolant in a thermos and pumps it back into the coolant loop when you start the engine up so you dont have to warm it up. Warming up the ICE will waste gas and kill your MPG's, big time.