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Actual Cost Per Mile?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by olcorral, Apr 27, 2006.

  1. olcorral

    olcorral New Member

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    I heard on the radio something that sparked my interest: What does it cost per mile to operate a Prius compared to a non-hybrid car?
    I know some of you gurus out there know the breakdown of the costs involved and I'd like to know how WE are doing here.
    Also, I've heard a lot of rap on the hybrids lately esp. on CNN on the cars with great gas milage... Corvette??? Huh?
    Thanks to you all.
     
  2. eagle33199

    eagle33199 Platinum Member

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    i believe the depriciation for the car is something like 5 cents per mile... add to that the fuel costs (varies depending on the milage and cost of gas) and i think you'll be pretty close...
     
  3. Charles Suitt

    Charles Suitt Senior Member

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    <_< My actual fuel costs (18 months - ~17,800 miles) = 5.7¢/mile for fuel. Depreciation is anybody's W.A.G. as is Insurance - too many imponderable factors. So far, I've spent ~$130.00 oil changes, tire rotation, and one state inspection thus (without depreciation, licenses and insurance), I'm running 5.773¢/mile. First oil change, tire rotation was free. In all fairness, the last tank fuel ran 6.08¢/mile - due to the rapidly escalating fuel prices the overall average will go up barring an unforseen drop in fuel prices - [Don't hold your breath !]

    :D So, try that with your SUV or Hummer :D
     
  4. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    well if "gas" only is involved and at $3.659 a gallon and 5½ cents per kilowatt then its about 5.1 cents per mile difference.... that is 7 cpm on the Pri...1.9 cpm on the Zenn
     
  5. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    My total ownership costs for 2001 Prius, 109k miles, were about 25 cents per mile. US passnger car average is about 55, per AAA and EPA. Edmunds has a calculator for this, but the depreciation it uses is higher than reported for Prius elsewhere on their site. Also their maintenance costs look high to me, but few other owners have reported those costs so we still lack a good statistical sample. On the other hand, I think Edmunds just makes their numbers up. Yes, I really do.
     
  6. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    How did you find this thread? It's been more than two years since anyone responded!

    Maybe you just wanted to talk about the same thing and decided to recycle? I'll go with that!

    I've only been tracking fuel costs per mile. Lifetime (just 9 months today) for 10,700 miles, I've spent 6.4 cents per mile on fuel. When I add in the two oil change/tire rotation events and other costs in, the costs per mile (excluding insurance and depreciation) goes to 7.6 cents per mile. When I add in my other costs, including insurance, depreciation and licensing costs, then I see my costs per mile for the 2007 Prius jump up to 26.0 cents per mile. Compared to 50.5 cents per mile (IRS standard for 2008), this is pretty good!

    Automotive.com has posted its view of the costs of ownership of a 2007 Prius across 5 years. It posts that total cost at about $23,000 and calls this "Excellent" -- at about $11,000 less than similar cars. Follow this link.
     
  7. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    My total operating costs including gas, oil, four tires, scheduled maintenance, and insurance (that is everything except the original sales price and TTL) over four years and 28000 miles amount to about $6000. Include the purchase costs and it's up to nearly $29,000, pretty nearly $1 per mile or $20 per day.

    Cars are not cheap, even considering only their direct costs to the owner and ignoring their external costs to society.
     
  8. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Try reading the stickys

    http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-main-forum/26050-prius-myths-their-rebuttals.html

    The search tool is a wonderful thing :p
     
  9. PRIUS007

    PRIUS007 James Bond -007

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    Actually... I have an '08 Corvette Z06 that comes from the factory with 505HP.

    Normal around town driving I can get 20MPG with it if you stay off the pedal. On average, I get 18MPG around town though.

    On the highway, I was getting a solid 31+ MPG driving between 60-70MPH.

    While it's not close to the 52MPG I'm averaging with the Prius, it's not really that bad considering it's a 'performance' car, while some of the other 'performance' cars out there are averaging 8 - 10 MPG.

    Aside from this, I actually watched a show on the Speed channel the other night in which they compared Hybrid to non-Hybrid models.

    There is of course a cost per mile difference, and while not huge, it's the overall difference in the long run so to speak that I think is making the real difference with Hybrids.

    And while they state in some cases that it will take you xx years to realize the cost savings with a Hybrid, to me it's a daily savings not only in fuel, but for our futures and children's futures.
     
  10. skguh

    skguh Member

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    Prius Touring 2008 Composite Stats Since 12 October 2007

    avg gas/gal
    3.10

    total fuel
    (gallons)
    297.11

    Total
    Cost
    $920.56

    total mileage
    14337.80

    mi/gal lifetime
    46.93

    MFD lifetime
    48.40

    Total Cost/mile
    $0.06

    VS
    F-150 FX4x4
    2005

    $0.22/mile


    TOTAL Cost of Ownership: F150=$0.52/mile; Prius=$0.22 To Date (Includes insurance, payment, maintenance, After-market add ons, etc. Thus TOTAL Cost)

    Bottom Line: Costs Half as much to own/drive in just 6 months.... One third the cost purely at the pump--and fillup half as often...
     
  11. Devil's Advocate

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    Cost per mile, including:
    monthly car payment
     
  12. Devil's Advocate

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    Sorry bought that;

    Cost per mile, including the following costs:
    monthly car payment
    insurance
    maintenance
    oil
    tires
    Fuel

    Averaging 29 cents per mile. (was dropping but being offset by higher fuel costs)

    Once the car is paid for the cost to operate should drop. I anticipate over a ten year lifespan, and approximately 250,000 mile lifespan then average cost to operate will drop to about 19 cents per mile.
     
  13. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    I would say this is more likely your total costs per mile, not your operating costs. Drop the purchase price out, replace it with depreciation since your purchase, and that should come a bit closer. Still, $1.00 per mile is much lower than about any vehicle out there.
     
  14. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    I don't even play an accountant on TV, but I would suggest that these costs are a bit incomplete. I would continue to include the interest payments on your car payment, but I would subtract the principal amount and replace it with the depreciation on your car.

    I think this gets closer to a real operating cost scenario. I don't think you'll be able to hold to $.26/mile.