3 years of ownership

My Prius turned three a few days ago and just hit 75k miles. I thought I would post a quick update on the history.

Major services (miles are estimates, because I don't feel like going through all of my records):
8k miles - first ding
12k miles - right fog light lens cracked and still haven't replaced it
30k miles - new left brake light (the dealership claimed it was a faulty LED) - $35
36k miles - new tires - $300 (wear & tear maintenance)
55k miles - steering shaft recall - FREE
60k miles - alignment - $100? (wear & tear maintenance)
62k miles - brake light switch fails (covered 100% by extended warranty) - FREE
68k miles - left brake light starts acting up again (loose wire?)
75k miles - wife backs in to trashcan, breaking left taillight assembly
75k miles - new left brake light assembly - $285 (wear & tear maintenance)

So over 75k miles, I have spent $35 in repairs $685 in wear and tear maintenance and an estimated $480 in oil changes for a grand total of $1200.

For simplicity sake, let's say that I have a LMPG of 46.875 (which is fairly close). The average price for regular gas on the East Coast (Lower Atlantic) was $2.63 (source).

(75000 miles)/(46.875 MPG) = 1600 gallons of gas
(1600 gallons of gas)*($2.63) = $4208

Total cost = $1200 + $4208 = $5408

Cost of operation = ($5408)/(75,000 miles) = $0.0721 per mile

Coast savings compared to previous vehicle (Jeep Cherokee - estimated 15 MPG):
Assuming I would have driven the same 75k miles (and insurance and registration, etc. expenses are the same for both vehicles)...
(75000 miles)/(15 MPG) = 5000 gallons of gas
(5000 gallons) - (1600 gallons) = 3400 gallons of gas saved
(3400 gallons of saved gas)*($2.63) = $8942

The savings in fuel cover the total operation cost!

Summary:
The Prius has saved me 3400 gallons of gas and costs $0.0721 per mile. Purchasing the car was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I am proud to be a Prius owner.

 

I didn't want to get too involved with the numbers since these were back of the envelope calculations. I did not include the cost of insurance for the Prius. That adds about $2400 over the three years.

$5408 + $2400 = $7808
$7808 / 75000 = 0.1041 per mile

That's a better approximation of cost of operation, again, excluding depreciation. (I understand that depreciation plays a big role in cost/mile. We all know that the Prius holds its value better than most vehicles, so it's just not fair to other vehicles to include that. )