1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Lifetime mileage and cost per mile

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by daveleeprius, Dec 7, 2006.

  1. daveleeprius

    daveleeprius Heh heh heh you think so?

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2006
    429
    2
    0
    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Sorry if this is a dumb question, but since the Prius resets the milage reading every time more than 3 gallons of gas is added to the tank, how do people calculate the lifetime milage? I keep a record in the glove box, and every time I fill up, I write down the miles, the gallons, the total I spent, and the price per gallon. I also make a note of which gas station I bought the gas at, in case the gas is bad I'll remember which station. I also make a note in there for maintenance items. This way I can calculate not only the lifetime milage, but the cost per mile for owning the car. This calculation needs the amount spent on insurance as well.

    I owned a 1970 VW Type III Squareback as my first car, and after owning it 6 years sold it and found my cost per mile for ownership with everything included (including having the engine completely rebuilt at one point) it came to 18 cents per mile.

    I wonder how much the Prius will cost per mile after 10-15 years of ownership. I can't imagine it will be as low as 18 cents per mile!

    Dave
     
    #1 daveleeprius, Dec 7, 2006
  2. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2004
    12,760
    5,246
    57
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveLeePrius @ Dec 7 2006, 01:13 PM) [snapback]358966[/snapback]</div>
    Don't forget the 30 years of inflation in your number reporting. 18 cents in 1976 converts to what in 2006?

    As for tracking Lifetime MPG, on-paper is your only choice... even if computer was available. Just look at my data. You'll see that the margin-of-error is greater than what can be displayed. It gets rather pointless to display anyway, since after awhile the graph flattens once the true average is revealed.

    After 59,827 miles with my Classic Prius, the Lifetime average was 45.4 MPG.

    After 65,508 miles with my HSD Prius, the Lifetime average is 48.5 MPG.
     
    #2 john1701a, Dec 7, 2006
  3. Michgal007

    Michgal007 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2006
    1,321
    98
    0
    Location:
    Macon, GA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    The Prius doesn't reset the MPG when you fill up, it only resets the number of miles. So if you filled up 10 times, you will get the MPG which is the average for all 10 fillups, but 10 different # of miles you got for each tank. Atleast that is my understanding :)
     
    #3 Michgal007, Dec 7, 2006
  4. daveleeprius

    daveleeprius Heh heh heh you think so?

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2006
    429
    2
    0
    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ Dec 7 2006, 02:30 PM) [snapback]358975[/snapback]</div>
    Cool, yes you are right. Actually I bought my VW in 1992 and sold it in 1998, so 18 cents in 1998 is like 18 cents right now pretty much.

    Dave
     
    #4 daveleeprius, Dec 7, 2006
  5. Orf

    Orf New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2006
    414
    4
    0
    Location:
    Devonport, Tasmania
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    You can use the "B" trip meter to record the distance travelled and do not reset it, thus keeping a cumulative total.
    I have created a spreadsheet that runs under MS Excel that tracks all Prius expensed, fuel consumed, fuel ecomomy etc. which I will send you if you PM me with your email address. It will save you hanging onto all those pieces of paper.
     
    #5 Orf, Dec 7, 2006
  6. daveleeprius

    daveleeprius Heh heh heh you think so?

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2006
    429
    2
    0
    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Orf @ Dec 7 2006, 07:37 PM) [snapback]359094[/snapback]</div>
    I use a small spiral notebook to record all my transactions, it fits inside the glove box just fine. And I bought the car with 28 miles, so the cumulative calculation is pretty easy :)

    Dave
     
    #6 daveleeprius, Dec 7, 2006
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)