'New' 2005 Gen II Prius Base owner starts modding and maintainin'

I just bought a used 2005 Prius base model, Silver on gray interior. Found her for $9k on Craigslist and VERY clean inside and out. My girl has ~102k miles on her. Had her inspected by a Toyota dealer before buying, clean. Asked for the service history and found out that her hybrid battery was swapped for new at 92k SWEET! Getting the water pump swapped out this week for free due to service advisory on my model.

Mods: Window Vent visors, TRD racing badge added to tail :thumb:, Clazzio Black leather seat covers(going to match covering of center console and door rests too, Real dark burlwood trim kit (will pare down from a 41 pc. kit, don't like overdone/gaudy look), 7" 800x480 rearview mirror LCD overlay with backup/reverse camera and 2nd video input/SD/USB/FM Transmitter. Needed new tires, so found four new 2011 15" rims & tires(Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max - 195/65/15) on ebay for $400!, Weathertech gray floor mat set (matches grey interior very well!), iPhone charger/FM transmitter for Pandora/audiobooks, etc.

Maintenance: Getting Water pump swapped for free as mentioned above(assume they change coolant too?), air and cabin filters, PCV valve, serpentine belt, oil changed, spark plugs with OEM iridium to get another 100k out of them Thinking about buying a Scangauge, but not sure yet.

Motivation: Have a gas guzzling BMW X5 SUV. On a yearlong project over 60 miles each way commute. Get mileage reimbursed for work at federal rate, ran the numbers and made huge sense. Trade in values being quoted for my SUV were way too low and I need an all wheel drive option in Northern NJ. Also like the style and comfort of the Beemer, so I get to keep her too. Best of both worlds!

I've been averaging ~52-54 MPG on my commute over a couple of days on older tires (185's) Wondering if I will get that when the new wheels come in and I get PSI to 40+ in them...hmmm

I enjoy reading and learning from you all!

 

UPDATE: Backup camera installed for $100 Love it! BTW, used the wireless transmitter/receiver from Audiovox to reduce install costs. The cam is license plate and CMOS, but the quality is more than sufficient for it's purpose. I ran the #'s on my first fill and came up wayyy short of the MFD estimates. It came out to ~42 MPG I upped the PSI to 42 front, 40 rear on 51PSI max tires. Latest readout on MFD trip miles now align to ODO. I guess the older tires changed the diameter slightly, now puffed a bit from higher PSI. Getting 47MPG avg. during my second tank. Loving my new baby and being so much greener )