What it cost me to own my Prius

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be able to replace my 2005 Prius option package 9 with 35000 miles on it with a new 2007 Prius Touring option package C (everything but leather). Here’s a wrap-up of what it cost me to operated my 05, and what it cost me to upgrade to the 07.

Purchase price of the 05 including taxes and fees: $28,606.86
Colorado State rebate, 2005 - $3,434.00
Federal tax reduction from 2005 deduction - $360.00

Final cost of 2005 Prius $24,812.86

Trade in for 2005 Prius (35,000 miles) $19,745.00
Total cost of depriciation $5067.86

Total fuel cost, 35,000 miles $1782.03
Total Maintenance cost (6 oil changes @30.00) $180.00
Cost of operation depreciation, 35,000 miles $7,029.89
Cost of operation per mile including depreciation. 20.08 cents per mile

Note that I towed a 400 pound trailer with the car for between 4000 and 5000 miles total, and the trailer towing cut down on mileage from 15 to 20 percent.

Now to buying the new car. Because I traded in the old Prius, it’s hard to say exactly what the cost of the car was, but here are the numbers as I see them.

Cost of 07 Prius Touring Package 4 $28,244.00
Tax on transaction (paid only on difference between trade and new car) $690.54
Colorado State Tax credit -$3,100.00 (approx)
Federal Tax credit -1,575.00

Final out of pocket cost, 2007 Prius Touring $23,929.54
Minus Trade in: -$19,745.00
Out of Pocket cost to replace car after 35000 miles: $4,184.54

So looking at it that way it cost me 11.96 cents per mile, or about $181.94 dollars per month to own the Prius. Maybe I could have gotten a better deal on the car, and maybe I could have gotten a few more dollars by selling the car on the open market, (although then I would have had to pay an extra $1600 or so in sales tax on the new car), but I’m pretty happy being able to spend about $4000 and replace my out of warranty 05 with a brand new 07, (an upgraded model with more new features as well). Give me a few more days with the car and I'll let everyone know how an 07 Touring compares to an 05

 

Good points. I didn't include the cost of insurance. It should be about $1780 for two years, or about 5 cents a mile. No, I didn't buy any tires or wiper blades. The dealer that took the car in trade will have to though
Overall, that way I justified getting a new car after only 2 years (aside from the fact that I really wanted a touring edition) was that I was about to spend $990 on an extended warranty and $400 on new tires. I could have a brand new Touring for only $4000, or about 2600 more that I was about to spend on maintenance. It was a no-brainer.

BTW, I've only put 50 miles on the car , but my impressions so far would be that if you care at all about the road manners of the car you will want to spend the extra $270 to get the touring edition. Less wander on the road, a bit less body roll in corners, and much less "wallow" over bumps. It's still not a sports car but it definitely has better road manners.
Also, maybe it's just new vs old, but I swear it seems quieter. Did they add a little sound insulation over the 2005?