RCR: 2010 Toyota Prius

[kevm14]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ19Mdca7DY

Bob, isn't this the gen you have? In fact, don't you have a 2010?

[bill25]

Bob's car got in the show cuz he is giving that guy 2 bucks a month! LOL

[Bob]

Mine is a 2012, which has some notable improvements over the 2010, included the facelifted front fascia, upgraded rimz and tail lights and the standard LCD in the dash. I'm averaging 50.8 MPG over my ownership of the vehicle, which is among the best for any car without a plug.

[kevm14]

That's fine but I'll reiterate my old argument about MPG for enthusiast purposes vs MPG for genuine cost savings.

The difference between a car that gets 50.8 MPG average and a car that gets 25.4 MPG average, that drives 15,000 miles a year, and uses gas that costs $2.30/gal is....less than $700/yr in savings.

Simply driving an older used car will blow that savings out of the water, leaving plenty of room for worse fuel economy.

Not that you can't make a case for the Prius when you factor in resale value (and, again, the psychological enjoyment of fuel economy).

[Bob]

I probably would have kept driving my 2002 Si a bit longer if I didn't need to get a 4 door car with an automatic for family reasons. Although, I was also playing the resale game with that car and trying to avoid going over 140k before I sold it. I was able to drive it for 4 years and only lose $1000 in resale. I did spend a little bit in repairs/upgrades (new struts, O2, spark plugs, tires, etc), but nothing unusual for a 100k mile car. I also did a good job of cleaning it up and sold it to an enthusiast. I bought it from a lady who lived on a horse farm and no idea what it was, so it was understandably dirty, but also not priced as an enthusiast would have priced it.

So far the Prius has cost me $0 to maintain (thanks to included ToyotaCare program) and has had exactly zero issues (not that I would expect any on any new non-European car). I also expect the resale to be good, although it is suffering a bit due to low fuel prices. My long term plan is to give the Prius to my wife and buy something better to replace the Rondo. This will give me all the benefits of the low-TCO, worry free ownership without having to drive a Prius

[Adam]

The difference between a car that gets 50.8 MPG average and a car that gets 25.4 MPG average, that drives 15,000 miles a year, and uses gas that costs $2.30/gal is....less than $700/yr in savings.

Simply driving an older used car will blow that savings out of the water, leaving plenty of room for worse fuel economy.

Yes. According to Fuelly, for the Fleetwood I spent just over $3100 in 2013, just under $3200 in fuel in 2014 and am on track to spend just over $2000 for 2015 (depending on how gas prices hold up).

If I aimed to double my fuel economy to ~32mpg, I could conceivably buy a late 90's/early 00's Civic or something and have that pay for itself in a couple years. However, I would have to drive a base Civic for that time. Stepping up to an Si or something like that could lower the fuel economy a hair (compared to the base car), but take substantially longer to pay for itself, like 5-8 years or more. At that point I would start to save money in fuel, but then I would be driving a different 20-25 year old car with 200k on it. I already have that, but this one has 330 lb-ft of torque.

If I bought a newer car for fuel economy savings, say something in the $25k range that got 40mpg, it would take nearly 20 years (if fuel cost what it did last year) to save any money. Not to mention the increased cost of insurance and interest on the loan.

Now this thread is thoroughly off topic.

[Adam]

Maths:
40 mpg / 18 mpg = 222% increase in fuel economy.

This means I only use 45% of the fuel (1/2.22).

55% reduction in fuel budget (or 45% of the current fuel budget) = $3200 * 0.45 = $1440.

How long till my fuel savings pays for the car = $25000 / $1440 = 17.4 years.

Someone check my maths.

[kevm14]

I dunno about your maths, but I do know my new commute is yielding better fuel economy than my old commute. Last tank was 18. Though that may have included a commute to EB...