Many of us have either sold a Prius or another car. This gives an excellent opportunity to calculate the actual "cost per mile" for the recently sold vehicle. In my case, I still own and use a 2003 Prius so other than missing the sale price, I can estimate a worst case, high number. For a sense of ranges, this is what the Dept. of Energy reported in the Prius fleet study: $0.41/mile - 2002 Prius, VIN: *79 $0.55/mile - 2002 Prius, VIN: *36 $0.60/mile - 2002 Prius, VIN; *05 I've included two sample tables of what is needed. Understand, this is unique to each region including regional fuel costs: Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5 Column 6 0 2001 Echo $ value frequency total 1 Purchase $14 250 1 $14 250 2 Sale ($3 000) 1 ($3 000) 3 Insurance / year $450 9 $4 050 4 miles 30 000 5 MPG 34 6 gallons 882 7 fuel cost $2.00 882 $1 764 8 tags and taxes $100 9 $900 9 annual maint. $200 9 $1 800 10 repairs $500 1 $500 11 tires $0 0 $0 12 13 total cost $20 264 14 cost per mile $20 264 30 000 $0.68 Wilson's 2001 Echo experience. This Echo included automatic transmission, air conditioner, keyless entry system, and the SouthEast Toyota markups and add-ons. We never bought another car from this dealer. And of course: Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5 Column 6 0 2003 Prius $ value frequency total 1 Purchase $17 300 1 $17 300 2 Sale $0 1 $0 3 Insurance / year $450 5 $2 250 4 miles 75 000 5 MPG 52 6 gallons 1442 7 fuel cost $2.50 882 $2 205 8 tags and taxes $100 5 $500 9 annual maint. $200 5 $1 000 10 repairs $500 1 $500 11 tires $225 2 $450 12 13 total cost $24 205 14 cost per mile $24 205 75 000 $0.32 Wilson's Prius experience. We'll run the poll for 30 days to give folks a chance to work out the numbers. Details are always welcome. I would prefer Prius cost per mile. I've attached a spreadsheet to help to do the numbers. Bob Wilson
ouch! seems excessive, but definately worth it. there's more to these puppies besides low ownership costs!
I did a similar (albeit much more rudimentary) cost comparison on my iPhone (as a calculator) and the back of a piece of paper while sitting in the dealership the day I traded in my Kia Soul for the Prius. But aside from the horrendous combined MPG of the Soul versus the Prius and the gas savings over the span of the next 36,000 miles, there was one intangible that swayed heavily in favor of the Prius... Never owning another Kia in my life ever again: Priceless