oil changes
tires
washes
etc.How much does it cost annually to own a prius?
Dignity? OMG! What a bunch of rednecks! I wonder how Leo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and the myriad of other celebs and millionaires who drive Priuses would say about this..
It's the cheapest car to own because it has very few mechanical parts. Most of it is drive-by-wire like the airplanes. Oil changes are done every 10,000 miles because the car barely uses its gas engine. And with 50 mpg average, you're gold!
';BTW, oil changes on a Prius are just like any vehicle, every 3-5,000 miles, depending on conditions, not every 10,000 miles. Changing your oil only every 10,000 will damage your vehicle and void your warranty.'; - from ';Professor'; Prius.. NONSENSE! It's every 10,000 miles, won't void your warranty, or damage your vehicle. I've already over 200,000 miles on mine and it's still perfect.How much does it cost annually to own a prius?
Oil change interval depends on what country you are in, and what Prius you have. NHW11 Prius in the US/Canada are every 7500 miles or 6 months. NHW20 Prius in US/Canada are every 5000 miles/6months. Due to different quality oils, Prius in Europe/elsewhere are 10,000 miles/1 year.
Report Abuse
I believe 90% after 100k from DOE is incorrect. The accelerated testing in Arizona sponsored by DOE states less than 40% after 160k. Many Prius parts are only available at the dealer (expensive) or junk yard (risky). Check price of an inverter. http://avt.inel.gov/pdf/hev/02_03toyotaprius_ar.pdf
Report Abuse
Hi,
Prius have less moving parts and less mechanical parts to repair, replace or maintain, than a standard vehicle so the total cost of ownership is lower than a standard vehicle. Anything else is a myth.
BTW, oil changes on a Prius are just like any vehicle, every 3-5,000 miles, depending on conditions, not every 10,000 miles. Changing your oil only every 10,000 will damage your vehicle and void your warranty.
A Prius will average about .09 cents per mile with all scheduled maintenance at a Toyota dealership and gas at $2.50 per gallon.
That means if you drive the annual average of 12-15,000 miles per year, a Prius will cost about $1080 to 1350 per year to fuel and maintain.
Any other costs, such as washes and such are totally subjective based on your conditions. Find out how much your local station charges to wash a car and multiply that times 26 (every two weeks).
Some details to explain to the above amounts.
A Prius will maintain a 51-53 mpg average, if driven properly. I maintain 51.7 as a year-long average in the Upper Midwest, and it snowed here on April 20. I have a lead foot compared to some of the people I know who get high 50's or low 60's without modifying their Prius, just by modifying their bad driving habits.
With gas at $2.50 a gallon, a Prius will run about $5,000 for gas over 100,000 miles, or about .05 cents per mile.
(100,000 miles / 50 mpg (my 51.7 mpg average is 60% city and 40% highway, auto temp w/air and stereo on) = 2000 gallons of gas X $2.50 a gallon = $5,000)
A vehicle getting 25 mpg as an average (not the highway miles alone) will actually cost you $10,000 in gas alone over 100k.
On to the maintenance of a Prius...
Hybrids use a lead acid battery like any other vehicle, along with the hybrid nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery. The NiMH does not break down like lead acid batteries, it's simply not the same type of material and is not used in the same way as a lead acid. They may not last forever, but they definitely outlast transmissions or even engines on certain manufacturers, with most running 150-200-250,000 miles with all original parts.
The entire hybrid battery, just like almost every bit of those vehicles, is completely recyclable.
As far as the energy and materials for the NiMH batteries go:
Our federal government has tested NiMH batteries from the Prius and discovered they still maintain 90% of their capacity after 100,000 miles. Look up the testing at the DOE website.
The cost of maintenance and operation of a Prius is less than .10 cents per mile for each 100,000 miles of operation, not adding in insurance, bank interest, or the cost of the vehicle itself.
As far as the lack of mechanical parts on a Prius:
- There is no steering belt or steering pump, the system is electronic and uses electric motors. There is no belt to wear and no pump to lose fluid out of. No additional parts to replace or maintain.
- There is no timing belt, there is a timing chain that is self-adjusting. No part to replace.
- There is no accelerator cable or cable linkage, once again, it is electronic. So there is no loss of acceleration over time from cable stretch and wear like on a standard vehicle. No additional parts to replace or maintain.
- The brake pads should never need to be replaced, they are hardly used due to the regenerative braking system. No parts to replace or maintain.
- You never touch the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery or the hybrid system, it is self-regulating. No parts to replace or maintain.
Over 100,000 miles, for regular service at a Toyota dealership, a Prius should run about $3322.00, rounded to $3400.00, or about .034 cents per mile. I have a complete breakdown of all maintenance costs in other Answers posts (space doesn't allow it here), just do a search for those details.
So a Prius will run about $8,400 ($3400 maintenance + $5,000 gas), or about .9 cents per mile, to operate over 100,000 miles.
Any vehicle you are considering should be put to this kind of scrutiny. A vehicle is a major investment and it will cost you money to run properly. Please print this info out and use it to compare any vehicles by calling your local dealership and asking the parts and service departments what is involved in maintenance over 100,000 miles.
So, there are some of the details, but the bottom line is the Prius does not cost more than a standard vehicle, no matter what it is.
There are simply less parts, less moving parts, and the components present just don't wear out like mechanical pieces do. There are a multitude of independent, extremely detailed reviews from very careful and diligent researchers that have proven a full hybrid like every one from Toyota/Lexus (and other full hybrids from other manufacturers) do not pollute more and actually are better than a standard new vehicle.
If you'd like even more details than this, do a search for more of my posts or email me more specific quest
There are already some very good answers from a technical point of view, so I'll just post my numbers for my 2004 Prius (I acquired it in Oct 2003).
For those that don't like to read numbers, the bottom line is that from the cheapest year to the most expensive year there was only about a $325 increase in fuel cost if you drove 15,000 miles each year. The total cost of fuel plus maintenance over 93,882 miles is 10.1 cents per mile (excluding insurance) with all the maintenance done by a dealer. If you DIY, you can reduce this amount considerably.
-----
How to read the numbers in the chart:
Gas: The actual amount I spent for gas during the year or part year.
Miles: Actual miles driven during the year or part year.
$/mile: How much it cost to drive one mile that year.
Cost of gas based on 15,000 miles: This normalizes the numbers so that each year can be compared.
-----
Lifestyle impact -- How much does fuel cost affect a Prius owner.
12 months prior to Oct 2004
Gas: $466.13 Miles: 13,333 $/mile: $0.0350
Cost of gas based on 15,000 miles: $524.41
12 months prior to Oct 2005
Gas: $686.77 Miles: 16,631 $/mile: $0.0413
Cost of gas based on 15,000 miles: $619.42
12 months prior to Oct 2006
Gas: $708.38 Miles: 14,716 $/mile: $0.0481
Cost of gas based on 15,000 miles: $722.05
12 months prior to Oct 2007
Gas: $825.08 Miles: 17,963 $/mile: $0.0459
Cost of gas based on 15,000 miles: $688.98
12 months prior to Oct 2008
Gas: $889.01 Miles: 15,855 $/mile: $0.0561
Cost of gas based on 15,000 miles: $841.07
As of May 8, 2009 fill
Gas: $558.30 Miles: 15,266 $/mile: $0.0366
Cost of gas based on 15,000 miles: $548.57
Not knowing you, how much you drive, or where you live, I cannot answer.
I never wash my car. It is garaged for much of the year, and it always seems to rain whenever I take it out, so I just let the natural rain take care of washing the car for me. Cost? Free.
Oil changes: I don't put a lot of miles on my car, so I go by every 6 months. If I have the dealership do the service (oil/filter change and a tire rotation), it's around $40, but if I do the tire rotation myself it is $25-$30 depending on dealer. I know some other owners that DIY, so cost of the oil/filter is maybe $12-$20 (assuming that you don't amortize the cost of your home garage's tools, and your own labor time). If you put a lot of miles on your car, you would probably go by the every 5000 mile intervals, which would probably be more often than my 2x a year. See the scheduled maintenance guide: http://smg.toyotapartsandservice.com/
(Of course, that scheduled maintenance may be less often if you are in another country than the USA - for example, the UK is every 1 year/10,000 miles.)
Tires - depends on how/where you drive, and what you have your tire pressures set to. If your tire pressures are too low, you'll have more tire scrubbing, wearing out your tires quickly. If you like to corner hard, or tend to turn your wheels while your car is barely or not moving, you also scrub your tires more. The Goodyear Integrity tires that come on the base 2004-2009 Prius (don't know what's on the upcoming 2010 Prius) tend to go for 30,000-40,000 miles (low treadwear rating on these OE tires), so unless you are a real high annual mileage driver you probably can get more than two years out of them. Figure on about $65/tire to replace, but more expensive if you want a higher treadwear/quality tire.
Wipers? depends on how often you use them, and how often you try using them on a dry window...
Insurance? Depends on your driving history, where you live, and unfortunately for many your credit report as well.
Taxes? License fees? depends on where you live.
Gas? Fuel economy depends on your driving style. Gas used will depend on your fuel economy, and how many miles you go... (If you're me and go less than 4000 miles in a year, I'll use 1/3 the amount of gasoline as the average American at 12,000 miles a year...) Cost of gasoline depends on where you live.
And are you amortizing the full cost of purchasing the Prius over years of use, or are you counting depreciation, or annual car payments, or... ?
Basically, what factors are you using in your annual cost calculations? We don't know enough about you to make an estimate.
It would totally depend on how much you drive it.
How can anyone tell you how much gas you will need?
not much,thier cheap
';It will cost you your dignity';
So true. I know that gas prices are really high, but honestly? Are you going to want to be seen driving a Prius, when you could rather drive something better, and more beautiful? I'm not a big fan of Japanese cars, but know that there are several Japanese cars that look a ton better and can handle gas very nicely as well. Personally, the only Japanese car brands I would say make nice cars would be Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Acura.
it cost your dignity to own that car.
sorry they are so ugly
No comments:
Post a Comment