Finally ditched the gas guzzler

[madmax]

Background:

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/another-car-advice-thread/

Had a 2008 Audi A4 and was losing sleep worrying about maintenance costs in the future, gas, insurance and depreciation. Bought the car CPO for 25K in 2011. Was financed originally but paid it off early this year.

On Friday, sold it to Carmax for 17K (KBB was 15.5 trade in and 17.5 private party) which was way more than I expected. I could have got a bit more if I'd listed it on Craigslist but the prospect looked intimidating which is why I'd been subconsciously justifying keeping it.

Replaced it with a 2006 Prius with 75K miles for 12K (this is lower than what most similar cars were listed for in the Bay - used Prii seem to be in a bubble).

Savings:

~ 3.8K cash because of the trade down - tax and DMV costs accounted for about $ 1200. Put it straight in the car replacement fund for when my wife's 2004 Mercedes with 150k miles gives up.

Maintenance on the car: The Prius has been maintained immaculately by the previous owner with service records for every 5K. And with Toyota reliability, I'm anticipating about 200-300 in maintenance per year as opposed to $ 1200 for the Audi.

Gas: been getting 60 mpg (!!) as opposed to 23 in the Audi. Between myself and my wife, we drive about 800 miles per month for work so about $ 50 per month in gas as opposed to $ 146 in the Audi! And this is not counting the gas we spend on shopping, travelling and other errands which could be easily another 20-30 in savings per month.

Insurance: Went down by 15 $ per month. Waiting to get our emergency stash up so that we can self insure and save another $ 50.

[Spork]

That sounds like an awesome tradeoff. 

I did a similar trade off (my guzzler was older/worth less/even less mileage than yours).  I briefly considered the Prius, but it was out of the range I wanted to pay.  ...but I'm jealous of your mpg and you'll probably see the ROI between your Prius and my Matrix.

[madmax]

Congratulations on your purchase - the Matrix is a nice car and was under consideration by myself as well. I'm a geek by profession however, and the Prius seemed like a cool little toy to buy.

BTW, I really like the choice of words by you here - "but it was out of the range I wanted to pay". In the world outside of MMM people say "it was more than what I could afford". :)

[newideas2013]

Good for you

That fuel economy is nuts! Always great to find someone with meticulous records on their car too, that's certainly not something you see everyday and must give you peace of mind knowing the previous owner had pride in their vehicle and treated it right.

[madmax]

Good for you

That fuel economy is nuts! Always great to find someone with meticulous records on their car too, that's certainly not something you see everyday and must give you peace of mind knowing the previous owner had pride in their vehicle and treated it right.

Thank you. I used to hate stop and go traffic but now I look forward to it - windows rolled down with no AC! My wife and I take the car on alternate days and play this "beat my mpg" game. So far my record is 65. Frugal cars can be as fun as sports cars - depends on the mindset of the person driving them.

[CorpRaider]

I was going to do the same, but was scared off by stories about the end of life for the battery in the prius and big $$$ to replace.  Did they get that corrected in later models?

[prodarwin]

I was going to do the same, but was scared off by stories about the end of life for the battery in the prius and big $$$ to replace.  Did they get that corrected in later models?

You're scared by an urban myth.  Its not even a remotely common problem, and replacements are inexpensive.  Refurbs are usually around ~$1K, new about $2k.  Many refurb places will refurb the older model packs with new gen batteries, giving the car a performance boost at the same time.

[madmax]

I was going to do the same, but was scared off by stories about the end of life for the battery in the prius and big $$$ to replace.  Did they get that corrected in later models?

You're scared by an urban myth.  Its not even a remotely common problem, and replacements are inexpensive.  Refurbs are usually around ~$1K, new about $2k.  Many refurb places will refurb the older model packs with new gen batteries, giving the car a performance boost at the same time.

MMM actually talked about it: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/03/20/toyota-prius-ass-kicker-or-trouble-maker/

[TrulyStashin]

I recently sold my 2001 Maxima (226k miles; 23 MPG) and replaced it with a 2007 Prius with 100k miles (bought from my mom for $7500 -- the value she was going to get from the Ford dealer on trade in.  Yay me!)

I am IN LOVE with this Prius.  I routinely fill it up for < $30 ($22.58 the other day when combined with Kroger Fuel Points) and get 400+ miles on that tank.  I need to learn how to hypermile................   

My monthly fuel costs have dropped by about $130.   LOVE LOVE LOVE

[madmax]

I recently sold my 2001 Maxima (226k miles; 23 MPG) and replaced it with a 2007 Prius with 100k miles (bought from my mom for $7500 -- the value she was going to get from the Ford dealer on trade in.  Yay me!)

I am IN LOVE with this Prius.  I routinely fill it up for < $30 ($22.58 the other day when combined with Kroger Fuel Points) and get 400+ miles on that tank.  I need to learn how to hypermile................   

My monthly fuel costs have dropped by about $130.   LOVE LOVE LOVE

That's awesome!

[Rebecca Stapler]

That's really low mileage on your Prius, and awesome gas mileage! Our 2006 just topped 100k this year, and we've never gotten better than 45 MPG average on a tank (even when it was new to us and only 66k miles).

We love our Prius. Our next car will also be a Prius, most likely.

[madmax]

That's really low mileage on your Prius, and awesome gas mileage! Our 2006 just topped 100k this year, and we've never gotten better than 45 MPG average on a tank (even when it was new to us and only 66k miles).

We love our Prius. Our next car will also be a Prius, most likely.

My commute is pretty ideal for the Prius - a short stretch clear of traffic and then slow moving/ stop and go for thirty minutes. On level roads with no need for AC in Californian weather, I just coast in the slow lane behind a truck.