Got rid of my 2000 vw jetta vr6 for a new Prius c. Wasn't going to buy a new car, but a dealership in Greeley was selling some hail damaged ones. Sale price was $17500.00 plus $1000.00 for my Jetta. Jetta wasn't worth that, but dealer makes it look like I got something out of it. Poor Jetta had 170,000 miles and a lot of mechanical issues. Final cost $16500.00 plus sales tax which is all I cared about. 0% financing for 5 years and it was hard not to buy. So now I have a little red Prius c 2 with light hail damage nicknamed "Ding". I commute about 45 miles a day round trip to work and I was spending about $45 a week in gas for my Jetta just before I traded it. My last fill up was $18.70 for the week in my Prius. My 2 previous fill ups were just over $20, but my commute was longer, because of road closures from the flooding here in Colorado. Jetta got about 22 mpg and the Prius is averaging 52.7 mpg. Love it.
welcome to priuschat! hail damaged prius, kinda like a charlie brown Christmas tree. congrats and all the best with your new C!
Same here! My other car is a 2007 Jetta which cost $45 a week to fill. I purchased a Red Prius C2 about a month ago and I saved about $90 this month.
Welcome to the Club! It's great that you're saving so much in fuel costs. You can use some of that towards your annual Prius Club dues. The way I calculate it, if you're saving $100 per month, you can afford $1,000 per year and still save money. I'll expect your initial check shortly. (also, I hope you have a sense of humor if you're going to be hanging around these parts.)
I fill up on Fridays, so I have set up an automatic Friday transfer to my car payment in the amount of the difference in fuel costs.
Turbulent boundary layers. The small pocket of air trapped in the 'ding' provides less friction / drag than the original flat painted surface.
Congrats on your new C. So if I dent my car I'll get better mileage? Ummm.....No. C gets double the mileage of the Prizm.
So that explains why my commute mileage went up from 57 mpg to 60 mpg after the hail storm. Here I was all upset that I couldn't find any cover (there's never an overpass when you need one!) during the storm. Little did I know all those gentle pock marks would be saving me money! Still, getting them pre-sale, along with a $1000.00 discount is a much better idea.
I traded a 2005 Rav4 for 2013 Prius C 2 and haven't looked back. By putting in the 25 mpg I used to get in the eco savings entry I have been saving 125-150$/month which I certainly can't complain about.
Congratulations on the new car, it'll buy itself off soon enough with you gas and maintenance savings. Sure if it took just a couple of hits. On the other hand I've seen some cars that were in some severe hail storms and they can leave a car with a couple hundred dents, at that point I'd just go with the golf ball theories already listed.
In keeping with the title of this thread, I am realizing about $280/mo savings compared to the average mileage of the vehicles I used to drive regularly. My Prius is my goto vehicle now, and my remaining vehicles live a comparatively reserved life now. Once I looked at the numbers, it was obvious this car could be justified - especially as long as I typically keep my autos.
We have the Prius C right now as a lease mostly due to financial constraints at the moment. I love it but the other half is less than thrilled. She has a 2010 Matrix S AWD which we both love. However, it doesn't get the same mileage her 2005 did which was in the 30's with the 1.8l engine. So far since we have had the Prius C I have been able to show her the savings of around 150/month by using it more and her car less. That at least takes some of the 'yuck' factor out her little criticisms . She would love to try the hatchback which at some point we will at least explore but for now my little 'rollerskate' will continue to bring home the bacon as it were at the pump allowing her to spend money other places more useful such as for groceries.
