Would you pay $10,000 to double your mileage?

I congratuate you on making a wise choice in just 3 hours time. It took me twenty years to finally get it right, four years ago when I bought my Prius. I originally bought a 1980 VW Rabbit diesel which got great mileage but as this car slowly shook it's self to death, it ended up being the worst purchase of my life. My Prius has been the exact opposite, by far the best puchase.


I'll gladly get off my high horse. Maybe I worry too much about oil wars and rising sea levels due to global warming, and maybe you don't worry enough. I just sincerely hope we both don't see our children and their children going off to war to protect our oil supplies, and suffering from climate change. Thanks-

Ron "on lower horse" Wyckoff

 

I've been either cycling or walking to work for thirty years. Apparently 'doing the right thing' is taking a while to catch on.

 

Deep thoughts aside ... I think you are the first person I have ever heard say that they regretted the purchase of an early '80's VW diesel. I love those things!

Aside from the obvious electrical gremlins that you inevitably had to endure, what other issues did you have? How many miles on it when you unloaded it?

 

uhhh no

 

Well, first I have to admit I put a turbocharger and another gas tank in the wheel well on it at around 38K. It was still slow, smoky, shaky, and fuel was hard to find on trips and eventually expensive. I lost batteries to lead bar breakage after one year, bolts shook loose on the alternator auguring bouble size holes before I caught it. Finally at 88K the oil caught fire while taking a full load of people up a long hill on a hot day, blackening most of the hill with smoke. People behind me thought I had blown up and died. By 95K the engine and turbocharger were toast. I had insurance that paid for half of the cost of an overhaul. I soon sold it too a nice young couple just starting out for little more than the cost of the overhaul, and went out and bought a ford TBird because of its blessed quietness. Ofcourse this soon turned out to be my second worse car purchase. This sad tale went on until I started buying Japanese cars. Thanks-

Ron

 

Holy cow. You're right. That is horrible. And I thought my GTI and Passat were bad ...

Probably a story in itself. My grandparents bought a 1979 T-Bird, and only kept it for a year. Back then, the Ford ads would say "come fly with me" when referencing the T-Bird.

My grandfather later pontificated that what Ford was trying to say is that you would end up launching the thing off a cliff in frustration.

 

Yes, easily.
Actually my other option (if gas were no issue) was a Lexus I250 (37K).
I got 26mpg in that car. With the Prius I get 53mpg and with the mod I am getting (already put a 1k deposit down) I will about double that.
Prius plus modification = 35k.
So I am saving $2,000 and getting four times the mileage. Seems a no brainer to me.

Oh, it doesn't kill the warranty and the new battery pack is also under warranty from the installer.

 

Not worth it to me.. I would not even spend that much in gas over the life of the car I don't think....