So this is the second 2010 Toyota Prius we’ve owned that reached 100,000 miles. The one we still have on the Left Coast is closing in on a quarter million miles, if it isn’t already there – far enough to reach the moon, if one could drive it (and even if you could, it would take half a year, and +5000 gallons of gas.
We got this car when we moved from the Left Coast after all the drought and the fires and the burning, but needed to leave the old Prius out there as I was still working for the Google remotely, visiting several times per year to perform on-robot experiments and sync with the team.
Now that’s up in the air. 200,000+ miles, maybe closing in on 250K – even though we had to rebuild the whole engine at around the 100,000 mark. That gave us the confidence to purchase this used Prius at the 80,000 mile mark – we knew what this type of vehicle is capable of.
This is a completely different strategy than my father used. He used to buy a new car every two to three years, like clockwork, to try to preserve as much trade-in value as possible – and to ensure that the car was reliable. Perhaps this made sense back in the day, when cars didn’t last as long, but I’m not sure.
I think it was just a strategy. He enjoyed having new cars, and could afford it. I enjoy having new cars, and maybe we could afford it, but I enjoy being environmental more, and getting a very efficient hybrid car and running it into the ground to recoup the energy that went into its manufacture feels like the way to go.
Now, I told myself that I’d consider trading in the California Prius when we’d driven it to the moon – but my experience is that cars eventually do give up the ghost, either from sheer mechanical weardown (my old Isuzu Rodeo) or from collisions (my first car, the Mustang, and my last SUV, the Pathfinder).
So I’m in no rush, here or in California.
So, congratulations to your first 100K, East Coast Prius. Here’s hoping you make it 100K more.
-the Centaur
