Picture of prius.Ahhh, Lightning takes in the view

A few years ago, Mrs. Crazy Kicks was kicking ass and taking names as she climbed/ got pushed up the corporate ladder. She received several promotions within close proximity and was making bank. Many of her colleagues were into expensive cars – buying Porches and luxury Jeeps left and right. It seemed like something you needed to look professional at that level – just like you had to have fancy clothes to wear each day. While Mrs. Crazy Kicks did consider getting a new Audi or Tesla, she stayed true to the motto: “It’s not what you make, it’s what you keep.”

Mrs. Crazy Kicks decided to set a better example by getting an economical car that would look ridiculous next to the luxury vehicles bordering her assigned parking spot. After considering a few options, we decided to target a Prius since they are fuel efficient, environmentally friendly, and great for road trips. The market wasn’t the greatest at the time – gas prices were still high, and we ended up looking for months.

We finally found one listed at a pretty reasonable $6,000. It didn’t have the lowest mileage at 120,000 miles, but the price was right enough to warrant a visit. We met at the owners’ home and the car looked good – it had a pristine interior and only a few minor dents. It also ran smoothly, although I did notice some engine noise. After discussing the engine noise, we made an offer for $5500. Deal! The owner fished out the title, but on it were big bold letters: “Rebuilt.” Crap!

I was able to bring up a vehicle report on my phone, and learned it had been totaled at 60,000 miles for “electrical issues.” At least it wasn’t structural damage, and they did manage to put another 60K miles on the car after the rebuild without any issues. We got back to negotiating and got the car for $5,000 even.

When we got home, we did more research on the vehicle’s VIN and found that the car was totaled because it had been struck by lightning! A fitting name, especially for a hybrid. The engine noise turned out to be a water pump which we replaced for $200. Since then, Lightning has been running strong and we put on another 25,000 miles without any issues. She enjoys rolling in battery mode and sidling up to the check-in office at the town dump – we have to announce ourselves since the attendant never hears us.

During regular driving, Lightning gets 45 MPG. We’ve put on 25,000 miles since getting the car which means about 550 gallons of gas at 45 MPG. Average price of fuel was about $2.50/gallon in the years of ownership, which translates to $1,375 spent on gas. Since our old Volvo was using twice as much gas, this also means we saved $1,375.

Picture of mileage.Over 400 miles on a tank, and just over 8 gallons to fill

Being efficient on fuel also translates to a much longer range for the car. A fill-up takes about 8 gallons when the fuel indicator is down to 1 or 2 bars which happens at around 400 miles. By comparison, we had to refill the old Volvo at just over 200 miles and it took around 10 gallons to fill. That’s double the range, and stopping for gas half as often is especially helpful on long trips through remote places.

I did consider the possibility of having to replace the battery for this car. After all, it’s got a lot of miles and been struck by lightning. But Prius battery failures are pretty rare – many people go 200-300k miles on the original one. Either way I’m prepared to deal with a possible failure. Dealers charge $4,000 for battery replacements, but a quick search will reveal companies that replace your battery with a refurbished one for under $1,000. This would be a great option and cost less than what we saved so far on gas. But if our battery goes, I might try to fix it myself. When the battery dies, usually only one cell in the battery has gone bad. Replacement cells can be gotten online for only $50 and there are plenty of instructional videos outlining how to dismantle a battery, identify the bad cell, and replace it with a new one.

– Our latest road trip

I will admit, the car is boring to drive, but in a good way. It’s like sitting in a couch as you cruise down the highway enjoying the scenery. And with four doors and a large hatch, there is plenty of room. This combination of comfort, space, and fuel efficiency makes it the perfect road trip vehicle. We have taken Lighting on several trips, including to Asheville, NC and Jacksonville, Florida. And we just returned from a 2 week road trip to the tip of Nova Scotia where we explored the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. We drove more than 2500 miles through Canada and plan to share more details of the trip in the next few posts.

I took a look on Craigslist and there are even better hybrid deals to be had. Gas prices are low and the masses are back to buying SUVs. The prices on a used Prius are much better than when we were looking. With some patience, you could snag your own $5,000 Prius – maybe even one that hasn’t been struck by lightning.