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| Front of Bianca 2007 Toyota Yaris 3D Hatchback |
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| Back end of the cutest car ever... |
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| Dont mind the dust... :-) |
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| Woot! Woot! How many people can say they watched their car hit 200,000 miles?!? |
Here's to another 200,000+ miles, Bianca!!
Showing posts with label Bianca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bianca. Show all posts
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Mission Accomplished
When we first purchased my cute little Bianca back in August of 2006, I made the statement that I wanted to keep her until she hit 200,000 miles. At that time, I thought the goal was unachievable seeing as my last new car had hit 85,000 miles and was nearly falling apart! A few short years later, she hit 100,000 miles with very little maintenance required. I then decided I wanted to see her hit 250,000 miles. Closer to 175,000 miles, I decided she would probably last until 500,000 miles!
As of May 28, 2014, this adorable little car hit 200,000 miles. I have never owned a car with more than 145,000 miles on it. She has been SO reliable and has needed next to NO maintenance. Heck, she is still on her original clutch which is unheard of for a standard vehicle! She survived a suicidal deer almost 2 years ago with minimal damage (considering how big the buck was!) and consistently gives me 42-45mpg! I wish I didnt drive as much as I do, but I am glad I have the car that I've got.
When we hit the road full-time RVing, we would like to get a 4 door sedan so that the puppies can easily get in and out of it. My thought is that if Bianca is still going strong at that point, we should keep her for as long as she is a reliable source of transportation! And c'mon...you have to admit, she is so darn cute!!
Here's to another 200,000+ miles, Bianca!!
Here's to another 200,000+ miles, Bianca!!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
2013 Year in Review
It is hard to believe that another year has come and gone.
I decided to take a look back to see what all we have been up to here on the homestead.
January:
At the end of 2012, Todd and I decided to attempt to pay off half of our mortgage balance in 2013. As of October, we succeeded! After reading through this post of what our game plan was for the year, I am happy to report that we were able to live on half of our income without really cutting back our lifestyle. We still completed a home-improvement project (updating the kitchen counters for $125) and we have another one in process as I type (new floor in the living room).
February:
In February, I made my own laundry detergent and to this day, we are still using the product! We have another 2 1/2 gallons to go until it will be time to make another 5 gallon batch of concentrated detergent. This recipe is a keeper, and we have all of the supplies needed to whip up another batch in the next few months.
March:
In March, I started to feel like we have way too much "stuff" and that our house is much more than what we need/want.
April:
The first week of April, we had a family trip to Aruba with my mom and her husband to celebrate their 10 year wedding anniversary. I could use a trip like this every year.
May:
May is always a special month for us because it is the month we married. This year, for our 6th year of marriage, we took a short 3-day trip to Columbus, OH and had a blast.
June:
Every year around June, I wonder if I want to keep the blog going or to just let it sit. This month, there was only one post about my internal battle to decide whether we should hire a housekeeper or if I should just do the housekeeping myself!
July:
July of this year was a busy one! A yellow lab adopted us, my car turned 7 years old, and we started talking about downsizing our home.
August:
I gave up on gardening in August. I realized that as much as I love to plan the garden every year and plant the seeds, my priority is not to see the garden through and make it all it could be.
September:
I documented some of the fun things Todd and I did over the summer for very little (or no) money at all.
October:
A new member of the family came to join us in October and I started a new cleaning routine that has been easy for me to keep up with!
November:
The only post in November included pictures of a covered bridge tour we did throughout October.
December:
In December, I now notice that we have come full circle realizing that we are not happy with the big house, all the possessions and all of the consumerism that takes place around us. In December, we let out a big secret that Todd and I want to purchase an RV and travel the US. Since deciding to do this back in early October, our plans have been evolving. It went from selling it all and living on the road full-time to downsizing our home and possibly making it a duplex so that we can be with our families and have a home-base for a few months a year. I am sure there will be a few posts on this in 2014.
So, there you have the entire year on Sparing-Change. It has been a fun yet challenging year this year, as every year seems to be. This year, we are learning that it doesn't take a lot of money (or any at all!) to have fun. We have enjoyed going on many hikes with the puppies, and we really enjoy being out in nature.
We look forward to taking on whatever 2014 has to offer.
I decided to take a look back to see what all we have been up to here on the homestead.
January:
At the end of 2012, Todd and I decided to attempt to pay off half of our mortgage balance in 2013. As of October, we succeeded! After reading through this post of what our game plan was for the year, I am happy to report that we were able to live on half of our income without really cutting back our lifestyle. We still completed a home-improvement project (updating the kitchen counters for $125) and we have another one in process as I type (new floor in the living room).
February:
In February, I made my own laundry detergent and to this day, we are still using the product! We have another 2 1/2 gallons to go until it will be time to make another 5 gallon batch of concentrated detergent. This recipe is a keeper, and we have all of the supplies needed to whip up another batch in the next few months.
March:
In March, I started to feel like we have way too much "stuff" and that our house is much more than what we need/want.
April:
The first week of April, we had a family trip to Aruba with my mom and her husband to celebrate their 10 year wedding anniversary. I could use a trip like this every year.
May:
May is always a special month for us because it is the month we married. This year, for our 6th year of marriage, we took a short 3-day trip to Columbus, OH and had a blast.
June:
Every year around June, I wonder if I want to keep the blog going or to just let it sit. This month, there was only one post about my internal battle to decide whether we should hire a housekeeper or if I should just do the housekeeping myself!
July:
July of this year was a busy one! A yellow lab adopted us, my car turned 7 years old, and we started talking about downsizing our home.
August:
I gave up on gardening in August. I realized that as much as I love to plan the garden every year and plant the seeds, my priority is not to see the garden through and make it all it could be.
September:
I documented some of the fun things Todd and I did over the summer for very little (or no) money at all.
October:
A new member of the family came to join us in October and I started a new cleaning routine that has been easy for me to keep up with!
November:
The only post in November included pictures of a covered bridge tour we did throughout October.
December:
In December, I now notice that we have come full circle realizing that we are not happy with the big house, all the possessions and all of the consumerism that takes place around us. In December, we let out a big secret that Todd and I want to purchase an RV and travel the US. Since deciding to do this back in early October, our plans have been evolving. It went from selling it all and living on the road full-time to downsizing our home and possibly making it a duplex so that we can be with our families and have a home-base for a few months a year. I am sure there will be a few posts on this in 2014.
So, there you have the entire year on Sparing-Change. It has been a fun yet challenging year this year, as every year seems to be. This year, we are learning that it doesn't take a lot of money (or any at all!) to have fun. We have enjoyed going on many hikes with the puppies, and we really enjoy being out in nature.
We look forward to taking on whatever 2014 has to offer.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
175,000 Miles in Less than 7 Years
On June 19th, this little cutie hit 175,000
miles! Let me tell you, this car is a champ.
Her name: Bianca. She
has reliably transported me to and from work every day, made a trek to
Gatlinburg, TN, Niagara Falls, Beverly, WV and many other road trips in
between. She even survived a suicidal
deer attack back in July 2012 and had a bit of “plastic surgery” to fix her up.
I bought her in August of 2006 (even though she is considered a 2007) brand new
when Yaris first came to the United States for less than $12,000. It should be noted that before Bianca, I
never owned a vehicle for more than 3 ½ years (a sad statistic, but true). Bianca will be turning 7 years old August
6th.
This car has needed nothing but general maintenance. It should be noted that she still has her
original clutch! (I finally broke it in after 6 years!) I would love to see Bianca hit 250,000 miles,
and at this rate, that will be in the next 3 years. We still drive her on long trips because she
gets great gas mileage at 42-45MPG. The
two of us fit fine in the car with plenty of room for the 72 lb pup in the back
seat and luggage in the trunk.
I would really like to witness a car hit 500,000 miles, and
if any car could do that, it would be Bianca (in another 10+ years). Until then, we will keep maintaining and
admiring this cute little car of ours.
What is the most
miles you’ve had on your vehicle?
Please share the
year/make/model too!
To read about when Bianca hit 150,000 miles, you can click
here
Thursday, June 14, 2012
150,000 Miles and Still Going Strong
On June 12th of this year, my beloved 2007 Toyota
Yaris hit 150,000 miles! When I
purchased the car brand new in August 2006, I told Todd that I wanted to drive
the car until she hit 150,000 miles! Two
years ago, when Bianca (yes, I name my cars) hit 100,000 miles with not a
single mechanical problem, I revised my goal to 250,000 miles!
I have never owned a vehicle with this many miles on
it. At just 6 years of age, Bianca has
taken me 45 miles each way to and from work, to the Smoky Mountains Appalachian Mountains and several road trips
in between! She has been nothing less
than reliable and a complete thrill to drive.
In just 6 years, this vehicle has only been in the shop once
due to a check engine light while under warranty. When I started the car, one of the cylinders
misfired which caused the check engine light to appear. Since then, we (meaning Todd) have done
nothing more than routine and preventative maintenance on this vehicle. Instead
of waiting for the belt to break, we replaced it at 145,000 miles. Instead of waiting for the spark plugs to
rust out, they were replaced at 100,000 miles. Though Bianca didn’t need a new
battery, we replaced the battery at 145,000 miles (Toyota
We found out early-on that it is best to buy genuine Toyota Toyota
When Bianca hits 250,000 miles (approximately 4 more years),
we have plans of purchasing a new vehicle for my commute to work. Assuming Bianca is still running like a
champ, Todd will drive her to and from work (70 miles round trip).
We started looking at vehicles to replace Bianca in case
anything catastrophic happens in the upcoming years. When we went to a dealership on Memorial Day
Weekend, the salesman understood that we were doing our research to make an
informed decision….in 4 years! The guy was
amused that we plan on seeing our car hit 250,000 miles and more!
There is no new car fever in our home! We both love the vehicles we drive, and look
forward to growing old with them!!!
I would love to hear
about your vehicle(s)!
What
year/make/model? How many miles? How many miles do you want to see the car hit
before it’s time to even begin to look for another?
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
When To Get a Fuel Efficient Beater (Vehicle)
At one point, Todd had a very fuel efficient little beater car that we named Squirt while we owned a gas-guzzler van for moving and getting supplies for projects at our new home. We got the car because we knew it would save on gasoline and it was much more efficient.
While driving to work last week, I saw a small little beater car for sale, with “58MPG” written on the windshield. It was visually nicer than Squirt ever was, and after paying $53 for gas for the first time since he’s owned his 2008 Kia Rondo, we have decided to determine whether or not it is “worthwhile” to purchase a small, fuel-efficient beater for Todd to drive to and from work.
Instead of doing everything by hand, I put in the information into this website (Edmunds) that will tell me how much we would save in gas by getting the new beater.
As you can see, we would save $92 in gas per month if he were to get the beater. That being said, it would take 16 months to break even on gas prices alone. This does not include the additional cost of insurance, registration and upkeep on the beater.
The question is: Should we get a beater?
For us, it doesn’t make sense to purchase another vehicle, even at 58MPG. Our goal is to drive our vehicles until they will no longer run! In the whole scheme of things, $92/month is not going to kill us. If anything, it will make us drive my car more (at 42-45MPG) when we run around on the weekends or on trips. We are also being much more careful about where we drive and how to combine trips as much as possible now that gas is nearly $4.00/gallon.
Have you thought about trading in your vehicle to get something more fuel efficient now that gas is nearing (and in some places, over!) $4.00/gallon?
While driving to work last week, I saw a small little beater car for sale, with “58MPG” written on the windshield. It was visually nicer than Squirt ever was, and after paying $53 for gas for the first time since he’s owned his 2008 Kia Rondo, we have decided to determine whether or not it is “worthwhile” to purchase a small, fuel-efficient beater for Todd to drive to and from work.
Instead of doing everything by hand, I put in the information into this website (Edmunds) that will tell me how much we would save in gas by getting the new beater.
Rondo | Beater | |
Price | $0 (Paid Off) | $1,500 |
MPG (highway) | 28 | 58* |
Avg. Cost for Gas per gallon | $4.00 | $4.00 |
As you can see, we would save $92 in gas per month if he were to get the beater. That being said, it would take 16 months to break even on gas prices alone. This does not include the additional cost of insurance, registration and upkeep on the beater.
The question is: Should we get a beater?
For us, it doesn’t make sense to purchase another vehicle, even at 58MPG. Our goal is to drive our vehicles until they will no longer run! In the whole scheme of things, $92/month is not going to kill us. If anything, it will make us drive my car more (at 42-45MPG) when we run around on the weekends or on trips. We are also being much more careful about where we drive and how to combine trips as much as possible now that gas is nearly $4.00/gallon.
Have you thought about trading in your vehicle to get something more fuel efficient now that gas is nearing (and in some places, over!) $4.00/gallon?
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Gasoline vs. Hybrid Vehicle
I absolutely adore my little car, Bianca. She is 5 years old with 135,000+ miles on her and still going strong with no major repairs needed other than the normal oil changes, brakes, tires, air filters and spark plugs (done at my request at 100,000 miles.)
As you can see, the Prius is twice the price of the Yaris (back in 2006.) The majority of my miles are driven at a speed that would be considered highway miles (60+MPH .) Even though my car gets more than 38MPG highway miles, I am going to use what is listed on the manufacturer’s website for the sake of this post.
As you can see, it would take a little over 25 years in order to recoop the additional price to get 10 MPG more than my cute little fuel efficient vehicle.
Many people know that I really like my car because of the gas mileage, so they ask why I didn’t get a hybrid like the Toyota Prius because it gets better gas mileage than Bianca.
This is our reasoning:
| | Yaris | Prius |
| Price | $12,000.00 | $24,000.00 |
| MPG Highway | 38 | 48 |
| | 30 | 51 |
| Average Price/Gallon Gas | $3.50 | $3.50 |
You can see from the manufacturer’s websites that the Prius gets 10 MPG better gas mileage than the Yaris with highway driving. However, lets compare operating costs* to see at what point it would make sense to buy a Prius vs. a Yaris.
| Miles Driven/Year | 24,000 | | | | | ||
| Gas Consumption/Year: | (gallons) | | | | | ||
| | Yaris | 631 | | | | | |
| | Prius | 500 | | | | | |
| Gas Used/Year: | (based on $3.50/gal) | | | | |||
| | Yaris | $2,209 | | | | | |
| | Prius | $1,750 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| 5yr. OC (Operating Cost): | | | | | |||
| | | Vehicle $ | Gasoline | Total OC | | | |
| | Yaris | $12,000 | $11,045 | $23,045 | | | |
| | Prius | $24,000 | $8,750 | $32,750 | | | |
| | Difference: | | | $9,705 | (Bianca's Favor) | ||
| | | | | | | | |
| 10yr. OC: | | | | | | ||
| | | Vehicle $ | Gasoline | Total OC | | | |
| | Yaris | $12,000 | $22,090 | $34,090 | | | |
| | Prius | $24,000 | $17,500 | $41,500 | | | |
| | Difference: | | | $7,410 | (Bianca's Favor) | ||
| | | | | | | | |
| 20yr OC: | | | | | | | |
| | | Vehicle $ | Gasoline | Total OC | | | |
| | Yaris | $12,000 | $44,180 | $56,180 | | | |
| | Prius | $24,000 | $35,000 | $59,000 | | | |
| | Difference: | | | $2,820 | (Bianca's Favor) | ||
| | | | | | | | |
| 25yr OC: | | | | | | | |
| | | Vehicle $ | Gasoline | Total OC | | | |
| | Yaris | $12,000 | $55,225 | $67,225 | | | |
| | Prius | $24,000 | $43,750 | $67,750 | | | |
| | Difference: | | | $525 | (Bianca's Favor) | ||
Todd and I are currently trying to calculate the operating costs of owning a Hyundai Elantra vs. a Chevy Volt (part electric vehicle) for our next vehicle purchase in 5+ years or when Bianca will no longer run. We have looked into electric vehicles in the past, but it is never in the electric vehicle’s best interest due to the limited range the electric battery gets.
I really hope I explained this well enough to make sense.
Do you ever compute the operating cost of your vehicle(s)?
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