🚗 $1,700 Car Inspection and 15 Years of Family Memories

── Reflecting on “Fixed Costs” and “The Value of Time”
📖 Reading time: about 12 minutes

🎯 What You’ll Learn (Summary)
Ever wondered, “Can a 15-year-old Prius with 200,000 km still run fine?”
Or “Is a $1,700 inspection too expensive?”
This article answers both with numbers and real experience.

Q1. Can a Prius over 15 years old and 200,000 km still run?
→ Yes. With proper maintenance, it can easily reach 300,000–350,000 km (another 10 years).

Q2. Is $1,700 for an inspection expensive?
→ Reasonable. Includes essential “oil seal” replacement — a valuable repair for long-term use.

Q3. What’s the yearly cost?
→ Around $2,000/year ($165/month) — less than half of a new car loan.

Q4. Which makes more sense: replace or maintain?
→ Maintaining is wiser. Lower taxes, lower insurance, and priceless memories remain.

💡 Conclusion: $1,700 isn’t “expensive.”
It’s an investment to extend life — keeping this Prius-chan running for another decade.
At just $165 a month, it’s not a cost, it’s a continuation of family history.

Table of Contents

1️⃣ Is $1,700 Expensive or Cheap?

When I saw the dealer’s estimate, I stared at the number again and again.
Inspection fee: $1,710.
Was that too high or fair? Hard to say.

Buying a new car would mean $400–$500 monthly payments.
So $1,700 is only about four months’ worth of new car payments.
For that, our 15-year-old Prius can carry our family again.

Fifteen years ago, our eldest son was in high school and our youngest in grade school.
The shine on the silver body has faded, scratches have grown —
but every time I hold the steering wheel, I feel calm.
It’s as if I can still hear my family’s laughter echoing from the seats.

Was this $1,700 a “big expense”?
Or a “small investment to keep our memories alive”?

2️⃣ The Real Annual Cost of a 15-Year-Old Prius

Let’s set emotions aside and look at the numbers.
Here’s what it actually costs to keep my 2010 Prius (ZVW30) running each year:

Item	Details	Yearly Cost
Inspection (every 2 yrs)	$1,710 ÷ 2	$855
Auto tax	over 13 yrs / 1.8L class	$260
Insurance	50s driver, no vehicle coverage	$370
Gasoline	10,000 km/year, 22–23 km/L, $1.14/L	$510
Total		≈ $1,995/year ($165/month)

$165 per month — that’s the “real” cost to keep Prius-chan alive.
Not cheap, but not outrageous either.
For safety, reliability, and peace of mind, it’s fair value.

3️⃣ Replace or Maintain? The True Value of Family Time

A new Prius now costs around $25,000–$30,000.
That’s $400–$500 per month plus higher taxes and insurance.

My current Prius costs $165/month — and no more loans.
The numbers say it all:
👉 Maintenance > Replacement.

But numbers don’t tell the whole story.

This car has witnessed our lives:

My eldest son sitting nervously beside me on his university entrance exam day.
My youngest, sweaty from practice, saying “I’m starving” on the way home.
My mother, battling cancer, smiling softly at Nara’s Mt. Wakakusa: “It’s beautiful…”

That scene through the windshield — I’ll never forget it.

$165 a month isn’t just maintenance.
It’s the cost of not forgetting.
Prius-chan has carried all those moments — laughter, silence, and goodbyes.

4️⃣ The $1,700 Breakdown — Repairs That Keep Her Alive

Honestly, my first reaction was:

“$1,700?! That’s ridiculous!”

But when I dug deeper, it made sense.

Breakdown	Amount
Maintenance & labor	$1,480
Taxes & fees	$230
Total	$1,710 (tax included)

Main repairs included:

Regular 24-month inspection
Brake cleaning & adjustment
Engine oil & coolant replacement
12V auxiliary battery replacement
A/C filter & lamp replacement
💡 Front drive-shaft oil seal replacement — $310

At first, I didn’t even know what a “drive-shaft oil seal” was.
It’s a small rubber ring that keeps lubricating oil from leaking around the rotating shaft that sends power to the wheels.
After 15 years and 200,000 km, that rubber hardens from heat and vibration — and oil begins to seep out.

It’s not from damage or impact; it’s simply aging, just like human joints losing their flexibility.
If ignored, it can lead to major drivetrain failure — and the car won’t pass inspection.
So it wasn’t optional; it was necessary surgery to keep her alive.

Once I understood that, everything made sense.
This repair wasn’t an expense; it was a life-extension treatment for Prius-chan.

🧠 Summary of This Chapter

At first, the cost felt high —
but once I understood the reason, it became clear: some repairs truly make sense.
Both cars and humans need invisible care as they age.

Prius-chan and I are no longer young.
If we were people, we’d be at the age where regular health checkups are essential.
This oil seal replacement was, in a way, like removing a small polyp during a routine colon exam —
not urgent, but neglect it, and it could turn serious later.

Thinking about it that way, “preventive maintenance” is really no different from human healthcare.
Both are about staying healthy enough to keep going for many more years.

5️⃣ Can It Last Another 10 Years?

“Can it really last 10 more years?” my wife asked.
“Yes — if we keep maintaining it,” I replied.

Prius (ZVW30, 2010) is built tough.
With proper care, it can reach 300,000–350,000 km.

Maintenance Level	Expected Lifespan	Notes
Basic oil & checks	250–280k km	Normal use
+ EGR cleaning & cooling maintenance	300–350k km	Common for long-life cars
+ Major overhauls (HV battery, brakes)	400k+ km	Seen in taxis

💨 EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) cools the engine by reusing part of exhaust gas — lowering temperature and emissions.
Cleaning it every 2–3 years ($130–$260) keeps the engine healthy.

🔋 Two Batteries:

Type	Purpose	Lifespan	Cost
HV battery (drive)	Motor power	10–15 yrs	$700–$2,000
12V battery	Lights & electronics	3–5 yrs	$130–$200

With today’s rebuild parts and detailed guides online,
you can keep a Prius healthy far beyond what people assume.

Cars are like people — they respond to care.

6️⃣ Fifteen Years of Family Miles

We bought our Prius when our boys were 15 and 12.
Before that, we had a Toyota Spacio — full of camping and amusement park memories.

When mileage hit 100,000 km, we decided it was time for something new.
We looked at the Fit Shuttle and Prius — both good cars,
but Prius had that quiet, futuristic charm.

We bought a demo model for about $13,000, shiny silver.
As I picked it up, I said softly:

“Let’s go places together, partner.”

From that day, this car has seen everything —
weekend hikes, long drives to Kyoto, road trips with my late mother.

And it has scars too:
A dent from when my son hit a pole.
A bent license plate from when a deer jumped out of the bushes — bang!
The deer stumbled off into the woods.
To this day, every time I see that dent, I think,

“I hope that deer’s okay…”

Those marks are memories now — proof we’ve lived.

7️⃣ Toward 25 Years Together

After the inspection, I sat behind the wheel again.
The soft hybrid hum filled the cabin, same as always.
The worn seat, the faded dashboard — all part of our family’s scenery.

“Thank you, Prius-chan.”

If we can keep going for 10 more years,
that’ll make 25 years together — a quarter century of shared life.

Not many things last that long.
But with care, this car — like a friend — will.

💬 Afterword

The dents, the scratches, the memories —
they’re not flaws. They’re our timeline.
I’ll keep driving this car, until the day I hear her final engine sound.

🚙 Prius-chan’s True Worth (Summary)

Item	Value
Annual Cost	≈ $2,000/year ($165/month)
Inspection	$1,710 (fair, justified)
Expected Lifespan	+10 years / +100,000 km
Verdict	Maintenance over replacement — memories matter

This isn’t just a car.
It’s a moving time capsule — filled with laughter, silence, tears, and wind.
When you give love, your car gives it back.
Here’s to running together for another quarter century.
(The End)

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