Yesterday, I traded my 2010 BMW 328i for a 2010 Prius IV. Talk about apples and oranges! I purchased the BMW in February on a whim, thinking that owning an "ultimate driving machine" would somehow be...an ultimate experience, I suppose. In four months of ownership, though, and driving mostly city miles, I averaged 27.9mph and 19.7mpg. And when I really took time to reflect on those numbers...it just seemed awfully wasteful to me. Oh, and by the way, during those four months I spent $478.57 on gas. So, anyway, I chose a red Prius - pretty much the polar opposite of a silver 328i. My other half thinks I'm nuts. I'm not so sure.... Anyway, just saying "hey". Glad to know the forum is here if I run into any problems. Best, Richard - celebrating a new kind of independence on Independence Day
wow, especially since the BMW's only 4 months old. $475 eh? That might last you a while . Congrats and :welcome: to PriusChat! Feel free to browse the Knowledge Base section (currently found in the Gen 2 forum) for tips and tricks!
Hi Richard, And welcome. About a month ago I traded my beloved Audi A4 on a Prius IV in winter gray. I thought about red too. In contrast to your story, I put every one of the 119,000 miles on that car, and loved every minute of it. It was hard to part with it. But it was starting to cost a lot to own. Not that it couldn't have gone 200,000 mi mind you, but it was needing a timing belt and an A/C compressor and tie rods were not far in the future - and there are a dozen or more on the car at $100 each. I didn't want to be owning a 20-30 mpg car in five years, so we went with a Prius. It's a different type of driving experience, with different strengths and goals. But as a tribute to one of my favorite cars, I put the rings badge from the trunk of the Audi on the Prius. Check my avatar. How cool if everyone who traded in a "performance" car on their Prius would show off their decision that way eh? Best, Carey
i love your avatar pic. the rings on the back windshield are awesome. you're right... too bad everyone doesn't show off their "switch" like that... could you imagine all these prii cruising around with bmw, mercedes, and audi badges?.. hehe...
Well, how do we kick that snowball down the hill? I told my dealer what I'd done and he said "Oh, so you got the Prius with the Audi package." I'd love to roll up behind a Prius with the H1 package! :flypig:
328i = meh....230hp.... A 335 or 135 would have probably been a lot more exciting (the engines have been known to yield and additional 30hp with very mild modifications).
(the engines have been known to yield and additional 150hp+ with very mild modifications) Corrected that for you. :rockon:
Now that's one of the things that I found shifted when I became a Prius driver. It's also due to moving from the curvy, hilly roads of southern Ohio to the sand-bar flat south Florida. There's nothing interesting to do here with HP or great handling. There might be an exit ramp here and there that have an interesting shape, but drive to the next stop sign and turn right. Drive to the next signal and turn left is pretty much it. HP and handling lose their value to some degree. So it's great to be able to try and get the maximum "performance" out of the car in another dimension - MPG rather than MPH. I'm not knocking MPH here, there's no adrenalin in MPG. I've not scared the beejeebers out of a single passenger in the Prius yet. (But then the brakes have not failed yet either. HA! </joke>)
No, I don't think you are crazy. I traded in my 2000 528I (paid for) for the 2010 Prius Level III with leather seats. Folks think I shouldn't have done it but I am the one laughing at the gas pumps right now and I found that I am enjoying my little car (she's really larger than she looks). I have owned two previous Toyotas and each had more than 200K miles when I traded them in. I expect big things from this Prius and so far she isn't disappointing me. She handles well and has the power I need when I need it. The difference is the price tag and the gas mileage. With the BMW I averaged 26 mpg when I was careful with my driving now I am averaging 58 - 60 mpg. Go enjoy it and when the gas prices start to creep again...you laugh as you pull up to the pump beside those luxury automobiles.
We also have a 2000 BMW 323 CIC but we keep ours as a weekend car It still really nice to go for a drive with the top down
Wow...Did you really trade away that car with 4,000 or so miles for the Prius? You must have taken quite a hit? I too had a 2007 328XI, but switched to a Prius 3 when I came off lease..Huge difference. You definitely sacrifice the driving experience for more MPG.
