Talk me down from buyer's remorse ledge!

I envy you. There's an apparent shortage of Five's in many areas of the U.S. I took delivery of a 2012 Blizzard Pearl Four three weeks ago and wanted the Five. I traded a 2011 BMW 528i for the Prius. After owning three BMW's and an Audi over the past ten years, driving a Prius is big change. The Five offers the bigger wheels and LED headlights. You want the factory installed options versus aftermarket. If the Prius ownership experient sticks, I'll likely order either a Prius Five with the Technology Package in a year or two, or I will upgrade to a Lexus ES Hybrid next year. The only true regret is the lack of leather seating surfaces. So far I'm having a blast driving the Prius, shocking my friends with the drastic change in my daily driver and enjoying being frugel.

I have noted that the Prius does not get the respect of a BMW on the road, and I'm slowly changing my driving habits.

 

Hey--enjoy your car!

I've driven a V for coming up on 3 years now and love it.

And it would cost you as much just to replace the headlights with LEDs (not even counting the cost of 17" wheels/tires) as the price premium for the Five vs. the Four. Plus the Five has more direct steering.

Congrats--enjoy.

 

Hey, you've got a Top of The Line Prius.

Too bad you're not enjoying it fully.

You can investigate your options at this point. But in the end? I always default to the wisdom of Crosby, Stills and Nash.

"If you can't be with the one you love, Honey, Love the one you're with".

IMO...you have a very "loveable" Prius.

 

Well my friend,

Assuming you wanted to equip your Prius 4 with LED headlights, Those would cost you $791.63 for each of the left and right headlights. Then you would have to pay $134.81 for each of the left and right leveling motors. Then you would have to spend $247.56 for each of the left and right headlight control modules. So far we are up to $2,348 not including installation and misc. brackets and screws. Now if you wanted the oem 17" wheels that would set you back $454.98 for a total of $1819.92 for the wheels. Now we are up to $4167.92 for headlights and wheels. I'm gonna say add another $400 for a set of 17" tires and now we are up to $4567.92, plus installation of all the components.

2012 Prius 4 MSRP: $28995
2012 Prius 5 MSRP: $30565.

Difference? $1570

Can't even get the rims for that.

Enjoy your 5.

And :welcome:

 

Just bought two 5's and having them shipped from Cali to Texas to boot!
It's win win!

The reason you dont see many around is because A) some people just don't want to spend that much dough on a prius, and b) Toyota just doesn't make nearly as many of them compared to the two and three. So ya, they are definitely more rare. Enjoy!

 

I have noted that the Prius does not get the respect of a BMW on the road, and I'm slowly changing my driving habits.

Great - One less %$#@ BMW driver on the road.

 

So much more with a Five!17"wheels, LEDS,Leather..on..on. This is the first car that I have not got sick of after a year or so! Enjoy.
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/77753-you-happy-your-pkg-v.html

 

Don't second-guess yourself!

If you truly wanted the LED lights and 17" wheels, then the way your purchased them was the most hassle-free and cost-effective way of doing it. All you see in these forums for cost-effective upgrades on the headlights on the Four are to HID lamps, not to LEDs.

Allow yourself to be happy. You bought a sweet car!

 

The Prius Five is the nicest Prius IMO.

 

Tech-envy? From a FOUR??? Aside from the solar roof with air ventilation/ remote A/C there isn't any more tech in a Four that isn't in a Five, right? But the Five has the LED headlights you mentioned, radar cruise control, Lane Keep Assist, and integrated fog lamps that the Four doesn't have. (Source: Toyota Prius Hybrid - 2012 Models: Prius Two, Prius Three, Prius Four, Prius Five ) IMO I will get more use out of those options that the solar roof. (Actually, I am hoping that Toyota implements a solar trickle charge for the traction battery on some future generation --- you should be able to get a pretty good charge with all of our sunshine out here.

If you do some reading on the posts regarding the "pre-cool" option of the solar moon roof you'll see that it's not going to be all that it's advertized to be when temps hit the triple digits. And you guys up north (I'm in Tucson) really get blisteringly hot when it starts to get beyond 110. There's no way you are going to be able to cool the interior 30 degrees when it's that hot outside --- not with the ventilation system / remote air conditioning and the normal operating assumptions (i.e a few minutes before you enter the vehicle). If someone with this option has a different experience then I am all ears.

I hope to be getting my Five very soon, once my combinations of options comes in. Hell, it's been almost 10 weeks of waiting. I could have gotten a Four much sooner but want all the goodies in the Five.

Chill. It's the rest of us that don't have our Five's right now that have the envy.

 

Be sure to try your PWR MODE for a more repsonsive feel. Remember it's there for you cause it can be easy to forget about using it.

 

I'm about to buy a $32,500 Plug-in Prius:
No Softex seats
No vehicle tracking cruise control
No LED headlamps
No headlight washers
No 17" alloys
No JBL audio

What do you have to be remorseful about?

 

I wanted the Five and the tech package but they are almost impossible to find in SoCal. I'm happy with the Four and solar roof pkg. And in the end, I'm just grateful - period - to be able to afford and drive a new car of any kind when so many are stuck driving cars that get low mileage, are older, in disrepair but aren't able to change due to loss of job/income, etc. Its rough out there still for many.

 

I wish i had bought a IV or V. They only had III's after the quake and i had to buy one inbound and wait 3 weeks at that. Still i'm ok with my III but dream of a IV or V.

 

I upgraded to a prius also from a 545i. Before that I had a 540i & mercedes 500E. Had to get used to the less power but didn't take long before I love driving my prius(for fun & mpg). Oh, & about the respect, that's overrated as I enjoy $money$ left in my wallet more.

 

It's common for buyers remorse when one makes a big purchase. The grass is always greener on the other side.

 

I just bought a Prius Two. In order to keep it an economical decision over the life of (my owning) the car, I had to go with the basic model -- only fog lamps and carpets added. I really did want to get the four or five, but they were way too difficult to find here in Alabama, and were also "dreams" to me. I guess I could have made it work, but I really wanted to come out ahead economically in the long run.

I traded in my Chevy Trailblazer, which I loved dearly and had all the gizmos (leather, navigation, etc.) so it was a bit of an adjustment, to say the least. But, after two weeks and over 1200 miles, and only $35 in gas (after the dealer's full tank), I can't say anything but... "Hey, it's a Prius."

I also find that my driving habits have changed for the better. Driving more slowly has helped me to remain relaxed on the road.

Enjoy it. Whether the basic model or the Five fully loaded, a Prius is a Prius.