Talk Me Down ...Thinking of trading Prius for Maxima

#1. Thank you.

#2: soo.......335i??? 6cyl twin turbo easily modified (ECU flash) to over 350hp.....? 135i...same engine, smaller body?

 

It doesn't just have to be gasoline cost, but it is a factor of the overall savings. Really what we are talking about is the overall cost of operation of the vehicle A vs vehicle B (and the OP has included the differential in car payments).

This operating cost does take into account money spent on gasoline, but also maintenance, insurance, repairs, etc. As an example, a fellow at work with a BMW M5 replaced his two rear tires. It cost him something like $800 for the two rear tires that lasted him ~ 25,000 miles. I remembered thinking that the $1600 that he'd have to spend to replace all 4 tires would like be more than I would spend on tires for the first 200,000 miles of my car's life (assuming I could get 2 sets of Hydroedges and get ~ 90k on each set + my original set).

Imagine that he changes all 4 tires every 50k miles with the current rubber he runs. Assuming a 10 year ownership @ 20,000 miles per year (we both have 60+ mile commutes), he's looking at having purchased 3 sets of tires at a current value of $5000 total. If I had to purchase at the same interval, (thus 3 sets) I'd spend ~$1100, thus saving nearly $4000.

BTW his tires (I looked them up on Tire Rack) - Fronts = $385 each, Rears = $442 each, with a tread rating of 220.

Mine = $93 each with a tread rating of 320 (yokohama avids)

Thus, he should end up buying an extra set of tires, thus raising his cost another $1650 or so. I could get the Goodyears (OEM) and get a tire rating of 540, thus decreasing another purchase of mine, adding another $400 in savings., so now you are up to $6,000 in savings IN TIRES ALONE over the life of the car.

The Nissan won't cost as much as a BMW, more like $600 for four tires rather than $1600 for four tires.

 

So you can feel extra smug: my other car's tires are $300 each with a treadwear rating of 60 (ADVAN A048, Medium compound).

 

I like the diesel BMW 335d. It gets 36mpg and is pretty fast. It is really the best of both worlds.

 

All the cars I see around here are about the same "fast"... must have something to do with speed limits, safety or cops.

 

60! Yikes! I think the donut has a higher rating!

I wouldn't call it smug....more like horror! When he told me how much his rears cost, I felt awful for him. What a crappy way to spend $800!