Navigation system aftermarket? (Prius in Hawaii)

frossie · 08-17-2007, 12:08 AM

We are in Hawaii and are interested in purchasing a Touring Prius (package #6). For reasons that no salesman has been able to explain to us, the navigation option is not available. I assume that is because the DVD does not have the Hawaii maps on it - fine, but we may relocate to the mainland one day so we would like to purchase the model with the navigation for future use. All the Toyota dealers claim it is impossible to order a model with the navigation system.

If we do buy the car without the navigation system, would it be possible to retrofit it as an option if we moved to the mainland at a later date? (Such that it used the existing Prius screen).

Alternatively, are there any lower-48 dealers out there that would like to ship us a Prius :-)

**Tideland Prius** · 08-17-2007, 01:01 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(frossie @ Aug 16 2007, 09:08 PM) [snapback]497558[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

We are in Hawaii and are interested in purchasing a Touring Prius (package #6). For reasons that no salesman has been able to explain to us, the navigation option is not available. I assume that is because the DVD does not have the Hawaii maps on it - fine, but we may relocate to the mainland one day so we would like to purchase the model with the navigation for future use. All the Toyota dealers claim it is impossible to order a model with the navigation system.

If we do buy the car without the navigation system, would it be possible to retrofit it as an option if we moved to the mainland at a later date? (Such that it used the existing Prius screen).

Alternatively, are there any lower-48 dealers out there that would like to ship us a Prius :-)
[/b]

I know an integrated system is nice but may I interest you in a portable system instead? They'll have Hawaii as well as the mainland and they're much cheaper. Granted, you'll have to deal with power cables and suction cups but that's a very easy solution to the nav issue.

Bill Merchant · 08-17-2007, 02:11 AM

Hi frossie, welcome to PriusChat! The problem you've found is internal Toyota sales logic. Hawaiian Toyota sales organization is not like one of the other US regional sales organizations. I think they buy their cars directly from Toyota in Japan. You probably can't get a Prius with built-in nav there in Hawaii. On the other hand, it's hard to get too lost on most of the islands. You could buy a Prius in California and ship it back to Hawaii if you really want integrated nav, but even the North America nav DVD is at least two years out of date and costs over $300 to replace.

Buy a Prius there. If/when you move to the mainland, sell your Prius there and buy a new one here. They hold value well and you'll get a new car with new bells and whistles... and nav.

And the troll has been reported so no one needs to report it again.

koa · 08-17-2007, 03:01 AM

The distributor Servco Toyota has a separate agreement with Toyota and is the only dealer here. The couple of independent dealers on the outer islands still buy their cars from Servco. They do not bring in any vehicles with navigation. This includes all the Lexus which they also distribute. Their rationale was it is not really needed here and hardly anyone asks for it and it's an expensive option. I called the BMW dealer and he told me they will bring in a few BMWs with navigation but usually only special orders. He said if they have a vehicle with nav and the person doesn't want nav they end up making no money on the option in order to sell the car, which kinda makes sense here. Servco prices on the Prius are decent but not the lowest. They do not negotiate so it is what it is. They have a online sales division and I once ran into a salesman for online sales at the parts dept and he said they have the cheapest prices so check online. Also shipping is about $1000 to or from mainland west coast and if you ship a new car to Hawaii you're suppose to pay sales tax now. A couple of years ago it was hit or miss whether you got charged the tax, now I'm pretty sure you will be charged. Also if you are thinking of getting the extended Toyota warranty that's discounted on this site you might have to cover expenses/repairs yourself then get reimbursed through the warranty you purchase. Servco has a warranty which is expensive ($1700) but you do get the full amount ($1700) back at the end if you do not use any of it. You can choose to use it or not. It is prorated from the date of purchase (not after vehicle warranty expires) if you want to cancel if you sell vehicle. I don't think it's transferable but I'm not positive.

frossie · 08-17-2007, 03:29 PM

Mahalo Koa. I understand why they dealerships don't have cars with sat nav on their lots, what I don't understand is why they won't even special order one if you put cash down!

I* can read a map just fine, but the hubby likes the idea of the integrated system, what can I do! He doesn't want a 3rd party sat nav. He just fancies the technology, we live on the Big Island so it's not like we are in any danger of getting lost!

I just need to talk him out of fussing about it :-)

So how much "paradise tax" do kamaaina pay for their Prius? The Hilo dealer wants $2,500 over MSRP.

David Beale · 08-17-2007, 03:37 PM

Oh boy, at that price, it's less expensive to just buy a car on the mainland and have it shipped. Shipping was posted at about $1000. That way, you get to pay the exorbitant cost for the Toyota Nav. system.

tekn0wledg · 08-17-2007, 03:52 PM

I recommend picking up a Garmin Nuvi 350 or higher.... way cheaper and has better features. Plus it's portable, so you can take it on a few on-foot adventures in the lovely land of Hawaii

frossie · 08-17-2007, 10:14 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(David Beale @ Aug 17 2007, 09:37 AM) [snapback]497983[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Oh boy, at that price, it's less expensive to just buy a car on the mainland and have it shipped. Shipping was posted at about $1000. That way, you get to pay the exorbitant cost for the Toyota Nav. system.

[/b]

You know, every time we had to purchase a car I wanted to get it from the mainland as a point of principle. The dealers here have the most ridiculous excuses for the "paradise tax" - when I bought my own car, the dealer told me that the price gouging covered, among other things, "washing the cars because they arrived by sea". An interesting excuse, where it not the Honda dealer I was talking to - I am sorry, and how do Honda cars arrive in the mainland from Japan? Teleportation? The dealers are just leveraging their monopoly.

However, if you need to fly to the mainland to buy a car, by the time you factor in flights, hotels and time, the saving does disappear. Unless you have some way of locating a trustworthy West Coast dealer who is willing to ship you the car, you are stuck with whatever price they quote you locally, especially for a car like the Prius for which there is high demand here.

koa · 08-18-2007, 12:11 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(frossie @ Aug 17 2007, 09:29 AM) [snapback]497978[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Mahalo Koa. I understand why they dealerships don't have cars with sat nav on their lots, what I don't understand is why they won't even special order one if you put cash down!

I* can read a map just fine, but the hubby likes the idea of the integrated system, what can I do! He doesn't want a 3rd party sat nav. He just fancies the technology, we live on the Big Island so it's not like we are in any danger of getting lost!

I just need to talk him out of fussing about it :-)

So how much "paradise tax" do kamaaina pay for their Prius? The Hilo dealer wants $2,500 over MSRP.
[/b]

I just called the Toyota dealer by the Honolulu airport, 564-1100 and spoke to a salesman named Miles. He said they are selling the Prius for MSRP or a little less. Absolutely can not order one with navigation. They are getting backlogged again so there might be a wait now. Also the 08 will be in soon. Shipping is around $100 for cars to outer islands I think. Or wait for the Superferry to get going, fly over on one of Go's $1 fares, pick it up and drive on and off to your door.

F8L · 08-18-2007, 11:27 AM

I didn't get the NAV option when I bout my Prius and now I want it. I put in an order for a Kenwood DNX7100 DVD/NAV/CD/MP3/USB player. Pretty nice unit overall and the NAV works in all of the US and Canada, including Puerto Rico.

08-17-2007, 02:11 AM	#3
Bill Merchant absit invidia Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA \| Oregon \| Portland area \| 97004 \| Posts: 4,100 My Car: 2007 Prius Model: Package: #5 Thanks: 18 Thanked 10 Times in 8 Posts Friends: 60	Hi frossie, welcome to PriusChat! The problem you've found is internal Toyota sales logic. Hawaiian Toyota sales organization is not like one of the other US regional sales organizations. I think they buy their cars directly from Toyota in Japan. You probably can't get a Prius with built-in nav there in Hawaii. On the other hand, it's hard to get too lost on most of the islands. You could buy a Prius in California and ship it back to Hawaii if you really want integrated nav, but even the North America nav DVD is at least two years out of date and costs over $300 to replace. Buy a Prius there. If/when you move to the mainland, sell your Prius there and buy a new one here. They hold value well and you'll get a new car with new bells and whistles... and nav. And the troll has been reported so no one needs to report it again. __________________ Bill Bill.Merchant@PortlandHSD.info 2007 NL 5 Silver Wraith • 2005 BC 6 Silver Cloud Portland Area HSD Meetup Group: PortlandHSD.info Become carbon neutral: Carbonfund.org or TerraPass.com > < Follow me on

08-17-2007, 03:01 AM	#4
koa Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Hawaii Posts: 913 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: Package: #8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 16 Times in 15 Posts Friends: 0	The distributor Servco Toyota has a separate agreement with Toyota and is the only dealer here. The couple of independent dealers on the outer islands still buy their cars from Servco. They do not bring in any vehicles with navigation. This includes all the Lexus which they also distribute. Their rationale was it is not really needed here and hardly anyone asks for it and it's an expensive option. I called the BMW dealer and he told me they will bring in a few BMWs with navigation but usually only special orders. He said if they have a vehicle with nav and the person doesn't want nav they end up making no money on the option in order to sell the car, which kinda makes sense here. Servco prices on the Prius are decent but not the lowest. They do not negotiate so it is what it is. They have a online sales division and I once ran into a salesman for online sales at the parts dept and he said they have the cheapest prices so check online. Also shipping is about $1000 to or from mainland west coast and if you ship a new car to Hawaii you're suppose to pay sales tax now. A couple of years ago it was hit or miss whether you got charged the tax, now I'm pretty sure you will be charged. Also if you are thinking of getting the extended Toyota warranty that's discounted on this site you might have to cover expenses/repairs yourself then get reimbursed through the warranty you purchase. Servco has a warranty which is expensive ($1700) but you do get the full amount ($1700) back at the end if you do not use any of it. You can choose to use it or not. It is prorated from the date of purchase (not after vehicle warranty expires) if you want to cancel if you sell vehicle. I don't think it's transferable but I'm not positive. __________________ 06 Silver 8 minus Navigation BT Stiffening Plate Weathertech cargo liner Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S 205/60 15

08-17-2007, 12:08 AM	#1
frossie Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 10 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	We are in Hawaii and are interested in purchasing a Touring Prius (package #6). For reasons that no salesman has been able to explain to us, the navigation option is not available. I assume that is because the DVD does not have the Hawaii maps on it - fine, but we may relocate to the mainland one day so we would like to purchase the model with the navigation for future use. All the Toyota dealers claim it is impossible to order a model with the navigation system. If we do buy the car without the navigation system, would it be possible to retrofit it as an option if we moved to the mainland at a later date? (Such that it used the existing Prius screen). Alternatively, are there any lower-48 dealers out there that would like to ship us a Prius :-)

08-17-2007, 03:29 PM	#5
frossie Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 10 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Mahalo Koa. I understand why they dealerships don't have cars with sat nav on their lots, what I don't understand is why they won't even special order one if you put cash down! I* can read a map just fine, but the hubby likes the idea of the integrated system, what can I do! He doesn't want a 3rd party sat nav. He just fancies the technology, we live on the Big Island so it's not like we are in any danger of getting lost! I just need to talk him out of fussing about it :-) So how much "paradise tax" do kamaaina pay for their Prius? The Hilo dealer wants $2,500 over MSRP.

08-17-2007, 03:37 PM	#6
David Beale Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Edmonton Alberta Posts: 2,116 My Car: 2007 Prius Model: Package: B Thanks: 3 Thanked 77 Times in 58 Posts Friends: 0	Oh boy, at that price, it's less expensive to just buy a car on the mainland and have it shipped. Shipping was posted at about $1000. That way, you get to pay the exorbitant cost for the Toyota Nav. system.

08-17-2007, 03:52 PM	#7
tekn0wledg Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 136 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I recommend picking up a Garmin Nuvi 350 or higher.... way cheaper and has better features. Plus it's portable, so you can take it on a few on-foot adventures in the lovely land of Hawaii

08-18-2007, 11:27 AM	#10
F8L Collecting Data on Nature Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Sacramento, CA. Posts: 5,518 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: Package: #4 Thanks: 22 Thanked 192 Times in 140 Posts Friends: 35	I didn't get the NAV option when I bout my Prius and now I want it. I put in an order for a Kenwood DNX7100 DVD/NAV/CD/MP3/USB player. Pretty nice unit overall and the NAV works in all of the US and Canada, including Puerto Rico.