'08 silver bullet

[kathyb]

Hi,
ordered my '08 Prius package#5 w/ GPS on 11/24/07.
Silver w/ dark grey - I had to change my color since none were availble in the NYC market Silver Pine Mica...that's ok got my 2nd choice.
Just recieved a call from the dealer with my Vin#
I've been told I should expect it next week.
Just ordered my mudguards and rear fender protector.

[Tideland Prius]

Congrats and welcome to PriusChat!

[mabelair]

Definitely congratulations and a hearty welcome to the forums.

MAB

[dc4549]

To:BigBlockGasGuzzlerPrius




Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
Abraham Lincoln

[Boo]

Originally Posted by kathyb

Hi,
ordered my '08 Prius package#5 w/ GPS on 11/24/07.
Silver w/ dark grey - I had to change my color since none were availble in the NYC market Silver Pine Mica...that's ok got my 2nd choice.
Just recieved a call from the dealer with my Vin#
I've been told I should expect it next week.
Just ordered my mudguards and rear fender protector.

Hi Kathy,

Congrats.

Curious, which NYC area dealer did you use?

I bought from Toyota of Manhattan, and my family has bought from Plaza Toyota or Bay Ridge Toyota (don't remember which one) in Brooklyn.

In any event, watch out for the closer (usually a finance guy, whether you finance the car or not) who will try to sell you extended warranties, service agreements and other products (usually of dubious worth) at outrageous prices.

If you are truly interested in getting an extended warranty or service agreement, be aware that PriusChat has a vendor (Troy Dietrich of WarrantyShack.com/Toyota of Greenfield, MA) who sells them at the lowest prices around. For example, my Toyota dealer tried to sell me the Toyota Platinum Care 7 years/100,000 miles extended warranty for $2,500, while Troy/WarrantyShack/Toyota of Greenfield sells the exact same warranty for $990.

[kathyb]

Hi,
Thanks for the advice, this is my first car, but I've been looking at the Prius for well over a year.

I've purchased from Bay Ridge Toyota. I went to Manhattan Toyota at first, then took a ride out to Bay Ridge toyota- I really liked the people there unlike the Plaza Toyota dealers that were so annoying.

I"ve already been with the closer who started explaining the Platinum Extended Warranty for $1395 which I'm interested in. At the time I told him remind me when I come in with the final payment..Then I found priuschat so I'm aware of the rip... I'm already in touch with whom you mentioned and will not be buying anything else from the dealer.
I just ordered mud guards and bumper protector. They should be delivered by next week.I guess I'll have Bay Ridge install the guards for $85. That's the price I was quoted on the phone.
I'm very excited since I just heard from the dealer that the car is in the NYC area......so it looks like this week I'll have it.
Until I put some miles on the car I'm not buying another thing for it

[Boo]

Originally Posted by kathyb

Hi,
Thanks for the advice, this is my first car, but I've been looking at the Prius for well over a year.

I've purchased from Bay Ridge Toyota. I went to Manhattan Toyota at first, then took a ride out to Bay Ridge toyota- I really liked the people there unlike the Plaza Toyota dealers that were so annoying.

I"ve already been with the closer who started explaining the Platinum Extended Warranty for $1395 which I'm interested in. At the time I told him remind me when I come in with the final payment..Then I found priuschat so I'm aware of the rip... I'm already in touch with whom you mentioned and will not be buying anything else from the dealer.
I just ordered mud guards and bumper protector. They should be delivered by next week.I guess I'll have Bay Ridge install the guards for $85. That's the price I was quoted on the phone.
I'm very excited since I just heard from the dealer that the car is in the NYC area......so it looks like this week I'll have it.
Until I put some miles on the car I'm not buying another thing for it.

Whoa, your first car --- and already you've shown much more saavy than a lot of veteran car buyers (certainly a lot more than me)!!!

BTW, if you haven't noticed already, parallel parking in NYC is brutal on one's bumpers, especially the rear bumper. Within 12 hours after I drove my Prius home from Toyota of Manhattan and parallel parked it on my street, I got 10 nicks, scratches and gouges on my rear bumper --- clearly from the front license plate screws of the parallel parker(s) behind me who had to "tap" my rear bumper repeatedly in order to get into or out of the parallel parking spot.

Since then, I put on 2 inch wide, full length, color-matched, front and rear bumper guard strips from BumperDefender.com, and little, spool-like, rubber bumpers on my front license plate screws so that I do not inflict similar damage to parallel parked cars in front of me. You can see photos of them here:

Oh... what a Bumper Bummer...

Let me know if you're interested in either of these bumper guards. I have some more advice regarding them, and have helped other Chatters here in NYC and elsewhere with them, including actually installing the BumperDefender.com strips onto IndyTrailMike's Prius.

Congrats again.

[kathyb]

Hi,
Yes I am interested....I have a parking spot in an outside lot but was wondering what I could do to prevent those dings and such.
Did you self install the bumper guards. Are they big enough? Were they expensive?
I was looking at the bumper badger as an additional back bumper protector.
thanks for your help, it's much appreciated for this novice car owner and driver Watch out world!!

[Boo]

Originally Posted by kathyb

Hi,
Yes I am interested....I have a parking spot in an outside lot but was wondering what I could do to prevent those dings and such.
Did you self install the bumper guards. Are they big enough? Were they expensive?
I was looking at the bumper badger as an additional back bumper protector.
thanks for your help, it's much appreciated for this novice car owner and driver Watch out world!!

Yeah, one problem with NYC is that you can't avoid parallel parking completely. Even if you own or rent a parking space in a parking lot or garage, if you go anywhere else in NYC you normally have to parallel park at your destination.

I would guess that with 2 inch wide, full length, BumperDefender.com bumper strips, at least 50% of the commonly occurring NYC parallel parking nicks, scrapes and gouges will be avoided. The bumper strips are relatively inexpensive --- about $80 delivered. I think they look good (being color matched, and with the color impregnated into the strip itself), but some people think they look bad or dorky (like pocket protectors). And although they will not protect against all nicks, scrapes and gouges, any nicks, scrapes and gouges that do appear end up being less noticeable because the eye is distracted by the bumper strip running along the center line of the bumper. An alternative to the color matched, BumperDefender.com bumper strips is to get contrasting black ones from and installed by a good body shop (see photos of Zang's Prius in the thread I've linked above).

If you elect to get the BumperDefender.com bumper strips, it would be good to either have a good body shop install them, or to have another person to help you install them yourself. I already own the proper bumper strip cutting shears which I will be glad to lend to you and/or I will be glad to help you install them (I live in Stuyvesant Town), but we'd probably have to wait until Spring when the weather warms up.

If you want to get those little, spool like, front license plate screw bumpers (see my photos in the thread I've linked above), the cheapest place to get them is GirlsLoveWheels.com. BTW, since the time of those photos, I've replaced those 2 license plate screw bumpers with 4 license plate screw bumpers that I made myself out of a 4-pack of black rubber chair leg tips that you can typically buy from a hardware store for about $2. They look pretty good because they're tapered and spikey --- almost punk, gay or S&M like lol! I'd post pictures of them, but because of the (hopefully temporary) file size limitation of the new PriusChat software, I can't. If you want to see photos, PM me with an email address that I can send them to.

I like the bumper badger, and may get one myself for additional protection. It protects more of the center of the rear bumper, but obviously it doesn't protect the end corners and sides of the rear bumper, and none of the front bumper. It's ugly (but since it's not as if it's trying to "blend" --- I think it has its own appealing aesthetic), and with its increasingly prevalent use on NYC cars, I'm getting very used to it. All over the City these days, I see the bumper badger used on all types of cars --- from Hyundai's & Kia's to Mercedes, BMWs & Audi's --- and it seems like a lot of New Yorkers just leave it on and out all the time.

Let everyone know when you pick up your Prius. Ahh ... the anticipation!

[kathyb]

I think they look swell I was debating about those other corner bumper protectors that are much bulkier but a friends got ripped off and it looks awful.
I'm definitely getting them to match the silver color of the car....so much to think about.
will let all know when the vehicle is in my hands...