Newb- First new car... bought a Prius- Buyers remorse (about features)

With absolutely no intention of buying anything, I went looking at new cars on New Years Day. Never bought a new car for myself before, but the Prius just made sense for a number of reasons (HOV lane riding, fuel efficiency, and the dealership is exactly 1 mile away from home). The buying experience wasn't that good, but I like the car so far.

I have put about 300 miles on it so I should fill it back up after reading some of the issues about running out of gas. I was also very disappointed by the mileage until I read on here about the things that will eat away at the MPG.

There is one regret I have however which is that I did not get the NAV system and the back up cam. I had a loaner (fully loaded) while mine was in for the interior treatment, and I really like that feature of the car. I can not find any aftermarket at this point and I am sure the price at the dealer to have it installed will probably be more than what it would have cost just to buy one with it already equipped. Anyone have these systems retrofitted?

Welcome to Priuschat!

NOVA stop & crawl should yield excellent results. That does not mean using EV mode, generally, which some newbies think is the ticket. Once temps warm and you get some experience, you'll like the mpg better.

I think there are threads here on aftermarket backup cameras, and certainly on NAVs. I'm not much help there since we bit the bullet with NAV package and are happy we did. Better lucky than smart, as they say.

Good luck.

Personally, I will not pay for a factory NAV - I've never found one I like nearly as much as the aftermarket one I use. With aftermarket GPS units going for about $100-150 for very nice units with better displays and features, you might want to try one of these.

As for back-up cameras, there are nice aftermarket ones that put the image up in the rear view mirror where it is much easier to see. A local car accessory shop should be able to help you out (around here that would be Car Toys).

In both cases, this should be cheaper than any attempt at installing the factory stuff.

Agreed that there are many aftermarket options for NAV and backup cameras that, while they may not look perfectly OEM or seamless, will very likely give you as good or better of a system than original equipment. If you are truly regretting it, take the $ you saved, read the numerous threads on here about adding aftermarket products, and go have what you choose installed by a professional. You may even come out ahead money-wise, and have a great product that can be updated at a cheaper cost.

This is a way easier and cost-effective thing to fix buyer remorse on than say, leather seats or lack of a sunroof. Enjoy the new ride, and keep reading here. You will learn a lot of good things to be able to increase your MPG's dramatically.

I am a newbie and yes, I think EV mode is the ticket. Could you please explain NOVA stop and crawl. I checked the glossary and search and could not find an explanation.

Thanks!

I did too, lol but i think he meant north Virginia stop and go traffic

It costs an arm and a leg to update the Prius NAV so in a year or two, you will be glad you did not spend the big bucks on that option. If you look at the latest navs from Garmin or TomTom, with 3D display, with highway/autobahn signs displayed on the screen, road work and traffic jams are included, you can even get Homer Simpson to read the directions to you - they are miles ahead of the Toyota nav system.

The only thing I would like to have is the parking assistant - it is super cool, and my wife can not park, so it is also practical

Sorry. Yes, Branndon nailed it. Northern Virginia congested traffic.

More importantly, KLear, you are wondering why I hint to avoid EV? Well, while it helps to capture regen braking energy, all of the Prius' movement comes from gasoline, and conversion of gasoline to motion and back to electricity is not all that efficient. Better to use the gas engine in efficient zones (not all out, but not loafing like normal cars do most of the time) as needed, and then glide (say the lowest quarter of the ECO area), so that little or no EV current is applied. Then, fire up the engine at the high end of ECO more or less to pulse back to speed.

Use the pack energy, but be judicious, because putting energy in the pack is less efficient than leaving it in the gas tank until needed. A plug-in hybrid is an entirely different situation where you want to use the pack because the utility can propel you cheaper than the fuel tank.

Obliged. So instead of relying on the battery, use gas to propel car until ECO goes up then "firewall the throttle" to achieve cruising speed, rinse and repeat.

I live in N. Virginia. I did not get the Nav. Think of it this way, the technology is evolving too fast. My current Garmin is way better than my 2 year old Garmin and 2 years from now I'll use my iPhone.

Congratulations. There is always some buyer remorse. It's normal.

There are many aftermarket options for a backup camera. Now that I am used to the car, it is no big deal not to have it either.

i got the tomtom app for my Iphone with turn by turn directions and it works real nice.

I called the dealer and they said that the factory NAV/CAM's can not be retrofitted. When you buy a Prius you get what you get and that is it. After that you have to head to the aftermarket. We have a Garmin Nuvi which is why I did not get the factory installed, not so sorry now. There is PLENTY of room to park my beanbag NAV base on that huge dash surface, so I am content. The backup cam was cool, but I am ok without it.

BTW, my MPG reader was at 40MPG when I parked it about an hour ago. It keeps getting better and better soince I have been driving it on the highway the past 3 days.

I love navi and even going to but it in my Smart Car

Backup cam isn't a necessity, I guess, but I've never parallel parked so well in any car as my Prius with the cam.

At least you're not trading in a Prius. I have been "soft dealing" on a Smart over the internet here in the Denver metro and they were very interested until all this acceleration/brake stuff hit the news. Now they won't give me a quote on a trade value for my '06 Prius. So I might not get that Brabus Cabrio they have sitting on the floor, LOL.