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New here... about to own a Prius in a week or so..

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by neon tetra, Apr 9, 2008.

  1. neon tetra

    neon tetra Member

    Joined:
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    Looking to buy an 08 Touring & I have a few questions.

    I see a lot about the BT Stiffening Plate.
    Are there any reasons not to do it? Does it compromise anything?

    Also, what wax have you found is best?

    I'll be taking it on a cross-country road trip (& probably putting about 7000+ miles on it) a few weeks after I get it.

    One last thing.. I've heard that the CD text has limited functionality during driving (which seems silly b/c the passenger can use it too). I was thinking of making a lot of mp3 cd's for the trip. Is it going to be hard to navigate through them?


    Anyway... I really can't wait to get it!!

     
    #1 neon tetra, Apr 9, 2008
  2. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

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    2007 Prius
    :welcome: Welcome to PriusChat, neon tetra! You'll love the car!

    There is no downside to the BT Tech stiffening plate other than its moderate expense. I don't have a Touring model, but many who do thinks it improves the ride. It does not compromise anything.

    Before your long trip, make sure your four wheels are aligned. Toyota will give you a free alignment of the front wheels if you tell them you think the car is pulling to one side or the other. They say they can't align the rear wheels, but a good alignment shop can do it with shims if the Toyota alignment shows any problem back there.

    I personally like Zaino to seal and protect the paint. Search and you'll find lots of discussion. For the plastic (interior, roof strips, under bumper, etc.) I like 303 Protectant.

    Make a lot of MP3 CDs and put it on random. If you hold the Random screen button it switches to Disk Random and will pull randomly from the tracks on all the disks you have loaded.

    If you get to Portland in your travels, say hi!
     
    #2 Bill Merchant, Apr 10, 2008
  3. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    I gave mine a coat of Turtle Wax when it was a week old and four years later it still looks great.
     
    #3 richard schumacher, Apr 10, 2008
  4. neon tetra

    neon tetra Member

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    I'm getting impatient!! :)

    Probably gonna get it in 2 weekends from now.

    The only thing that makes me a bit nervous is the seats. A lot of people seem to not like em, & I wasn't in it long enough to really notice.

    I'm only 5'8" though, so maybe it won't be too bad. Plus my Jetta GLX has seats that most people hated, but I never minded them.
     
    #4 neon tetra, Apr 10, 2008
  5. morpheusx

    morpheusx Professor Chaos

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    Three
    most of the people that complain about the seats and the handling seem to be coming to the Prius from a BMW, Mercedes, etc...
     
    #5 morpheusx, Apr 10, 2008
  6. sweetguy

    sweetguy Junior Member

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    I saw all that negative discussion about the seats but I don't agree. I have the cloth seats and they seem perfectly comfortable to me -- I am also 5' 8".

    About the wax, you will see a lot of high end brand enthusiasts on this site, but I trust consumer reports. They say if a car is less than a couple of years old, one step Turtle Wax is the best, very easy to apply (even wet) and will not make swirls. When the car is older and needs longer lasting protection, they liked Black Magic Wet Shine the best.

    People show pictures with very glossy cars but I would bet these make the car every bit as glossy.
     
    #6 sweetguy, Apr 10, 2008
  7. Palmetto

    Palmetto Junior Member

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    Hi neon tetra,
    I buying mine tomorrow. When did you put your deposit down and how long do you expect to wait from the time you gave a deposit?
     
    #7 Palmetto, Apr 10, 2008
  8. EJFB1029

    EJFB1029 New Member

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    Hi and welcome to the club...:D

    I've not found a problem with my seats, they are fairly comfortable on long trips, I have the leather seats.
     
    #8 EJFB1029, Apr 10, 2008
  9. morpheusx

    morpheusx Professor Chaos

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    duplicate post
     
    #9 morpheusx, Apr 10, 2008
  10. neon tetra

    neon tetra Member

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    I don't think there's more than a 2 or 3 day wait around here (just so they can locate the exact model & configuration I want).
    I mainly just need to get some $$ together. Sold the few remaining stocks I had, etc..

    The one thing I'm trying to figure out now.. is there a way to disable the 'safety' (annoyance?) feature that disables cd/mp3 text to be shown while driving?

    I've also heard that they improved the TRAC system a bit on the 07 & later models. I'm wondering if this is really true or not.
     
    #10 neon tetra, Apr 11, 2008
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