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Body Side Moldings

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by mark1154, Aug 8, 2008.

  1. mark1154

    mark1154 Junior Member

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    Just brought our new 2008 home today! Light green color. Didn't realize that Pkg 2 didn't come with body side moldings. Dealer wants $300 to put them on. I was wondering if anyone had purchased them online and did a self-install. Thanks for any info.
     
  2. penbed

    penbed New Member

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    Three hundred bucks!
    I am about to buy color coded side molding for 130 dollars.
    Plan to "stick" on myself.
     
  3. lefat1

    lefat1 Fat Member

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    no pkg come with them. i bought them here at $110 and installed easily
     
  4. onerpm

    onerpm New Member

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    ripoff.

    buy them here:
    www.metrotpn.com

    and stick them on yourself. if you can put a stamp on an envelope straight, you can do this. My wife and I have done it on 3 Prii and on her HyCam.

    Congrats on your new car...you'll love it.

    rpm
     
  5. FBear

    FBear Senior Member

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    Do it your self, just give yourself plenty of time. Do not rush it and it is quite easy. Make sure the surface is clean and grease free, don't wax the car before you install the molding.
     
  6. Qlara

    Qlara New Member

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    You're glad to check out this board before handing out $300 to the dealer? ;)

    Like others said, the color-matched moldings can be just a DIY thing.
    The hardest part is to level the thing right to match the body lines....so it won't look weird.
     
  7. traugu

    traugu Rebel Tree Hugger

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    I purchased them here and installed myself. Very easy and well worth it! Go for it! :thumb:
     
  8. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Hi Mark,

    Congratulations and welcome to PriusChat.

    I too recommend that you buy the moldings from PriusChat Store PriusChat Shop : Toyota Prius Body Side Moldings - $122.00 for $122 and install them yourself.

    The $122 price is low (includes shipping and everything), and if you buy them from the PriusChat Store, you'll be helping to support this great forum.

    BTW, my dealer in New York City is asking $399 for the moldings installed!

    You might want to check out the many threads here about installation of the moldings. Here's a good one: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-m...ccessful-body-side-moldings-installation.html

    Finally, when you get the moldings, the instructions will tell you to have the moldings 1/2 inch lower at the front point than the rear point. I strongly suggest that you increase that differential to 1 inch, i.e., make the front point 1 inch lower than the rear point. IMO, the moldings will look much better that way.

    Good luck.
     
  9. inventor00

    inventor00 Active Member

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    Love the moldings from www.metrotpn.com
    Metrotpn- they are also sold here on Prius chat- that way you support PriusChat if you buy them here. . They have lasted 3 years so far. Great investment. We were lazy and had a body shop put them on....
     
  10. fcc

    fcc New Member

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    i think they look ugly and just live without them. i like the cleaner look.
    think about that please... but if you have decided they are right for you
    i would also recommend the prius chat store.
     
  11. sorka

    sorka Active Member

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    I wonder how these effect gas mileage?
     
  12. Tdoff1

    Tdoff1 New Member

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    I have them and have seen no difference....heck they are mouldings, not wings...
     
  13. MagneticGrayIndy

    MagneticGrayIndy 06Prius;94M Miata;65Rambler770

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    don't worry.. some of us realize it's tongue in cheek!

    +1 for metrotpn... bought several small things from them including the side moldings and installed myself.. no worries.. (just dont' forget to take ALL the tape off including the small pieces at the point of the spear!)

    Take one edge off, align on car and slowly pull the rest off while pressing against the door... easy as pie. And I also think it does wonders to break up the big flat doors, not to mention help cut down on pesky dings!

    one other thing.. the instructions tell you to do one way which will make the front look a bit higher than the back.. personally, I would make them parallel to the lines at the bottom of door if I were to do it again.
     
  14. mark1154

    mark1154 Junior Member

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  15. shimadog

    shimadog New Member

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    I spent $100 to have Danny's moldings installed by a high end body shop. Of the handfull of installations I've seen here around San Francisco, almost all of them look flawed because the instructions were not followed. They look bad unless raked 3/4" lower in front and applied razor-straight.
     
  16. Prius_Gnome

    Prius_Gnome Junior Member

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    I'm just curious.
    Why do you need to remove any wax before installing the moldings? Will wax eventually breakdown and your moldings will fall off?
    So do you wash the side of the Prius with Dawn dish detergent to remove the wax?
     
  17. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    I don't think you have to remove any wax. Just clean the car, use an alcohol wipe and the tube of surface prep stuff they give you.
     
  18. JimboK

    JimboK One owner, low mileage

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    Here is a thread from two years ago where a couple of us described how we installed them.
     
  19. mrblaise

    mrblaise Go Lakers!!

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    If you decide to install them, definitely buy them from the PriusChat shop. Danny does all of us a great service by providing this forum. When you compare the value this site provides, a possible savings of a couple dollars is nothing.
     
  20. mark1154

    mark1154 Junior Member

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