Prime shopper needs advice

location will be helpful for pricing

 

you're in the best area. check the pricing thread, people are getting 2-3 k discounts, 3k rebates, and state and fed tax credits.

 

Obviously it all depends on final $$, but I'd say XLE over LE is well worth the price difference - which isn't that much, usually.

Limited over XLE is >$4k and not worth it.

 

I have black interior (2017). If things has not changed you have either black or moonstone interior choice for PRIME. Yes, piano black dash is a dust magnet. I've never had porcelain white dash on my car, so I don't know for sure but I am sure it also collect the same amount of dust, you just can't see well? As far as the glare goes, piano black and chrome accent in my car present plenty of obnoxious shiny glare on occasions. I don't know if white interior would be any worse.

I wanted Plus (now LE) but ended up purchasing Premium (now XLE). I am glad that I have 3 door SKS and power seat with power lumber support. I do not like the larger screen and softex seat material, so if you like those features, you may really like XLE over LE trim.

Reading this thread may help you to decide... though it may still be difficult to decide after reading all the comments. It may boils down to a personal preference, it seems. : Do you need underbody rust protection on new Prime? | PriusChat

PRIME's (and GEN4 Prius) underside is heavily covered by plastic, and I was told that undercoating is not needed by a shop who does Fluid Film coating. I had option of getting the "apply once" permanent type undercoating at a shop where they would remove all the underside panels to coat the underside permanently but the price was very high and I did not know exactly what type of material this permanent sealer was, so I decided not to do that.

It seems most people agree that rubberized type or other material that permanently coat the underside do more harm than good in a long run by cracking and seeping water vapor that get trapped on the surface of the metal. But annual application of petroleum or wax (lanolin in Fluid Film) based undercoating can get expensive if you have to take off all the covers every time. I also read that some petroleum based material may damage rubber and plastic and may not be compatible with the high voltage cables that runs underside of the PRIME.

I have not taken off all of the plastic cover off of my PRIME, so I don't know how much of "metal" components are there to be protected. However, after two winters in New England without any rustproofing measures taken, some surface rusts are apparent in suspension and brake area of my PRIME. When I changed to winter tires this year, I did spray some Fluid Film and Wool Wax (similar to Fluid Film but thicker) on areas easily accessible DIY.

In NY, $3K incentive and some state rebate? As suggested, check the price paid thread mentioned above.

Good luck.

 

I undercoated my car but not entirely for the salt issue, although that is a big issue here in the winter. I also had it undercoated to reduced road noise and to prevent exposed metal surface corrosion. I was also thinking it may increase trade-in value down the road. I only got the bottom surface of the car done, not inside panels or anything.

However, undercoating does have drawbacks like the extra weight.

My wife decided to use a product called RustCop which is an oil-based water displacement product that is sprayed in all the cavities of her NX300h. The drawback is it must be applied every year and it drips like crazy for 3 days after. On her previous vehicles she had no rust anywhere that also used this product.


Unsupervised!

 

I bought the 2020 base model, as it has everything I need, and I didn't want some of the features of the upper models. I prefer the breathable cloth seats (vs. vinyl that is sweaty in the summer and cold in the winter) and the smaller display with buttons and switches for the climate control (vs. the big, distracting 11" screen that washes out in the sun), so no regrets here. I wouldn't have minded a few of the upper model features like the JBL audio system and blind-spot monitor, but I can live without them. I do a lot of short urban trips, so haven't had much need for navigation, but I've got Apple Carplay and my Garmin gps for that.

I live in a heavily salted area in winter, but I have no plans for any undercoating. My previous car, a Subaru, never had anything done to it during the 9 years I owned it, and few issues with corrosion

 

while we have seen a lot of surface rust in 20 years of prius, idk if we've seen anything serious enough to warrant it.

 

I've been quoted $4600+ off MSRP in SF bay area (includes $2000 Toyota cash and 2600 'dealer discount'.
Took that to another dealer and told them I need $4700 PLUS the $2500 CA state rebate that expired on Dec 3 they were too stupid to tell me about on Dec 1. Told them I could "eat" only $500 of the 2500 to punish myself for thinking a Dealer would actually know about a HUGE program that Mr Toyota worked so hard to get CA State to do. They came back asking if I could come up $1500 and I said no, then they asked if I could come up $750 and I said no. So I'm at $4700 + $2000 for total of $6,700 off MSRP with them countering at $5950 off MSRP (plus free roof racks that cost them $110 but retail for $300).

This is for LE Prime with White paint and $900 8 spoke rims.

 

Also on the LE, pressing the unlock button twice on the fob will unlock rear doors and hatch.

 

Mine is the black & white. White has not been an issue with glare or dirt. The softex cleans easily. However, that extreme gloss on the black area under the glove box? You'll put your eye out kid!! I had to put some matte vinyl on that.

I don't care for the big screen, but the power driver's seat is WONDERFUL! That's the big difference for me.

I've never undercoated except when we lived on a small island. Not sure how much it helped because I had it in the shop at least once a year for rust.

Depends on where you live.

 

Never buy anything extra from the dealership. They always overcharge. Make your decision on what to get, then find the best local shop and best price.

 

For undercoating, there's really no substitute for getting under the car and inspecting it. Once you get under there you'll see why.

 

1) I have the Black interior, no issues.

2) I own an Advanced (Limited) & really like all of those features, so I'd recommend at least getting the XLE. Later resale will probably be easier on a mid level model vs a base model.

3) DIY Rust Proofer, arguably the best bang for the buck:
www.amazon.com/CRC-06026-Heavy-Corrosion-Inhibitor/dp/B07N1VLTFD

Also if you have a conveniently located 240v outlet, you can charge up at L2 speeds for less than $50 dollars.


Rob43

 

I had a 2017 Premium (XLE equivalent) and have a 2020 LE now. The main reason I went with an LE the second time around was I HATED the large infotainment screen. Factory Nav was laughably inferior to waze/google maps, and I much prefer the physical HVAC controls of the LE compared to the screen controls in the XLE. Physical volume/tuning knobs are also a nice addition. The cloth seats are kind of a toss-up for me. Positive is temperature extremes don't affect comfort as much, and I get lots of extremes in New England. Down side is its obviously more difficult to clean and doesn't look as nice. I don't miss the power driver seat too much, but I absolutely miss the 3 door Smart Key. Can't count the number of times I've tried to open the passenger door or trunk only to remember I'd have to reach into my pocket for the fob. I found apple carplay to look more natural on the smaller screen the the split layout on the larger screen in the xle as well. In the end, I decided that the layout of the LE, combined with the price reduction, was worth losing the softex/SKS/big screen. But others may value those features differently

 

Thanks for explaining about the difference in the locks. I'd wondered if there was an extra button on the fob to unlock the other doors. I had a 14 PiP previously and it had a nub on the hatch release that would unlock it with the fob close by.
I tried like the dickens to find out how to unlock the Primes hatch without having to use the drivers door unlock button or by double clicking the unlock button on the fob.
For the seats I treated them with scotchguard and put covers on the front seats. I removed the wheelcovers right away and put them in storage for if and when the Prime gets a new owner or someone else wants them for the right price.
After all the complaints about the 11 inch infotainment thing, I'm glad we went for the 17 plus. It's been missing a few things, I think both dynamic grille block and pedestrian warning were never activated by the dealer and when I asked about it I was quoted $100 to hook it up and see. I'll see for myself the first time I actually need to run techstream, not sure I'd trust the dealer to tell the truth anyway.
Plus, there are so many dash screens and gauges after 2 and half years I'm still learning what some of them are used for.
Anyway, thanks for your take on the differences