Want like new wheel cover repair without buying new covers

Wow, just wow. The Prius is my wife's baby and she agonizes over every little scratch and dent it accumulates in various parking areas. Your wife needs an attitude adjustment and some parking lessons.

 

I'd wager the paint code is the same as body color Classic Silver Metallic, paint code IF7. So body filler first, sand, then pick up a rattle can in that color. Test first to verify color match. Only spray the damaged area , use multiple thin coats, ample curing time between coats.

But seriously, you should think this through: a month later you'll likely be back where you started.

 

I scratched one of my hubcaps a month after I got the car. Trying to make a u-turn on a narrow street. (But I'm an old guy, so I have an excuse. ) Tried spraying a little silver paint on it, but it looked like crap. Searched for 2016 Prius wheel covers online. Plenty of guys selling brand-new ones on eBay that they just took off their car. I got 4 new for 20 bucks apiece. Just got lucky. (Now I have 3 spares).

 

Time to try and get some of those old school "curb feelers" that look like metal whiskers sticking out of the side.

 

Just ignore it - keep them on the same side of the car - when you go to sell the car in a few years, just go and buy 2 new ones.

[We bought a new MAZDA for my wife in 1995, with hubcaps. I took off the passenger side ones and stored them. It took a long time before she noticed that one side had hubcaps and the other didn't. Probably because it's VERY difficult to see both sides of a car at the same time. When she noticed, she requested they go back on.]

 

The moral of the story: If possible, the wife should always have her own car? A beater and kid hauler.

I actually scraped 2 of my new wheel covers, one on each side. Guilty as charged! (One is minor). I was not made to parallel park! So right away I knew I needed to have a set of spare hubcaps. That was the first thing I bought for the car. But I would rather accidentally scrape an inexpensive plastic wheel cover, than the nice alloy wheel underneath. That's why I leave the "Pizza Slices" cover on the wheels.

 

That's a tall order.

 

The seller I found on eBay had the new hubcaps in his garage. Only one or two months old. Pristine condition. (Photo at left). He just wanted to get rid of them, and I couldn't pass up that great deal. $80 for 4. I'd never pay $400 for those plastic Pizzas!

(Believe it or not, I'd never been on the eBay website before. Amazing how much auto parts they sell on that site. Lots of interesting stuff. That is where I found these items for my white center console).

 

I spent roughly $400 on a set of decent condition PIP rims.



Spending $400 for plastic wheel covers is a cruel joke.

 

Those are nice looking wheels.

Yeah, I think the dealer wants about $85-$90 for a Gen 4 Pizza hubcap. Ridiculous. When the thieves find out how much they are selling for, Gen 4 wheel covers will start disappearing. Steal 4, and sell them for $50 each on eBay.

 

Acquiring the rims was relatively easy. Convincing the missus that they'll look at least as nice as our (3rd gen) OEM 17" rims...: that's still a work in progress.

Just great, now they know.

 

They might look at this thread, but can they read it? That, is the question!

 

I decided 50 yrs ago not to fix minor dings as they happen - unless it's someone else's fault and their insurance will pay (as long as it's still roadworthy and secure).

Dad had a car, in about '66, which he scraped the LR corner side strip and the paint, both colours, later there was a matching one on the other side with a slight dent. He got prices, decided he'd "get it fixed later". Then he got rear-ended, meaning that it all got fixed, looked perfect when he traded it in soon after.

 

I have to admit, sometimes I ask myself: Why did I buy this Prius! I don't want a car that I will be concerned about every day. And now that I'm newly retired, and fighting health problems, I may only drive 5,000-6,000 miles a year. I love the the hybrid technology and all that, it's very interesting, but I don't think I needed a Prius in this stage of life. Maybe a base model Hyundai, or a base Corolla L, or even a dirt-cheap Nissan Versa for 12K would've been fine. They can ding & dent those cars all day long, and I wouldn't worry about it.

The insurance cost is ridiculous high on this Prius. (Even for a man in his mid-60s with a perfect driving record.) And the cost of parts is crazy. $1,800 for a front headlight? Did I read that correctly in another forum? And all the cracked windshields I keep hearing about. What do they cost? My insurance doesn't cover it. Did Toyota use the cheapest and thinnest glass on this 2016 that they could find? And we all know the thin paint chips just by looking at it!

But on the positive side, my Prius runs great. Especially with the new Michelin tires. And I can constantly get 60 mpg without even trying. I have not had one rattle, buzz, vibration, shake, shimmy, loose parts, or trouble with the electronics that other owners talk about. It's been all good, so far. But I may have bought more car than I really needed. Like the OP, I hope I can keep it good looking and damage-free. I guess it's time to slow down some, and move over into the "old man" slow lane.

 

If it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, but we don't know what it looks like....
.. could it be?
... would it be be possibly be?

Anybody with me on this? If I'm wrong, the first two burgers are on me!!!

 

THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THE GEN 4 PRIUS HUBCAP! I LOVE IT!

 

My cracked windshield was $1000 AND I had to get my active safety windshield camera recalibrated. Took 6 hours. Ugh. I sure hope the headlight isn't $1800. I know the gen 2 HID headlights were expensive little nightmares. Hopefully you're thinking of that.