Sorry about the tasteless subject heading! My daughter turns 16 this month and will inherit my 2006 Prius. I want to gIve her the option to either have it painted ( a "fun" color) or re-upholstered in some cool fashion. I have no idea of the cost or pitfalls of either. The car is the non-leather variety. Wondering if anyone here might advise me. I live in Los Angeles. Thanks!!
Hi- I recently install leather in my 2 Gen 2 prius's. Purchased the kits on ebay from a guy who sells them and is located in LA. He personally delivered one of them to me...they are great looking and are super durable. I installed them myself, took about 3 hrs. to do. Real improvement to the interior of the car. Cost was $430.oo. Hope that helps.
You say, inherit...so I'm making the assumption that The Prius itself is a gift? Well when I was 16 had my parents given me a car, that would of been gift enough. But if you want to make it extra special, or renew it in some fashion? I'd just present the two options to her...and let her decide which she would rather have done. Both if done professionally can be expensive. You could split the difference and have it detailed and get a set of Clazzios.
I second the Clazzio leather seat covers. If you do a search here, you will see how great they look and can be installed easily by yourself. Cost around $500. Paint however, I would avoid. The cheap places will start to chip after a year or two. The expensive places are just that, expensive. We're talking thousands of dollars. If I were a teenager, no amount of paint will ever make an old Prius look cool. It will be an ugly boring slow hybrid no matter what color it is... But ooh nice leather.
actually, the younger folks give me less crap about it. some of them kinda want one, almost. yes paint is very expensive for a decent job. unless money is no object, an upgraded stereo and some better upholstery= +1. unless its that cheezy tan color. blah. paint it any color she likes and it would be an improvement.
A Show room quality paint job is $10,ooo+ maybe more A good paint job is $5,000+ An average paint job is $1,500+ A quick/okay paint job from MAACO (don't recommend) $500-$1,400 I know I use to be an operations manager at a bodyshop. Custom paint = expensive / Cheap paint = Cheap paint / you will get what you pay for. Almost everything looks good when it's first painted, the question is how long will the shine and color last? Cheap paint the color will fade and the shine will dull quickly. Good expensive paint can last 5-10 years+ I don't recommend MAACO unless you are friends with the owner or painter. You're in CA, so the base is going to be waterborne, (water based paint for the color / Solvent based clear coat). Remember there is a base coat (flat-color) and the clear coat (shine). If you do get your daughter's Prius painted ask about getting a better clear coat, PPG Deltron DC2000+ or DC3000 DC2000 Ultra Velocity Clear - Deltron® - Refinish It will be more resistant to cracking and chipping. It will also hold it's shine better. Some clears can cost over $100 a quart. I prefer PPG paint, but paints like Sikkens is good too. I hate Sherwin-Williams paint, I cussed out a sales rep that walked though the back door into my shop to talk to the painter. I told him to get the F out of my shop, we are a PPG shop and will never change! (but that's another story...) Stuff like House of Kolor paint is way crazy expensive and wouldn't recommend it. Another thing to keep in mind, dark colors will show dents and almost any flaw in your vehicle, white and light colors help hide dents and flaws. Try and keep that in mind when she says "I want it painted black!" System Selection Guide - Deltron® - Refinish Here is a comparison of the different paint lines that PPG offers.
wow. all this paint advice... it is that yucky tan idd'n it... i'd paint mine if i had th' $$$. emerald green, maybe.
What about Plastidip instead of paint? It would only be $300-400 if you DIY and you won't have to worry about the color choice hurting the resale value as you can just tear it off if/when the time comes.
Original poster here... The PlastiDip looks intriguing! There's even a place that does it in my neighborhood. Any downside? The Clazzio looks nice, but the color options are kinda limited...was looking for something a bit more...expressive/fun.... Hey thanks everyone for your replies. This is great!
Pink, paint it pink. All girls love pink! Or just give it a very pro detailing so when sets her butt into that seat, she knows it's her semi new, but it's my car, looks great, smells new! Maybe it will give her an incentive to care for the car! Tell her it's car makeup!
