I Don't Like Sunroofs...

Like some people pay to have holes cut in their blue jeans!

 

truth.

 

Ouch!

 

what is the downside of the prime advanced?

 

Toyota currently has some pretty staggering factory incentives for 2017 Primes sold on the East Coast, currently $5,000 in most regions. On top of that most dealers there seem to be willing to discount another thousand or more. And after all of that you still get the $4502 federal tax credit assuming you have enough tax liability this year. Many people have purchased Primes from the east coast and had them shipped, typically $1000 to $2,000 to ship, I would guess Oregon would be on the high end of that. People in the midwest tend to fly one way and drive their Prime back, but for west coast shipping is more realistic. I can understand some people may be uncomfortable buying a car sight unseen and having it shipped, but I don't remember anyone reporting problems, other than one guy who had the dealer arrange the shipping and it all turned out to be chaos , everyone else arranged their own shipping. The savings are substantial plus you have a much better chance of getting the exact car you want as far as color and options. The 2018 Prime only has a $500 Toyota incentive at the moment on the east coast and dealers are probably less likely to discount as much on the 2018. However once the 2017's are gone the incentives for the 2018 will probably start increasing. But there's no changes in the Prime for 2018 so no reason to pay thousands more for it

 

Why ship it? Just drive it back to the west coast!

 

Hey now my Gen3 is black and white

 

I love my black and blizzard pearl non-color scheme. To each their own...

 

She said "black and white interiors". I.e. the white plastic pieces that are so polarizing that Toyota is able to extract money from people to cover the white plastic (at least some of it) with black overlays.

I'm sure that sounds all easy and fun, however a lot of people already have their vacation plans for the year and cannot easily take time away from their other obligations to make that type of trip. Which would also entail a certain amount of cost, starting with a one-way airline ticket from the west coast to the east coast, and then possibly some difficulty getting to the dealer depending on how close the dealer is to the airport , requiring a train or bus ride and or Uber which is an additional cost. If the dealer doesn't handle the out-of-state registration for them then they will need temp tags so that they can legally drive away from the dealer, that's a minor cost about $40. But then there's hotel and meals for however many days they are on the road. Not to mention putting 3,000 miles on their brand new car right from the get-go, which is a cost in and of itself due to wear and depreciation. And yes even a Prius uses some gas on a 3,000 mile drive, somewhere between $100 and $150 worth depending on gas prices along the way. They won't be able to charge along the way, at least not without spending more time and money. And did I mention the time spent? Most people's time is worth something. Oh yeah and maybe a trip to the chiropractor after the 3,000 mile drive. If someone wants the adventure sure but most people don't. They just want their car. People who have ordered from out of state and had the car shipped say the process was remarkably easy.

 

I had a sun roof in my previous car, Honda Accord. I rarely used it. So, when I bought TP3, I decided not to spend money on some feature that I won't use. But, I never had a leakage problem even though I had the car for 16 years.

Actually, apart from the HUD, all other safety features are available in TP3 basic version itself. I think while HUD is a good feature, not worth paying for it especially if you are paying for something else that you don't want.

 

And to think some people do the European delivery vacation and have their car shipped home afterwards.

It takes 3 1/2 days to drive from east coast to west coast. So I am sure someone can take two days off from work and fly to the east coast and drive home in 3 1/2 days. Long weekend! If someone can't afford a one way ticket to the east coast and some registration fees, and cheap motel room rates, they should not be buying a new car.

 

What country are you in?

 

You don't know what is going on in other people's lives and so you're really not in a position to tell people what they can or should do with their time. Maybe three and a half days is nothing to you, but to some people it is time that they just don't have, or that they would prefer to use doing something more useful or that they enjoy.

And by the way, due to the east coast being three hours later than west coast, it would effectively be an eight hour flight, meaning they would need to spend a full day just flying to the east coast, then stay the night in a hotel in NJ or wherever before picking up the car the next morning. So make that four and half days.

And who said anything about not being able to afford hotel rooms? I was pointing out that the costs for driving it back, including adding 3,000 miles to the car, would offset much of the savings in shipping costs. Making it even less reason to waste four and a half days. The people who shipped were quite happy that with a few phone calls they saved thousands of dollars by buying a car on the east coast and having it shipped. You seem to be finding fault with that just because you wouldn't do it that way.

 

Personally, I love sunroofs.
But separately, I think the real issue is automakers using lock-step features upgrade packages, to force purchase of features people may not really want at greater cost.
Simple answer? This isn't going to stop, or go away.

I have to admit bias specifically to the OP, as getting a sunroof, would never be a deal breaker to me. In fact, it was a big deal maker in my last purchase. Starting about now, until late fall, I love driving as much as possible with the roof open and windows rolled down.

I don't use the air conditioning nearly as much, and on my vehicle (honda fit) it gives it a real open air, nearly convertible feeling.

But if you don't like them? You don't like them.
I suppose their inclusion can be a deal breaker for some people.
If it was me?
I don't think it would stop me from purchase. If I was really worried about it? I'd just never use it.

It can be annoying how automakers lure you up the upgrade ladder by packaging exclusive features together. But in manufacturing and sales, decisions have to be made. This is a mass produced automobile, they can not all be built to order.

 

If you travel to Ontario, Steve's Hometown Toyota had a few recently. With that said, I didn't care for the dealer that much. :-P