Installed Modellista kit from Japan

Yesterday, I received and installed my 2-piece Modellista body kit that I ordered from japanparts.com. Total damage: 138,610JPY, (93,300 for the kit, 39,900 for shipping, and 5,410 for the 3.9% Paypal surcharge) which came out to about $1248USD--ouch! :crazyeyes: That shipping and surcharge really jacks the cost up since about $400 of it is that. Oh well, birthday and Father's day presents rolled into one :birthday2:
I finally decided on the Modellista kit over the Toyota 3-piece Aero Kit. I liked the look of the Modellista front spoiler most over all. Also, the rear spoiler on the 3-piece Aero kit is really no different than what is already on the car--all that is done is that it is color matched to the paint. I did like the idea of side skirts for the Aero kit but that wasn't enough to sway me. Plus, the 3-piece kit cost about $200 more.
Ordering from japanparts worked out great since I like paying with Paypal. Although at first I was confused about how their (japanparts)ordering system worked, this guy Koji helped me out. Now that I know that it is easy to get these parts from Japan I won't bother with the Carson Toyota site which seems to be the only place in the US that I can find that has these parts.
Expect to pay another 10-15% more from Carson Toyota--although ordering from somewhere in the US has its advantages if you encounter a problem with the product. Right now I'm going to continue crossing my fingers and keep the $200+ in my pocket.
Anyway here are the pics:

 

That blue prius has on the same one as mine.
Here is a link to see the Toyota 3-piece Aero kit:
http://www.japanparts.com/Pic/pic159/002-001.htm

The front spoiler is a bit more subdued on that kit, plus like I said earlier the rear spoiler is no different than what you already have except they paint it. So really it comes down to the side skirts. I thought about maybe combining the side skirts from that kit with the Modellista but I'm not sure if the styles will clash.

Check out all of the other stuff they have at japanparts.com too.
I have my eye on the mirror turn signals, but they are really expensive. Looks like the blue prius owner sprang for 'em plus a couple of other things.

And yes, I'm am definitely looking into aftermarket wheels. Just haven't made up my mind yet because there are a million things to consider other than just the look. I'll probably go with some 16" wheels instead of the 17"s to spare some ride quality.

 

You are totally right, Tide! Sorry my mistake I just took another look at the picture and it is different from mine. I guess that blue prius does have the 3-piece Aero kit. I doesn't look like the front sticks out that far when looking at the Japanparts.com pics of the silver Prius with it.
Thanks for correcting me!

 

...and I sounded so sure of myself too! Embarassing!

 

Looks only. As far as I know the manufacturer doesn't make any claims to added performance. That's why I put this post under "Appearance Modifications" rather than performance.

 

I installed this by myself in a couple of hours. Probably could have done it faster if the instructions weren't all in Japanese. I was a little unsure of how to use this adhesive primer surface wipe. Didn't know if I was supposed to apply it to the car or the adhesive strips on the body kit parts. Turns out you apply it to the car surface where the strips from the body kit will contact.

Another note about the installation is the front was much easier to do than the back. You pretty much can't miss in terms of locating it in position on the car. There is more room for error in doing the back and I had to pull it off and realign it a couple of times. Luckily, the adhesive bond isn't instant so you have some time to make adjustments.

 

Wow. Hideous? That's a pretty strong word. I didn't think the change was anything so radical. From the side, it doesn't seem like much difference at all. Oh well, guess that's what this forum is all about, for people to express their opinions. I just better not drive my car in your neighborhood to keep you from throwing up all over yourself. Heh, heh.

 

Geez. Seems like a few people can't understand why anyone would want to make their car look different for the sake of making it just look different--there has to be some greater purpose/function?
It's just a different look, guys. A little expression of individuality.
In fact, I would argue that although mudflaps do have a function, the goal of that function is soley to maintain the car's appearance. Same arguement with bumper protectors and body side mouldings. Yes, the evil things vanity makes one do.