Just won a Prius - questions please

Glamour did a good job for you. Congrads. I feel excited for you.

I had the bisque (tan) on my 2004 Black Prius. Looked great when clean. The seats cleaned fairly easily. However on a rainy day dirt and mud sure made a mess on the light color carpet.

I have decided to go with grey on my 2007 Barcelona Red Prius on order, because the light color carpet was hard to keep clean on the other Prius.

You will be please which ever you choose.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Claudia @ Oct 15 2006, 02:37 PM) [snapback]333072[/snapback]</div>

Very Nice!... the above car was my choice.. my wife liked the mint green.. both have bisque leather... you're gonna be amazed in every way... this is no normal car in any way... except that it has 4 wheels and one steering wheel!

 

Amazing. Congratulations.

My vote is dark leather and Zaino.

Wish it were me. Winning the car I mean , not the Glamour Magazine's Woman of the Year thing :huh: as well, I'm a man. :lol:

 

Make sure if they offer the Nav system you don't turn it down. Get it fully loaded if you can.

 

Congratulations

If you have dogs or kids, definately go for the leather... if you don't know what I mean, you'll find out in ... say 1 year.

My cloth seats are holding up pretty well, but that's only with my anal spot cleaning and focing my dog to go on a tarp spread across the seat.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(busyrosy @ Oct 15 2006, 11:40 PM) [snapback]333280[/snapback]</div>

Your "anal spot cleaning"?!! You know, there's such a thing as Too Much Information!

 

Congratulations! That is awesome, blossom! They were giving away Scions for prizes at MSTU, but I have not heard of anyone winning a Prius. Way to go!

 

MSN has pictures of the Seaside Pearl with gray interior here.

That happens to be the color combo I have and I love it. I used to spend hours trying to get dog hair out of the cloth interior of my old car so I got the leather. No regrets yet.

Enjoy!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CMonster @ Oct 16 2006, 10:38 AM) [snapback]333394[/snapback]</div>

That's interesting - I never thought of using animal skin to combat animal hair!

 

The leather option is "leather seating areas". That means the centre panel on the seat bottom and seat back is leather. The rest is vinyl, though these days it's hard to tell unless you look underneath.

The leather is easy to clean and has a nice smell (if you like the smell of leather). I don't find it hot in summer or cold in winter, except when you first sit on it. The leather should be treated at least once a year if you're parking it outside. I use the Zaino leather cleaner and Zaino leather treatment.

The cloth seats in the Prius are also easy to clean. They probably breath better than the leather. They are also lower maintenance, and easier to repair if punctured or torn.

It's really a personal preference thing. I got leather on the last vehicle I purchased because I had never had it before and wanted to experience what it was like. My next vehicle will have cloth seats.

 

congrats on the win.

I own a seaside prius and went with gray after test driving a Prius that had bisque. The color, IMHO, would be a PITA to keep clean. That and I think the darker interior goes with the darker paint job. I was considering leather but the price IMHO wasn't worth it but if its free. Go for it.



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(LMA @ Oct 15 2006, 10:49 PM) [snapback]333283[/snapback]</div>

Ewwww. :blink:

 

i have a black prius with tan interior, which looks great IMO.

the tan does clean easily enough, but i bought seat covers just for an insurance policy i guess you could say. also got all weather mats. husband is a mechanic and when he takes the car in to work with him to tinker it usually comes back with some grease stains. i've got a cleaner that takes it right out with no evidence it was ever there and resolve works fine on the regular old dirt on the carpet and the seat covers.

congrats, good luck!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kthynoll @ Oct 15 2006, 03:22 PM) [snapback]333065[/snapback]</div>

Cool! You will probably be the ONLY Prius owner that gets to choose the paint, fabric and inside color without having to wait for their dealer to get the right combination!

My opinion, is 'decide what YOU like'
I generally do not like dark interiors and do not like leather. Part of it is leather and the rest vinyl?!? I'd FOR SURE go with cloth in that case. If you have the 'dogs/kids' worry, make rules - like no eating in the car. Or cover the back seat with a towel or something. There are also a variety of products made for keeping a dog in the back, kind of like a hammock. I can also attest that the fabric cleans up pretty easily.

I recently saw that someone is making Prius specific car covers in various materials. I don't recall the web site but if you need a cover, search with Google.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Oct 17 2006, 03:25 PM) [snapback]334129[/snapback]</div>

Oh lets face it... she's probably not as obsessed yet about the car as we are :lol: i'll be she's back sometime this week when she has some free time... also, newbies to the board don't always realize that they'll get 25+ replies within the first 24 hours after posting something interesting - most other boards i've been on have been the "check every 2-3 days" type, since people posted so infrequently... here you wait 8 hours and it'll take you 1-2 hours just to get through the backlog (got on this morning for the first time since friday, and before i knew it it was lunch time...). Who could ask for more?

 

[Wow, our first celebrity! Sorry Bill Merchant, Kathy Googles better, is a noted author, has been interviewed on TV, and is, um . . . cute to boot. :lol: ]

I'd go for the real leather. Real leather, compared to the plastic stuff, is not hot, sticky, or cold.

But more important, there are different option package levels for the Prius. The Picture in the link below shows a Prius without fog lights . . . which means the car you may be slated to receive doesn't have High Intensity Discharge headlights or possibly Vehicle Stability Control . . . two worthwhile safety features worthy of an upgrade if needed. If your car comes with factory installed leather, it has the works and you needn't worry.
http://www.glamforward.com/prizes.cfm
http://www.toyota.com/prius/options.html

As for protecting the car, yes, a garage is best, but baring that, any covered shelter would help. Car covers are a pain . . . and I can't imagine wrestling with one in the snow.
I would suggest making sure your car always has a good coat of wax, zaino, whatever on it. I park mine outside . . . two years later it still looks shiny and new.

Congrats on the award! [If you want to see real bullies in action, head on over to PriusChat's Fred's House of Pancakes forum. Just kidding. :lol: ]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kthynoll @ Oct 17 2006, 05:05 PM) [snapback]334154[/snapback]</div>

You might choose not to claybar it the first time, assuming you apply Zaino as soon as you get the car. But there is still the possibility of rail dust and other debris from transporting that won't come off with washing. Your choice: Do you want to spend the time to get it from near-perfect to absolutely perfect?

How many coats is also your choice, but per Zaino you should apply no more than three coats in a 24 hour period. On a new car, you might be happy with one or two. Certainly at some point you'll reach a point of diminishing returns where the negligible benefit is not worth the effort. I typically use three coats (but I'm not polishing a new car), twice a year: once in the spring and once in the fall. I apply a one-coat "booster" without the full treatment (i.e., no pre-washing with Dawn, clay-bar, etc.) once in the summer and, if weather permits, in the winter.

At an absolute minimum you want Z2 and ZFX. Obviously get the Z18 claybar if you plan to use it. I also have the Z6 Gloss Enhancer Spray, using it after each coat and occasionally after washings. Over time I've gotten some minor scratches, so I just ordered Z5 to get those out. I also ordered Z8 Grand Finale Spray Seal. Not sure it will be worth the money, but I figured I'd try it. I suggest using their polish applicators; they throw in two, I think, with orders over a certain amount.

For me, I can't justify spending the money on the other stuff. I have a different washing routine than many, one that doesn't lend itself to using Zaino car wash. I'm sure Zaino's glass, tire, and interior care products are good, but those car parts don't need the care and feeding that painted finishes do. I might consider the leather care products if I had leather seats.

Temperature should be at least 45, and preferably 60. Drying time lengthens as temperature drops below 60. I'll be giving mine its fall treatment this weekend, when temperatures are supposed to be in the 60s.

Zaino is available only through their web site. I'd suggest you spend some time browsing there. There are good detailed descriptions of their products and how to use them. Pay close attention to the application instructions, especially the parts about how to mix Z2 and ZFX and the importance of applying sparingly. It's easy to mix it wrong or apply too much. In case you missed it in my previous post:

http://www.zainostore.com/

Just a minor semantic issue: Zaino is a polish, not a wax.

Good luck!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kthynoll @ Oct 15 2006, 03:22 PM) [snapback]333065[/snapback]</div>

Nice prize! 1) I like grey int., 2) I love leather, 3) I use Maguire's Gold liquid wax on all my vehicles and re-apply it every 3 months. My cars look great always. Have fun with your new bundle of joy.