Why I may not get the solar roof

If you wait until Sept, maybe you can "negotiate" price then. And when they drop the price to $1500 below MSRP then it's like getting the solar package for half price!!!:thumb:

Then you'll HAVE to get it and the $20/month won't seem bad at all. Also, since you are saying monthly savings, I am going to assume you are getting a loan. What rate did you get? Because if you can drop it down a percent or two...there's your solar package money!!!

 

Did you see the penfed credit union link for 3.99%??

And I know states differ SO much but my dealer keeps pushing and says he can get me "local" loan for 4.5%. We'll see.

I'm getting the solar package too Scott so I had to pressure you into it. It's going to just be so darn wonderful!!! And I hate to admit this, but I'm really excited to show it off to my friends (who are prius...I won't say haters...I'll say doubters).

"Wait...your Mazda 3 [or other equally "sporty" but low mpg car] didn't come with a sunroof?? Or an auto-cooling feature? Or remote a/c start?? Weird. My prius did."

"PS. Did I mention it only cost me $20 to fill up when I drove to Portland?" Oh I did?" hehe

 

I got a 2010 with the sunroof and its awesome! I live in Arizona so realize there is only so much it can do to cool down the car, but come on, I can't think of a better new option on a car than this one. It ranks right up there with the iphone for me which btw, the new one streams your ipod right to the speakers without any cord using bluetooth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Seriously, I live in The Pacific NW. If the solar panel and ventilation is only affective when the sun is in direct contact with the panels then that would severely limited the time frame of usefullness here in the NW.

I think there are a few solar roof owners in Oregon and Washington. I wish some of them would chime in, can you use the ventilation at all in typical NW hot but sometimes cloudy day? We do get some stretches of Arizona like clear skyed days but more often we can go from clear to overcast and clear again several times in any given day. I'd really like to know from anyone in the NW how much use they are getting from the solar panel and the ventilation.

 

well i live there and i guess i need to check to see how late the fans run. but i am pretty sure they run nearly all day as it does not have to be direct sunlight since we are so far north our sun is NEVER really overhead. granted i have seen where they dont run constantly especially later in the day. they will run for like 30 seconds. shut down. then start up run another 30 seconds, etc. so assuming there is some sort of capacitor system that "queues" power to run the fans in filtered or low light situations.

where i park, the shade does not hit the car until around 9 PM at this time of year.

as far why the solar owners are in the Pac NW, its because of the WINDOW... the fact that it opens is a plus. trust me, right now it gets dark after 10 PM...well that recedes at about 5 minutes a day, so do the math. throw in DST and in 4 months it will be dark at 4 PM. so the sunroof's main benefit is more light during the overcast days of WINTER

 

All this fuss about a solar panel that does 59 watts, won't charge anything and costs about $800 (if you assume $1000 for the sunroof)? Hard to understand, but I'm probably being too practical...

 

early adopters

i paid 1300 in circa 1992 for an echostar dish network small dish satellite system. no dvr. That is what it cost then, and i made the decision based on availability/quality of the alternatives (cable).

early adopters pay more and in essence "fund" some of the R&D/productization, and in return they get to be early

 

No, it's just your focus is stuck on today. If early adopters of Prius didn't expect their model to later lead to something better, they may not have purchased one back then either.

9 years ago, my contribution toward that better future (purchased a 2001 Prius) was a gamble. Today, it's obvious how well that paid off.

Where do you think solar roof technology will be in 2018?
.

 

I also heard that the solar roof package adds an additional 400 lbs. to the total weight of the car, and this is not described or covered in the literature ------if so, wouldn't this impact gas mileage???

 

Whoa, I believe some knowledgable people here on PC said it adds 60 +/- lbs.

 

If you are buying a Prius, or most any car, as an investment, you will be very disappointed. Just get what you want and worry about resale if you ever decide to sell it.

 

Why the sunroof.
Don't forget the "cool factor".
When you tell people you got a new Prius the first then they ask is "Does it have the solar roof"

Comment of other things said in this thread.

My wife and I have always like sunroof not to open them but to let light in the car.
Our old Prius was the first new car we ever bought with out a sunroof.

Adding a sunroof the the new Prius will be hard. the factory sunroof is not mounted in the the standard roof, the entire roof is replaced and I don't know any expert installer that can do that.


As far a weight I have had the electric sun roof in and out of my daughter's Cougar many times and motor and all it weighs less that 25 lb. so I would guess the Prius with all the glass doesn't add more than the 60 Lb figure given here. And I would guess that is over.


As far as mileage our with the sunroof was averaging about 54 MPG till we drove the Nashville the other day in heavy rain and average 46 MPG. We do have the since new average back up to about 52 but it dropped below 50 after that trip. Wind and rain have a big effect on mileage and you can't do much about that can we.

One that they did with the sunroof, usually the sunroof looks stuck on but not with new Prius I think it improves the looks of the car.

 

I have the sunroof and I really like it. You don't want the sunroof for whatever reason, don't get it. Just don't come around later whining that you wish you had gotten one but no one convinced you it was worth it. WooooHoooooooo, go sunroof, go. (I like being able to throw my beer cans out the top of the car). Just an FYI, Toyota gave me 4.8% on the loan.