I am waiting/have a deposit on a prius V to arrive later this month. Unfortunately, the dealer seems to know very little about these cars. The model arriving is the Three model and they don't know when the Five model will arrive (said could be weeks to months). The one option I want on the Five that the Three doesn't have is the SofTex. I called and asked if that could be installed aftermarket. The dealership has no idea what I am talking about and just keeps talking about how everyone wants real leather. I do not want real leather. I want the SofTex...does anyone know if this can be installed aftermarket. If I can get an affirmative answer to this, I can push them.... thanks
I don't have a direct answer to your question, but knowing friends that have reupholstered their cars, it will most likely cost as much or more than the price difference between the Three and Five. Plus, with the Five you get a bunch of other niceties like bigger wheels, LED headlights, etc. my suggestion to you is to look for another dealer and try harder to find a Five rather than do aftermarket upholstering. Edit: oops just re-read your post, you already put down a deposit? Well that kind of changes my suggestion, sorry!
That's highly doubtful. As nice as SofTex is I don't think there is enough of a market for it vs leather for anyone to sell aftermarket kits. At Toyota parts department prices it would be hundreds of dollars per seat for the SofTex and it might not even fit the fabric OEM seats.
I have not heard of a dealer practicing non-refundable deposit. If you put a deposit on a car you don't want, get a refund or apply it toward the trim you want. This is your cooling off period, not after you've taken delivery of your vehicle. If you want SofTex, get a car that came with SofTex.
thanks..this is good advice and what i have arrived at today..i had originally asked for a v 5 model, they got a 3, sold it but let me look at it and told me that the interior could be upgraded to the 5 model if i wanted the next 3, but what they meant was i could get leather (something i found out today only)....i told them today to just call me when they got a v 5 i could have. the astounding thing is how little the dealership seems to know about the car. to be clear, it is not possible at this point, it seems, to get sofTex put into a non-model 5.
There is no aftermarket softex seats. Softex is only used on Toyota upper trim cars and just started to roll out in 2012. You will not find aftermarket softex in any upholstery shop because nobody knows about it. Wait for a 5. Try other dealers around you.
I just purchased a three but wanted the softex as well. At some point, sof-tex seat kits will come out-you will not have to wait five years. The VWs have the leatherette interior option which is really nice and those seat kits were available (for vws) 6 months after their material came out. I was torn between the three and the five because of the seats alone and it was not worth the $3000 plus difference to me. When the sof-tex kit comes out, it should cost around 1000 bucks to have it installed in the V3. Bigger wheels? Yes, better handling around corners (who cares, it's a Prius) but mpg goes down by a mile or two and tires are pricier and heavier. I realized that even if I paid the three thousand dollars plus on a V5, I would still use custom waterproof seat covers on my sof-tex because I am a runner who sweats (and I live in the desert where everyone sweats regardless of what the are doing), a kayaker, cyclist who has dogs as well. Want to always keep my seats nice and clean. I found a place recommened by someone on this forum, that is currently taking measurments of the Prius V seats and will be making my covers shortly. If you like the heated seats option, you can spend less than 40 bucks on a great one for your car. And keep the $3400.00 difference in your pocket if all of the other bells and whistles don't make a difference.
You are right! I have 17's on my BMW that are lighter than my V3's but the V5's 17's are heavier than the 16s on the V3's.
