I am in the market for a new tc but my money is short and i am wondering if the side airbags are a must. I am also wondering if the airbags will increse my resale value.

 

The side airbags are the only option I got with it, so yes, IMHO they are worth it. I would also say that they will definitely increase the resale value.

 

side airbags are not a must... that's why they offer it as an option vice having it installed on every car.

it's up to you whether you think it is worth it or not... by the time those things go off, the car will most likely be totalled.. it's all for safety... i'm not sure how much resale value those will add, if any..

 

Nevermind resale value...

I got the side airbags because I figured it would be better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them.

I can't really put a price tag on my safety or survivavbility. $650 for airbags? IMHO, it's a bargain at double the price; even if I do everyhting I can to avoid setting those things off in the first place.

 

After I saw my son and daughter walk away from an accident where her Mustang was totaled by an idiot that ran a stop-sign, I decided that any airbags I can get are good airbags.
As for resale, they most definitely will appeal to safety-minded people and likely add some value.
The only negative is that you can't order the fancy rearview mirror with them due to the wiring.

Scott

 

Not a must? Well first off I'm getting my new tC because my old car was rear-ended by some ***** going 40, and obviously totalled. Now call me a bit concerned but, still, for $650 why not get them? There are several cars tested my IIHS & NHTSA that fail side impact tests without them and then get good or excellent ratings with them. So for the tC which already has 4/5 stars without, I can only imagine that it's 5/5 with. And that non-sense about them not going off until after the car is totalled, I doubt it. Granted I guess you could say that the video or tests were doctored, but every bit of footage I've seen of side impact airbag testing shows them deploying in time to be effective in side impact crashes.

Just my $0.02, and I'll tell you straight up that when I walked into the dealership I said three things, "tC", "Manual", "Airbags". Although I did go for the pedestal spoiler after some thinking before the order was placed

-Stef

 

well you will probably have to wait a little longer if you decide to get the sab's. it will take longer to find/allocate/whatever they do. I initially ordered mine with them and they couldnt get one without me waiting forever.

so out of everything its probably a safety factor for you at the most.

and the mirror can be done if you have sab's, just tap into the dome light/sunroof controls

 

Yeah, I've got sabs with dealer installed mirror...

 

Side air bags was the one option my dad really wanted for me when we were going to buy the tC, but unfortunately due to the fact that i needed a car immediately we just took the one on the lot, which didnt come with them.
________
Toyota industries

 

Many will argue that the airbags are worth more than the $650 because of the life they can save. I didn't get them because the car without the sabs got a five star rating for driver crash test. Even in all the other crash tests the tC got a four star rating. Not to shabby...but im sure with the sabs the ratings get up to five stars all around so its all drivers choice. Thats why they are an option.

 

Not sure why, but trdsparks.com lists the mirror as not compatible with SABs.
I will look more into this.

 

yeah scion.com has it the same way.

 

I got them, its worth it and my insurance company gave me a discount with them...........its worth it.

 

True - forgot about that!

 

I think its like 10%.........
As for resale, I ran my car tonight, and the 05 Tc in the condition mine is in books for 18700 with out the Side bags, and 19700 with, which essentiall is 400.00 more then what i paid for.......so I actually made money if i sold my Tc.

 

as for the issue with the auto-dimming mirror and side air bag compatibility... it IS possible

there are two different kits availiable.. one of the auto-dimming mirror kits taps into the domelight area instead and will work with the SABs...

i was really confused at first when i saw a tC with both, but found out shortly that the mirror was connected differently that allowed the car to have both...

so yeah... i've seen it possible in person.. and have verified with a parts guy why it was possible.

 

well as far as i know when i got mine a few months back there was one mirror available, aka the one that should be wired through the a-pillar. instructions that i printed off a pdf were updated ones where you could tap into the dome light. very simple, just tucked all the excess wires up in there

so even tho i dont have sab, if i did it would still be fine because i didnt have to touch the a-pillar

 

If you have all of the airbags and they actually go off when your in an accident, chances are that your life has been saved by them going off. Saving $650 so that you don't have the airbags seems like a bit of a waste being that funerals cost $6K and anyway, it is hard to spend that $650 that you saved when your not alive to use it. 650 to potentially save your life is more than worth it. I couldn't imagine buying the car without em!

 

I didn't purchase them but I do think they're a good idea..

Personally, I couldn't afford them.

 

Couldnt have said it better. Exactly why i got my tC with the SB's. I see it as my $650 life insurence policy.

One of my friends told me this, " Dude if i get in a accident in anybodies car, i hope its yours" I told him, lets just hope we don't get in any accidents...LoL