After two months of shopping, I finally decided on the xB. I have some requirements like the side-impact airbags that require ordering the car according to the various dealers.

When might I order the 06 and how long would I have to wait for its arrival? I have been to all four Scion dealers here in Orlando and none are particularly knowledgeable and certainly none have been helpful. I have been asked about 20 times what color I'd like though.

I also wonder if anyone has heard of any funky color packages like the yellow (R2.0 I think?) in the 05's.

I also wonder about the interior lighting. I understand the lightling is less than stellar for those of us older than 20. Is the interior color stuff worth it or should I just make certain I have a working flashlight in the glove box all the time? I should go test drive one at night, but I finally test drove it yesterday after no less than 10 visits to various Scion dealers.

And the last question for now... is there anything aftermarket that will cover the space between the rear cargo area when the seats are down and the back of the front seats. I am worried about the dogs hurting themselves.

Leighsah

 

First.. the PRODUCTION date for the Xb/Xa is starting the week of July 4th.. The availability has been questionable.. no one truly knows when dealers will be getting them. Second.. The interior lighting in the car does kinda suck, but DONT order the lighting from the dealer. You can do the aftermarket lighting like cold cathodes for about 100 and thats much cheaper and better than dealer lighting. i have no clue about the cargo cover inbetween the front seat and the back. Good luck w/ your purchase.. i am doing the same and waiting for the 06's

 

AE,

Thanks for such a quick response.

I am aware of the vast markups by the dealers for all the extras, but I don't want the warranty to be voided for the entire electrical system because I want to save $200.

I bought a new car (Hyundai Santa Fe) two years ago and have had it in the shop dozens of times. Nothing has been fixed. THE selling point for the Santa Fe was the warranty.

I have owned two Toyotas and certainly know of the quality is vastly superior to the Hyundai, but I don't want to get some really nify aftermarket toys only to have a problem down the road and have the dealer tell me its not covered as I voided the warranty with those same nifty toys.

Leighsah

 

i'm looking into getting an xB soon, does anyone know the differences between an 05 and an 06? Like pricing etc.?

also, when the 06's start production will the new 05's the dealers have go down in price any?

 

well.. there wont be many problems that can be caused by the light system. you can always unplug them.(i guess you can say). if you keep searching the topics.. you will eventually see that aftermarket items are almost always better... even warranty wise.. because there arent many problems caused by them.

 

My guess is that the 96 will be cheaper than the 05 because of rebates and everything. My friend was going to buy a Nissan Frontier, and the 05 was cheaper than the 04 by a few thousand dollars

 

There are no side bags available on the xB. Only xA and tC offer them. Dont expect them for '06 either.

 

hmmm cool, i prolly won't even be able to get an 05' once i'm ready to get an xB anyhow (in like 2~ months)

 

I still question this...unless there's just no where for them to go? I wouldn't mind the extra 300 for safety. I wish they'd go ahead and do a crash test on an xB, that'd also help ease the parent's minds.

 

Do you mean $300 dollars? Side air costs $650


The xB was around for years before we got it here in the US. When they originally designed the car it wasnt popular to put side air in inexpensive cars and with such a short production run here in america it wouldnt make sense to retro fit them.

 

All things considered, in side impact crash testing the xB does fairly well without side airbags. I'd like to see them too, but it's not going to happen.