so i went to the scion dealership for the first time. test drove, its still between the mazda3 or tc or something else....

but anyways, are the interior LED lights (dash cup holder) even worth it?? I thought they might look cool, but it was during the day and i couldnt tell. I hate cars with black lights on the inside, looks so trashy, it doesnt look like that does it?

 

no, you can buy cold cathode lights for 20.00 to do the same thing...

moved to ice...

 

Not worth the dough, IMO. You can DIY for much cheaper, or find well-made Plug and play kits like at www.Randode.com made for the xB at a fraction of the dealer's price. Plus the dealer kit is kinda weak in addition to being high-priced.

 

No.

 

Absolutely not. I got the Randode kit (I know, I know, I coulda done it myself cheaper , I wanted plug-n-play) and it's 10x brighter than the stock LED kit. But with any kit, you'll find they don't work well during the day time.

Check this thread if you're still contemplating the stock LED's:
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=54289
Hope this wasn't caused by them.

 

i think they look ricey, but that's just me.

so I read ur considering the mazda 3, can we persuade you otherwise. let me know.

 

I like mine, its nice and settle not overdone, it is a little pricy but, if money aint thing go for it.

 

I'm a little weary of cold cathodes, as over time they tend to crack and die. . . but I never bought randode's set. Personally I think that the OEM LED's are NOT worth the money, but I bought them because I was lazy, and I really HATE replacing broken/flickering/dead neons. It's nice that the LED's are durable, and under warrantee. But they are an extreme rip off!

 

I bought the dealer kit on Ebay for much much cheaper. You might go that route instead.

 

Yeah it's not really worth 250 but if your financing anyway it adds like 3 dollars to your payment. I know thats not the smartest way to think about it but why not. Also your spending how much on the car? 16k, 17k whats another 250 i you've already come that far.

 

Click the link in my sig. All that stuff was done for under $200.

 

This is why some people never become millionaires.

 

u can get the dealer kit for $125 from some places. i got aftermarket stuff, but i've been trying to find the oem switch that goes: 1push-footwells on, 2nd push-the cupholder goes on. 3rd push they go off. i've only seen the regular on off toggle so far.

 

You may be right in some respects, but I'd learn to have some modesty at least, if I were to want to become a millionaire as well.

You see, Johnny, probably purchased his car awhile back, when interest rates were low. Johnny, probably wants to be rich someday, and built up good credit. At a time when interest rates were at an all time low, Johnny was probably likely to get a fixed rate loan at an interest rate from 0.0% to 1.9%. Now instead of paying cash, he probably went for the loan. As most any investor would know, a simple Mutual fund would earn higher returns, thus by financing his car, he could MAKE money. The same logic applies to neons. . . they are much cheaper than the car as a whole, but discount rates are discount rates, and there are still plenty of lucrative investments. Secondly, you have to account for the cost of neons that are similar in build and quality. Thirdly, you have to account for the opportunity cost of having the get his neons installed. Finally, you have to add the weighted average for the cost of product failure. So by paying $2-3 a month or less, he may end up paying less for his neons than if he were to buy aftermarket neons.

If we're talking economics, the problems is that most people who do this, don't invest the money, but spend it instead. But I get irked when people talk down on people who finance like they were ignorant with their money. Business become successful by getting loans (ie issuing shares and/or bonds) and investing the money.

 

(delete - I'm crossing threads, whoops)

 

No matter what financial compensation there may be for investing 250 dollars over 5 years as opposed to buying an LED kit for your car, it's hard for me to justify paying even 3-5% interest on 250.00 for five years for a product that is inferior to the one that I can buy for 100.00 aftermarket. Even if it was a 0% loan, and the person actually did invest the 250.00, you'd still have to make up 150.00 on 250.00 over five years to even break even (and you would still end up with an inferior product).

Doesn't make much sense to me.

 

and that's a perfectly valid argument, that it is an inferior product. However, you have to calculate true costs. . . as a $150 neon light kit costs money or time to install. At 0%, you come close to break even if you calculate the discounted value of the difference (which would you rather have, $150 today, or $150 5 years from now). I'm currently making 12% on my investments, and 12% of $250 over 5 years (discounted) is just about break even with the cost of aftermarket neons (and it's actually more, but I assume that I may not always make 12%).

That, and I've had many different sets of neons before, and they've ALWAYS broken after a year or so. . . maybe it was just my luck. It's nice to have a warrantee on the OEM LED kit.

Personally, the OEM unit fits my taste as well. . . some people want their interior lighting to be ultra bright, and some don't. . .

 

I'm not trying to argue with you, you have a valid argument too. . . but I was commenting that a good investor (and likely millionaire) knows when to take advantage of low interest rate, and there is financial logic behind financing.

 

randode's kit is brighter than OEM, easy to install, and you'll have enough cash left over to buy a weeks worth of food.

Check it out

 

I'm just gonna have to say RANDODE