How to remove badges from the Clarity

I removed the two Hybrid badges from the front fender and charge-port door and the dealer's name (not my favorite people...) from the trunk lid, but left the vehicle name and Hybrid badge there. Although I find the vehicle's "face" to be quite pleasing I can't say the same about its side profile or posterior - but I do find the "white titanium pearl" paint to be quite beautiful and it is frequently complimented by strangers.

 

I removed the "H" for Honda logo off the back glass of the Clarity. It was attached by adhesives with no pins underneath.

I might add that it was very well attached. I used a razor blade to remove the logo. Unfortunately, the H broke in half while pulling it off and the razor slipped. I had to go to emergency and had 11 stitches on my hand. Bloody mess, but worth it. The car looks better without the logo.

 

I like all the stock colors, except the silver (incidentally the car I'm looking at). Really leaning toward the greens, maybe even a green color flip such as Avery Urban Jungle, or 3M Caribbean Shimmer. I think due to the rakish styling of the front end, laymen might confuse a plain 'ol Honda with an exotic something-or-other. Ok, maybe not

My buddy at CM says the car should be in tomorrow but there is front facing inspection and cleanup they complete before I can have a really good look and drive the car. Maybe Sunday/Monday I'll be able to report back.

I'm sure it's nicer than the Prius Prime I currently have - mine's a Premium (middle trim) and the Clarity is a Touring (top trim). That, and with the reviews I've read I expect it to drive/handle better and be quite a bit more roomy. It comes down to interior odors, tire tread etc. whether I'll pull the trigger.

If the stock stereo isn't a marked improvement over the PP, then improvements to that will have to come before I do a color change. I expect it will be; IME Honda tends to beat Toyota in stock sound quality (although Subaru and Mazda beat both of them in this department).

 

Have you perused this forum's Audio Upgrade for Clarity thread?

Will CarMax be able to provide a Battery Capacity Signal reading or will they pay for a local Honda dealer to get that battery-health data point for you?

 

I have done a fair bit of homework on what it would take, yes. I've read through that entire thread and others (like I said in my first post, long time lurker). I worked for a time at this same CarMax store so I know everybody (it's a smaller store, maybe 50 people work there).

Once I got the text that it arrived for a quality check, I texted my mechanic buddy about the battery health since he has the really fancy OBD reader (it was like $2500). 52.8 Ah is what it read on the OBD line this morning, probably as close to factory as you can expect for a 2018 (96% of factory spec when new!).

I would definitely be adding an audio processor and working through a shop I trust to do the install. They have done three cars for me in the past. I was planning an audio upgrade from the inception of the idea to get a Clarity, but was just considering out loud whether to mod one thing or the other first.

 

The Prius is a Compact - the Clarity is a Midsize. It rides like a much larger vehicle, probably due to the low center of gravity. It handles like a larger vehicle - it's NOT a sports car - but the ride is very comfortable and the interior is VERY quiet. I love tooling around town electrically with the climate control turned off: The silence is intoxicating. And you can put full-sized adults into the back seat of a Clarity and have them be comfortable - something that does not happen in a Prius.

 

My mechanic friend (also used to be a condition assessor at CM before he was a tech) said these imperfections in the inventory photos are all filled in with the 'nail polish' type touch up paint, so CM probably won't do any more than that. I asked my paint correction guy about doing the whole car once I get it, and he quoted $350-500, depending on how much work that back bumper needs to look new (or close to new) again. After talking to him, I am just going to have him do a paint reconditioning and ceramic coat for now, and will likely do a wrap or dip when the warm weather comes back. Yes, I'm in Georgia, but in the north area at higher elevations it's pretty cold currently. Plus we are getting frequent rains / snows and I need a few sunny days in a row to do either dip or wrap because I don't have the garage space!

So far it looks like the deal is good, but right now I am waiting on them to find the title This does happen more than you might think with dealerships, especially when multi-state transfers are involved. I have confidence they'll find it, I just would really prefer to buy the car this weekend. My trade offer for the PP actually went up! So hopefully I'll have a little extra cash for the planned changes.

Sorry to derail the thread, back to the topic of discussion, all the rear badges will come off. I am for sure going to do a wheel dip kit in the coming weeks, and will also dip the rear H logo and the Clarity badge before I reattach those. If I have enough dip material with the kit I will also do the chrome trim bits (all in Shadow Black from DYC). I am thinking of changing the positioning of the H and Clarity badges to the lower corners of the lower glass as well.