Am I a good candidate to own a Prius

IMO, comments like this, "...looking at a large repair bill..." perpetuate the myth that Prius is a money pit of costly repairs. The potential for expensive repairs is true for ANY CAR when things go wrong especially when a car throws a rod, blows a tranny gear, or a multitude of other internal engine/tranny failures. When considering all operating expenses, Total Operating Costs for a Prius are probably much less than a conventional vehicle.

 

120,000+ miles and $0 spent on repairs
I just, at 120,000 miles had my first repair at all, the catalytic converter. But that was covered under warranty, so I have spent $0 (although it would have been super pricey if it wasn't). Maintenance costs are the same as any other vehicle.

 

Yes on those items. Oil change every 5k to 10k depending on you preference and brakes are good for 150k+ I think mine will be fine to 200k. I'm at 136k and they look great.

 

Regarding brakes, there are numerous folks w/over 100K miles on the original pads.

From the article at http://priuschat.com/forums/hybrid-...ery-reliable-vancouver-yellow-cab-update.html, you'll see the brakes last much longer vs. a conventional car.

Notice that on the Priuses at Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity - Hybrid Electric Vehicles which were taken to 160K miles, none had their brake pads nor shoes replaced.

 

To add to this
For the 2010+ the recommended oil change interval is 10k, unless you're in severe conditions:

Toyota defines "severe use" as:
-mainly being used on dirt/dusty roads
-consistently used to tow trailers or with car-top carriers or heavy load use (note: the change applied to many 2010 Toyotas, Priuses aren't rated to tow)
-primarily used for short trips below 32 F / 0 C
-extensive idling and low speed driving like police/taxi/door-to-door delivery

Synthetic 0-20 is recommended at least every other oil change.

And if you try to remember to keep braking under regen and use B mode for heavier braking (I always forget about B so have never used it) your brakes should last on the higher end of estimates.

It should be noted that the hydraulic brakes are always used at 8mph or less, presumably for safety reasons, so if you do start-stop driving they get a bit more work. The OP however, seems like he is more of a long-distance commuter so will have light brake use. Even with cruise control, the Prius uses regenerative braking.

 

No the Oil changes are at 5,000 miles just like on a normal Toyota, although if you run Synthetic (at least on a 2010+), Toyota says 10k miles between changes.

Brakes, you will likely have to change your pads and such much less frequently than you may be used to. This is because a percentage of your braking is done via regenerative braking, basically using the electric motor to slow you down and as a bonus charge the battery (part of the reason you never have to plug in the car). So I, and many others have gone well over 100,000 miles with the original pads/shoes in our cars. I currently have a little over 120,000 miles and my pads and shoes are just no where near needing to be replaced. At this rate, I will likely be close to 200,000 miles before having to replace them.

Depends on the grade of the road, meaning is there a hill, are you accelerating, how constant is your speed, has the car warmed up yet, etc. But at 70MPH on what appears to be a level stretch of road, with the cruise control on, my MPG display reads about 50 MPG. You will actually see it go up and down as you go up and down hills. Really shows you what taxes your gas usage and what doesn't. Running at a constant highway speed is surprisingly efficient. Around town, leaving lights etc. not so much.

 

Congrats! You will love the car. Blizzard Pearl is the best color, too.