Eventually the warranties run out . . .

I like the Aussie flag in the poll. I think Skype puts it there.
The warranty on my Prius will never run out. It will always be a Toyota.

 

I lease, so my cars never leave warranty

 

When I bought the car, I opted for the "platinum" extended coverage...ie, everything covered to 100K.

After that, I'm not too worried. I own a Jag...so I'm use to repair bills. I think I can handle it...

 

I'd love to take my Prius to the "local guy" to do everything, but I'm not certain that they are even trained in working on hybrid cars.

 

Although I am only 28 I've done my share of car repairs. I'm done with that mess. One thing I hate is an unexpected expense or unexpectedly getting stranded somewhere because something failed. Leasing fits my life and its done great for me for the last 6 years. If I like the car and there is positive equity there I'll buy it out and sell it a few months later.

 

You need one more option:

Sell or Trade when something newer, shinier, and with more techno gadgets comes along...

 

One other option- take it to independent shop during warranty and after warranty.

 

+1 except I would reword it to "sell or trade for reasons other than warranty so can't predict when".

 

The Toyota Previa van that I bought in 92 is now being driven by my son and its maintenance costs continue to be low.

It's a common belief that Hybrids are more complex than traditional cars, have more expensive parts, and hence ultimately require more maintenance.

In the case of the Prius, I believe that except for software, it's actually simpler, that it has fewer parts that need maintenance, and that its design and operation control are better able to reduce maintenance needs.

I also think that any major maintenance is likely to be far enough in the future that hybrid repair skills will be far more mainstream and if I need them, I will have far more choices than exist at present.

In short, I'm not worrying about it at all. The questions Bob raises are however good ones, and I would be thinking about it if I had a Gen 1 or an early Gen 2.

Barring accidents and the unexpected, I expect our 2010 Prius to still be running in 2030 and likely still be in the family.

 

i agree except for a few (posted on p/c) exhorbitant repair bills on cars with not that much mileage.

 

Given the way people drive (including Prius owners), don't bother buying the warranty.

Warranty will not cover the damage caused by poor driving. I've seen Prius drivers fly past, rev the engine, or tailgate other people. While this rarely causes the engine to fail, the part that do fail WILL NEVER be covered under warranty (axles etc).

My friend drove a 2007 Prius (had all the warranties) and he drove it like a Jeep/Land rover.....it started falling apart in 2 years and the dealership quoted him $2000 to fix the axles, and a couple of other parts.

 

That is an ID 10 T problem that doesn't affect most of us.

 

I had my 2000 Toyota 4Runner for 10 years and 305,000 miles. I did not have any repairs that would be covered by a factory warranty until I hit 200,000 miles. I predict the same for the Prius.

I have had my 2010 Prius for about 14 months and it has 38,000 miles with zero repairs. In 18 months I will be past 100,000 miles. I predict zero repairs. I feel bad for those that spent $1,000 for an extended warranty on the most reliable family of cars in the world.

I voted for “Regardless of warranty, decide case-by-case†If something breaks that I cannot fix I will make a decision on if I should use a local repair shop or a dealer. Based on Toyota’s great track record I will not have to worry about things breaking.

 

I expect the lion's share of Prius repairs to have nothing to do with the hybrid systems.

 

I tend to keep a car for at least 10 years regardless of the warranty.

 

+1

 

I am fortunate to have a local shop that works only on Lexus and Toyota including hybrids