Where do you take your car for service or repair work?

not much lucrative work to be had unless there's a major failure or an accident repair. maintenance is basically oil changes, tire rotations, the occasional trans fluid change, that kind of thing. the occasional problem does crop up- but they're fairly rare.

of course, prius owners do appreciate a tech who understands/appreciates a prius. my husband was the first employee at the dealership to buy one and he had a huge prius customer base.

 

Mine is still in warranty, but I would make a few guesses for you.
Basic service, i.e., oil changes, can be done by anyone. You might pick up some of that business.
Engine/HSD/battery issues: with Toyota's track record of "assistance" even for out-of-warranty Prius, it's a no-brainer to take a Prius to a certified Toyota shop.
By all means, work on becoming a certified Toyota service person! More are needed

 

I will either repair the car myself or else use dealer service. I would consider using an independent shop that specializes in Toyota vehicle service and has a focus on Toyota hybrids.

If your independent shop does not specialize in Toyota vehicles and own the associated proprietary diagnostic tools, I think you would be at a big disadvantage when trying to troubleshoot hybrid vehicle issues.

 

When I picked up my Prius, the guy doing the paper work told me:
"You are married to Toyota. If something needs to be replaced, they just unplug the part and plug in a new part."

 

I do all of my routine maintenance myself even under warranty. I've only paid someone to work on a car once at that was for the timing belt replacement for my VW TDI @ 100K miles. I'll be taking it to a local diesel mechanic that is highly recommended for the 200K mile timing belt change.

As for the Prius, nothing has gone wrong in 51K miles. If something were to go wrong that I couldn't troubleshoot I would look for an independent shop in the area.

 

I'm guessing that the main problem is that the Prius is sufficiently different that most of us wouldn't trust our cars to an independent shop that was not familiar with them. Unless you've spent some time with the car and understand it, it will be hard for you as an independent to diagnose problems. If you have the factory service manual(s) and access to the TSB's along with a working knowledge of the car then you should have some ability to accurately troubleshoot their specific problems. I'm guessing that you will need to advertise in one fashion or another to draw in Prius owners looking for a non-dealer option.

I do the light work myself. In the past I took my vehicles to independent shops that were familiar with the vehicle and had a good reputation with it. Typically these were former dealer mechanics that really knew their stuff and could do the work for a much more reasonable price. (Also, the local Honda dealer had a habit of breaking something else every time I brought it in for warranty repair...forcing me to wait a day on unexpected replacement parts.)

The warranties on the hybrid components are very long and repairs on these items are typically rather expensive if not in warranty. As a result as another has said, the average buyer is sort of married to the dealer when he/she buys a Prius.

 

I do all the simple maintenance myself. For the rest, I take it to PriusChat for advice, and then decide afterwards where to take it. I'm still in warranty, so until I get out, chances are any repair work will go to the dealer (unless I break something).

 

I get oil and filter changes and tire rotations done at an independent shop that never had done a Prius. But they are top-notch mechanics, so they are careful to explore the car before attempting anything new. Not to put down Toyota support, but I'd rather have a good mechanic than someone certified by a company.