Prius proves pricey come repair time
Click above for a gallery of the 2007 Toyota Prius
Prius owners, take note. We've got good news and bad news to share today regarding the
The reason for the surcharge isn't so much that the hybrid componentry of the Prius is expensive; it's due more to the fact that there aren't very many spare parts to be had at modest prices, meaning that replacements must be ordered directly from Toyota. Fortunately, the trend is headed downward as more Prius hybrids end up in scrapyards.
Other hybrid models are also proving to be a bit more pricey to repair than their non-hybrid selves. For instance, repair bills for hybrid versions of the Honda Civic and Toyota Camry are 3.8 percent more expensive, on average, than standard Civics or Camrys. The small difference here can be attributed to the few bits of the hybrids that are not shared with their siblings, so this percentage may be more representative of what to expect in the coming years as hybrids continue gaining market share.
Gallery: Review: 2007 Toyota Prius Touring
[Source: All About Prius]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave 2:12PM (2/13/2009)
Talk about selective reading.
From TFA:
"There's good news, though, if you're considering buying a Prius. The difference was most pronounced for earlier cars (2001-2006) and seems to have vanished almost completely for the two most recent model years (2007 and 2008)."
If you buy a Prius today, it doesn't cost any more than average.
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paulwesterberg 2:27PM (2/13/2009)
and you save 50% every time you buy gas.
Jeremy Korzeniewski 5:20PM (2/13/2009)
The 8.4% figure is the average for all years. As the article states, the exact figure goes down with newer model years.
win39 2:16PM (2/13/2009)
Article is a bit inaccurate. Audatex evaluates insurance collision costs, not reliability or maintenance costs. That is what its report evaluates. What you have said is not true.
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Jeremy Korzeniewski 5:27PM (2/13/2009)
win39, point taken and article updated. Thanks!
steve r 2:26PM (2/13/2009)
Why doesn't Jeremy read the whole article? As Dave commented , there is no diff after 2006.
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Jeremy Korzeniewski 5:21PM (2/13/2009)
The 8.4% is the average of all model years, though, it does get smaller as the model year goes up as you mentioned.
steve r 5:32PM (2/13/2009)
On hybrid cars.com they wrote a similar story but it read completely different. The headline read: hybrids don't cost anymore to repair. Compare that headline to yours. Somebody has an agenda.
Luke 6:38PM (2/13/2009)
"and you save 50% every time you buy gas
No. Everyone pays the same for gas.
Better said, you saive 50% when you drive. However, you spend money every time you drive, so you are never saving money by driving. Therefore, the comparison must be made between what cars you could potentially drive, and how much money you would waste by driving any car.
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ryan 8:07PM (2/13/2009)
What exactly costs more? Burnt out dome lights? Oil filters? O2 sensors? What exactly are we talking here?
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Jim 4:47AM (2/14/2009)
Or you can do your own repairs and this wont be a problem (excluding part costs).
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Paul 3:24AM (2/15/2009)
Get a grip!
Bad idea #1 on how to lose readership on a green auto blog, try to put people off buying hybrids! ALL car manufacturers have been using spare parts and scheduled obsolescence as major profit centres to subsidise vehicle sales for years. So why run a stupid negative headline designed to only get pageviews?
You could start an entire blog just based on the obscene prices extorted out of car owners by manufacturers. Go and ask any auto workshop about parts for German cars for a start... we're talking about $5,000 for replacement ECUs... that fail just out of warranty of course. A recent Ford gearbox costs $400 just for the trans fluid and requires a new 'expensive' cast alloy pan to replace the filter... or how about $1000 for a Honda headlight... and don’t start me on sh*t like Ferrari where it’s $15,000 to replace a clutch, all old news in the trade.
The entire game is bent and there isn’t a thing car owner’s can do once the part fails bar sell the car. A minor 8% difference for what is a reliable Toyota is NOTHING!
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Anna Keppa 7:29PM (2/16/2009)
Heh. When that battery dies at 100K miles, you'll find out it costs $8K to $10K to replace it.
Suckas!!
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Al Reasin 3:28PM (2/16/2009)
My mechanic has told me that the location of major components cause excessive repair bills after a front end collision, causing insurance rate to be higher. Additionally the resale value is low because of the 5 year battery life.
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