Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
Hybrid batteries do fail. They even fail under warranty. Yes, they are replaced for free, although that is still an inconvenience, but while they might last hundreds of thousands of miles, they might not survive the warranty.
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Likewise, engines fail, transmissions fail, other expensive parts fail. Sometimes under warranty, sometimes later. So is this a reason not to own a car?
I think what matters is the average cost of repair over useful lifetime. If (just making up some numbers here) the Prius averages one battery failure and one engine/transmission failure per million miles, and a VW diesel averages five engine/transmission failures in the same period, then assuming the repair cost is the same, which is cheaper overall?
Then add the fact that (at least in the Insight) battery replacement is WAY simpler than engine/transmission, and used batteries are available at $500 or so from salvage yards (last I checked), seems like the hybrid might be significantly cheaper.