Swayed by Consumer Reports
Swayed by Consumer Reports and knowing that the Prius was being used in taxi service in NYC, I bought a 2007 with 60,000+ miles as a "certified" car from a Toyota dealer. We immediately started enjoying gas mileage around 50mpg and figured on driving it 200,000 miles or more. I was never notified that Toyota discovered two problems for which they offered extended warranties: (1) failing dash panel instrument cluster (2) ABS brake module failure. Both are extraordinarily expensive to fix. Had I known about these failures, I'd have sold my car before the extended warranties expired.
Needless to say, I had the VERY BAD LUCK to have both of these failures AFTER the extended warranties expired. There was a get-around for the instrument cluster failure (disconnecting the 12V power to allow the computer to reset) but eventually it grew so troublesome in the winter that I had a local mechanic install a used cluster. Even that cost about $1000 because of the extensive dis-assembly required. Then last summer, with 145,000 miles and after replacing the 12V battery (a pain), ABS warning lights came on and the car became completely unsafe to drive. Independent mechanics could not fix this problem or even install a used ABS module because of their inability to deal with the car's computer software. The quoted repair price from a Toyota dealer was $3500. I wrote to Toyota customer service asking for consideration in making the brake repair since I think that they should have recalled the Prius for this safety issue. They refused any kind of help.
All the good words about the legendary reliability of the Prius have proven to be a wishful dream!