I have been happily reading all the great reports about the Prius, but was brought up short by lots of posts about mysterious probems the dealer often couldn't fix. (I realize forums attract a disproportionate amount of problems, that are not representative of the overall reliability of the car).
(Of course the forums are a huge resource of information, but they don't fix your car)
Nevertheless, this gives me pause, because in my small town, the dealership does not sell many Prius/year, and I'm not sure there is a dealership with a large turnover less than 200 mi away (Albuquerque, NM).
So how smart is it to buy a vehicle, the innards of which are so different, most of us are unlikely to understand them to the point of pinipointing or repairing a problem, and the dealership might not be able to either.
What are the question to ask (of whom) to determine if a dealership is competent to care for your Prius.
Anyone know of any incidence of falure/repair figures?
Should I budget for a trailer to haul the car to Albuquerque in case of an intractable or major problem? (I'm only half kidding) because -
I just had a $225 tow to haul another vehicle 60 mi back to town - places are a long way apart in the W. USA. Your average service shop is unlikely to be of much help with a Prius. 4 such tows = a trailer.
Your thoughts?
(Of course the forums are a huge resource of information, but they don't fix your car)
Nevertheless, this gives me pause, because in my small town, the dealership does not sell many Prius/year, and I'm not sure there is a dealership with a large turnover less than 200 mi away (Albuquerque, NM).
So how smart is it to buy a vehicle, the innards of which are so different, most of us are unlikely to understand them to the point of pinipointing or repairing a problem, and the dealership might not be able to either.
What are the question to ask (of whom) to determine if a dealership is competent to care for your Prius.
Anyone know of any incidence of falure/repair figures?
Should I budget for a trailer to haul the car to Albuquerque in case of an intractable or major problem? (I'm only half kidding) because -
I just had a $225 tow to haul another vehicle 60 mi back to town - places are a long way apart in the W. USA. Your average service shop is unlikely to be of much help with a Prius. 4 such tows = a trailer.
Your thoughts?