As much as I love this car, I am troubled by reports I'm hearing of hugely expensive repair bills. One lady rear ended an SUV and did what looked like minor damage. The "inverter" unit was damaged, but not completely. The damaged part, alone, would cost about 3 bucks, but Toyota only sells the assembled unit, not the component parts thereof, and required her (or her insurance company) to pay, get this, $4000 bucks for the whole assembly.
The reason, according to one post, is that it saves Toyota from having to inventory lots of little parts, and, supposedly, reduces their costs which, allegedly, they pass on to us in the form of a lower MSRP, but with the hidden glitch of higher repair costs.
Another big issue is that all of the Prius parts are going into new Prii and there is a shortage of spares to replace damage to the Prii already on the road.
Have any of you had similar experiences? Given the meteoric rise of the Prius in popularity, it would seem the vast majority of consumers either don't care about this issue or haven't thought about it. I suppose it will even out in the marketplace. If the insurance companies continue taking it in the shorts, they will most likely pressure the manufacturers to change their practices. Either way, we will end up paying more for these cars; either the insurance companies will jack up the rates or Toyota will be more reasonable in their parts inventories and tack the added expense of doing so onto the MSRP.
The reason, according to one post, is that it saves Toyota from having to inventory lots of little parts, and, supposedly, reduces their costs which, allegedly, they pass on to us in the form of a lower MSRP, but with the hidden glitch of higher repair costs.
Another big issue is that all of the Prius parts are going into new Prii and there is a shortage of spares to replace damage to the Prii already on the road.
Have any of you had similar experiences? Given the meteoric rise of the Prius in popularity, it would seem the vast majority of consumers either don't care about this issue or haven't thought about it. I suppose it will even out in the marketplace. If the insurance companies continue taking it in the shorts, they will most likely pressure the manufacturers to change their practices. Either way, we will end up paying more for these cars; either the insurance companies will jack up the rates or Toyota will be more reasonable in their parts inventories and tack the added expense of doing so onto the MSRP.