My friend Kerry was proud to be on the cutting edge of hybrid technology when he bought a Toyota Prius a few years ago.

 

He's less proud to be on the cutting edge of hybrid-technology repairs. He just paid a bundle to replace the car's transaxle, part of the vehicle's new-wave continuously variable transmission, which failed just after the warranty expired.

 

'The dealer initially told me it would be $3,000 just for the labor, and $5,000 for the part. That's 40% of the original base price of the car!'

 

Kerry said, 'I pushed back and they waived -- miraculously -- the part cost, maybe because we had recently bought a second Prius from them. … But the labor charge remained. Ouch.'