It's like insurance. Looking at it strictly from a monetary standpoint, it doesn't make sense. The odds of needing one or more repairs that would cost you what the warranty costs are small. If the peace of mind it gives you is worth the price, go for it.

If you buy one, I suggest waiting until the bumper-to-bumper factory warranty is close to expiring. You can buy the extended warranty anytime before then. There is little the extended warranty can do for you until then, and by then you'll have a better sense of the reliability of your model year.

I came close to buying one as I approached 36K miles. The only reliability issue that concerned me with my model year was potential MFD failure. Multiple reports of MFD failure have popped up in 2004 and 2005 models. Turns out, it was a factory defect that seemed to have been corrected after the early 2005s; mine is a late 2005. (Toyota never has acknowledged the defect publicly. The defect and the subsequent factory correction were identified from the meticulous and excellent diagnostic work of Hobbit -- a member of some of the Prius forums.) After being somewhat reassured that my model wasn't affected, and after hearing of no other major repair trends for my model year, I chose not to buy it.

If I had bought one, I would have bought it from Troy. He comes highly recommended from other Prius owners.

Jim

Lifetime fuel mileage:

After learning how to hypermile: