Hybrids will make you a dealer service captive.
Try it out - go to a dealership and ask the salesperson if you can get your hybrid repaired at any reputable garage. Then watch as they stammer, stutter and do a little dance. It's fun to see, but the experience of finding an independent shop that will do work on a hybrid isn't fun at all. It may well turn into a frustrating search for a shop that will forego a hybrid premium. The reason is safety: it takes around 50 volts to deliver a fatal blast of electricity, and hybrids carry much more - the Toyota Prius delivers 276 volts via its hybrid system. This danger has mandated a series of safety steps that must be taken to ensure there is no power to the vehicle. Because a hybrid engine can be powered up - but with the engine off - this increases the risk of electrocution. Even if a shop's technicians are well trained in the safety aspects of hybrid repair, the fact is that these are complicated systems that are harder to work on, even if you don't have to work on the actual hybrid parts.

Certainly, as hybrids grow more popular, the number of qualified technicians will increase, and the price of service and repair will decrease. But until then, choices are limited - and like the hybrid sticker price itself - more expensive.