I need to decide soon about extending the warranty on my 2008 Escape Hybrid.
Given the somewhat exotic nature of some of the components-electric motors, who knows what electronic sensors etc.- and the novelty of the technology, it might make some sense to buy some insurance.
On the other hand the batteries are guaranteed for eight years and the for the first year (30,000 miles) I have had zero problems with it.
Any suggestions?
If you’re concerned with the nature of a hybrid, why did you buy one? 
Though, depending on who is giving the warranty, be it Ford themselves, or some aftermarket place, read the fine print and review the total cost of the warranty. Most likely you’ll never need to collect on the warranty, so just put the money that they want for it into a money market account and let it earn interest for awhile. If you ever need anything repairs done with the vehicle(does NOT include fluid changes, brakes, belts) take the money from that account. Most likely, you’ll have a good chunk of change to put down on your next vehicle purchase after a few years
Well any car can have major expensive repairs.
The profit to the salesman and company is usually over 50%. So for every $1,000 you spend the insurance company has less than $500 to pay for repairs or they will loose money, something insurance companies do not do. Some peop;le will get nothing back and some will get a lot more than they pay. Most will get far less. In addition you need to keep in mind that the insurer has worded it to eliminate as many expensive things as they can.
Remember that the seller is out to make money and they get to write the rules and set the price. They are not going to sell them at a loss so one way or another they are going to have you pay more than they will pay out.
Would you gamble with a car dealer who gets to set all the rules and knows all the odds?
Your decision has to do with the value of the piece of mind it gives you. If that is worth the cost then buy it. Don't expect it to cover everything however, most are written to keep cost down and exempt what they know will cost them money.
Good Luck
Why do you need to decide now? You can buy an extended warranty any time before your original one runs out, I think. And check very carefully what’s covered, like the others say, it’s usually a losing game.
If there are problems with the hybrid stuff, the dealer can’t fix it anyway. I really believe that they will be clueless. A lot of people will be stuck with just a bunch of scrap metal on wheels. The money that you pour into the extended warranty will probably be wasted. The car companies will have to guarantee a cheap trade-in or $10,000 off my next car before I will buy a hybrid anything.