Buying a used hybrid. Scary?

[V8mate]

The selection of 3+ year old cars with electric/fossil fuel hybrid power trains is growing pretty steadily now.

Am I alone in being somewhat wary of them as a used car proposition?

Whether you fancy a big barge Lexus or a 'sensible' Toyota Auris (just a couple of examples) how hardy is the electric bit?

Are they ok, at 3 years, but not at 5? Or at 7? Or is mileage, rather than age a key factor?


Just an open question really. Fear of the unknown etc.

[V8mate]

belleair302 said:

I recently purchased a Lexus GS 450 h from a dealer and it comes with a fifteen year warranty on the battery pack, so long as the car is serviced by Lexus annually. I also received a three year unlimited mileage warranty excluding glass, tyres and standard battery for £900. Whats not to like? Three years time I shall probably have moved onto something else, with trouble free motoring and 25,000 more miles driven.

Does the dealer service actually do anything to the battery pack to maintain its life? I fancy not.

Horse for courses, but a £900 warranty and enforced main dealer servicing wouldn't appeal to me for a moment. Having said that, I guess I'm more likely to be in the market for 5 year old cars, which are generally out of main dealer scope.

[V8mate]

Blue Oval84 said:

Most of London's private hire and Uber fleet can't be wrong.

I'm sure we'd have heard a lot of horror stories by now if they were a big problem. Thinking about it logically, the electric powertrain should be a lot more reliable than the I/C one?

Moving parts, you're probably right... I guess it's the longevity of the battery packs I was concerned about. But there have been some useful and interesting comments/references^^ which suggest that 3-15 year old cars remain a good purchase