We are thinking about buying a 2008 400H with about 45,000 miles on it. We don't drive a ton (live fairly close to work), so we are not concerned with putting too many miles on the car, but we are a tad nervous about the battery life. My first question is, how much would a new battery cost? From what I've been reading, there are 2 batteries in the car (one that starts it and one that runs it), is this true? If so, I'm looking for the cost of both of them separately.
Also, when talking with the sales person, he told us that a new battery would run about 20K. From everything I've read, even in worst case scenaro, there is no way it could cost 20K to replace the battery in this car. I've been reading more like 3 or 4K.
I feel like there is really just a huge unknown at the end of the life of this car (or in about 6 years if we buy a 2008). If it would only cost 3K to replace the battery, and I knew this was an expected expense, I could stomach it, but clearly if the replacement cost is 20K, who wouldn't just junk the car?
I'm also thinking that if we wanted to sell this car any time in the future, the resale value would be next to nothing. After that 10 year mark, there is no guarantee that you will not wake up with a 4K bill sitting in your driveway. When looking at a 10 year old non-hybrid RX (RX 300), the average selling price is 11K. I'm thinking that I would get nowhwere near that amount of savings in gas.
Just looking for a little insight.
Thanks!
