Hello, I'm considering buying a 2008 Lexus RX 400h (115k miles), but I'm a little concerned that it's going to need an expensive hybrid battery replacement soon after I buy it, given that the car is 15+ years old and is still on the original hybrid battery:
- Is this a legitimate concern? I know repairs kind of go with the territory when buying a car this old, but I was hoping getting something as reliable as a Lexus would reduce the risk of needing expensive repairs... for the hybrid battery in particular, I've seen some people say that it probably won't last much longer at this point and others say that theirs lasted much longer
- When I brought this up with the salesman, he said when the hybrid battery starts going out it's the individual cells that need to be replaced rather than the whole thing, so it's not like I'll need to pay thousands of dollars for an entire new hybrid battery right away - does that sound right?
- I work from home and expect to be a fairly low mileage driver - is this bad for a hybrid battery?
- Is there anything else that I should be concerned about with this particular model (I'm taking it in for a pre-purchase inspection at a local shop soon)
I've tried doing some research on this myself of course, but I'm finding a lot of conflicting information. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks
- Is this a legitimate concern? I know repairs kind of go with the territory when buying a car this old, but I was hoping getting something as reliable as a Lexus would reduce the risk of needing expensive repairs... for the hybrid battery in particular, I've seen some people say that it probably won't last much longer at this point and others say that theirs lasted much longer
- When I brought this up with the salesman, he said when the hybrid battery starts going out it's the individual cells that need to be replaced rather than the whole thing, so it's not like I'll need to pay thousands of dollars for an entire new hybrid battery right away - does that sound right?
- I work from home and expect to be a fairly low mileage driver - is this bad for a hybrid battery?
- Is there anything else that I should be concerned about with this particular model (I'm taking it in for a pre-purchase inspection at a local shop soon)
I've tried doing some research on this myself of course, but I'm finding a lot of conflicting information. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks
Last edited: