If anyone is that sure hybrids are a fading fad, invest in Chrysler and Ford rather than Toyota and Honda.

 

Why, Honda makes perfectly good non-hybrid cars.

 

Point is fuel efficiency helps the stocks of Honda and Toyota, including the work on hybrid technology. Hybrid sales have increased on the long-term trend. It it true there are now 900,000 Prius' on the road and they are now in the top ten in US sales? Whatever the figures - it's good. Even hybrid-skeptical GM is making a U-turn.

 

I am in a similar position to the original poster w/ my 2001 Prius which has 145,000 miles on it.

The warranty on the hybrid system was for 100K miles, but at the time I bought the car I couldn't nail anyone down at Toyota who would tell me how many miles I could actually expect the battery to last OR how much the replacing the hybrid battery would cost. I knew it would be a really expensive repair, but in my mind a really expensive repair is $1500 - not $5000 - which is the estimate I'm now getting from the dealership.

I had a friend who is an independent mechanic price a new hybrid battery for me. He said the cost w/ no mark-up is $3000. I don't think that includes the ECU (the computer that controls the battery) which also needs to be replaced.

I typically drive all my cars until the wheels fall off and when I get into the territory of expensive repairs (and I'm talking $1000 dollar repairs here), I either sell the car or having it scrapped. Of course, by this point the car is typically 12-15 years old so I've gotten my money's worth. (BTW, I'm now driving my 15 yo Mazda Protege to work w/ 210,000 miles on it while my Prius languishes in the driveway at home.)

My 2001 Prius is still a young car by my standards - only 5 years old - though admittedly high mileage at 145K. It has been extremely reliable w/ virtually no repairs over the life of the car. Even so, I'm still aghast at the idea of putting $5K worth of repairs into it when it's probably approaching that point when many other systems are going to start needing replacement as well.

Toyota and other hybrid car makers are going to have to find a way to reduce the cost of these repairs. Otherwise the cars are just not cost effective. With 20/20 hindsight I would now have never bought the car and would advise others who ask not to buy one either until the cost of replacing the battery comes down significantly.

Kelley Blue Book tells me that I could sell a Prius in "good" condition w/ 145K for $8,800. So, presumably, if I had sold the car a few months ago before the Master Warning Light came on indicating a problem, I could have made about $8,800. Whereas now, the car is essentially worthless unless I drop $5K into it.

I wonder what is going to happen to all the hybrids on the road as they start to approach the useful life of their battery?

I wouldn't be surprised if there is mysterious spate of Prius' being pushed into lakes when the odometer rolls over to about 140K miles. Guess I'll just tell the insurance adjuster I forgot to put the parking brake on...

 

Here is my fear. We already pay a higher price to purchase the hybrid in the first place no? We do it though because a. we are going to help the enviroment and b. save on gas money and make back the cost in a few years anyway...but....

if you pay 3-5 thousand more on the car, and then 3-5 thousand on a battery in 5 years or so..you kinda don't get the benefit of B. and may even lose money.

ah the cost of saving the planet!

 

This is precicely what I think Honda and Toyota need to be concerned with. We're now entering the era where more and more early hybrids are going to be hitting this mileage and need a battery replacement. So what happens when a major news source gets a hold of this story - the others will jump on it and you're going to get a ton of bad press on how the batteries cost $5K to replace and everyone should avoid buying a hybrid. I'll predict if that happens sales will fall off significantly and our resale values will be trash. We'll be stuck with these 10 year old cars with no resale value and a $3000 repair to make them operable again.

Not only would I never buy another battery-based car, I'd discourage others from doing the same. The last thing they need is to take 1 million happy advocates and turn them into disgruntled customers. But it sounds to me like they are starting to...

 

For me it boils down to what I expect the lifetime of a car to be and resale value.

If you are looking to get a wad of money by selling most any vehicle with +150,000 miles it will be listed for a long, long time. I just checked kelly bluebook http://www.kbb.com for used Civic EX sedans and only found two with that high mileage- for a price higher than I'd expect of around $1k.

I guess it can also depend on how one drives his vehicle. In my case is very, very light- I just replaced my OEM tires at 88,000 miles and brake pads are still as new. I would also think engine wear and tear is light, and should last longer than someone who demands more: IE driving it floored for max assist etc.

This is our first new Japanese car. I had a Chrysler Le Baron and at 120,000 miles was completely worn out. Next was a Dodge Spirit and at 125K the troubles were so numerous not worth fixing. Our Grand Caravan has 79K miles and seriously displaying wear. All those had been driven very hard.

Given my light driving demand and Honda reputation I hope to drive my HCH 350K miles, but I'm also realistic. I expect a battery change, possible CVT trouble and other repairs. Even though I think it's been a great value for our family and a pleasure to drive.

But as most other vehicles I don't expect it to be worth much of anything at +150K miles.

 

This is the Private Party Value per Kelley Blue Book at 145,000 mile
2003 Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan 4D
I feel that they are high but look it up for yourself
Condition Value
Excellent $11,580
Good $10,615
Fair $9,360
Next Steps
Search Local Listings
Sell Your Sedan
Vehicle Highlights

Mileage: 145,000
Engine: 4-Cyl. 1.3L VTEC
Transmission: 5 Speed Manual
Drivetrain: FWD

 

deboytd,

Those Kelley numbers are similar to the Edmunds ones. There are more variables involved in Edmunds estimator (including zipcode and color), but (in my zipcode & light blue color):
clean (similar to excellent) private-party estimate is $11,144
Average condition is $8967, and
Rough condition is $7359.
Trade-in values are about $1400-1200-1000 less, respectively.

ALL these prices sound a little optomistic to me, too, for a vehicle with 145K miles on it..

Sounds like you should get 'er fixed (as best you can), then decide if you want to sell it. You're still probably $4-5000 to the good if you decide to sell it.

 

it makes since that we use more mileage a year in a hybrid. with lower gas costs, who doesnt' wnat to drive more? hybrids make driving fun again. it sux that the battery isn't cheaper and more efficient overall.

It is newer technology..but no longer new technology right?