What to Know Before Buying a High-Mileage Hybrid
It’s a commentary on the buying habits of car shoppers these days that an article with that title can be written. Hybrids have been in the mainstream for some spell but have flourished in recent years as some customers seek a balance between the range anxiety (real or imagined) of a fully electric vehicle whilst trying to save a few bucks at the pump.
That means the used car field has no shortage of second-hand hybrid vehicles from which to choose, though today’s market is still slightly wonky and feeling the effects of a Covid-induced supply-and-demand hangover. A constantly shifting financial market regarding tariff taxes isn’t helping. Nevertheless, used hybrids are on the ground, and some of them have high mileage.
[Image: Subaru, Murilee Martin/TTAC.com, Ford, Tim Healey/TTAC.com]
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This introduces a new wrinkle or three into the process of successfully selecting a second-hand machine which won’t be a bad investment. As many have learned, some of the old suggestions for inspecting a used car apply, though there are a few new pitfalls compared to taking a gamble on a high mileage ICE vehicle.
First and foremost, remember that hybrids do have an internal combustion engine, meaning all the old advice about inspecting a used car before signing on the dotted line applies. Check the oil, make sure there are no leaks, look for cooling issues, and try all the gizmos to see if they work. A power window motor which goes BRRRRR but fails to raise and lower glass is equally as annoying in a used hybrid as it is in a traditional car. In that vein, look for faults in tire treads and make certain they are all the same size and brand. Yes, hybrids have depreciated into beater status, meaning they sometimes get the same “It’ll do” treatment as a knackered GM W-body sedan with Michigan plates.
But with a hybrid, there’s also the electrified part of the powertrain to consider. Most vehicles will be able to display its current state of battery health, sometimes via the infotainment screen and sometimes via a technician’s scanner. Almost all batteries, from the one in your phone to the one in a hybrid, have a finite number of charge cycles before they begin to degrade. While this is less of an issue with hybrids than EVs since one always has the ICE on which to rely, the whole point of getting a hybrid in the first place is to save a few bucks on fuel. If the hybrid battery is toast, that won’t happen. If the dash is lit up like a Christmas tree with faults, consider walking away (though shoppers should do that for ICE cars, as well).
The internet is awash with both success and horror stories on this subject. Some buyers found luck with extended warranties they didn’t know existed until researching the specific make and model which they were considering, making that task another addition to the To Do list.
Just like a pedestrian high mileage vehicle, a hybrid may need attention on wear items like its brakes, or accessory items such as air conditioning. One would imagine most buyers will budget for those eventualities after buying a used car but if the financial allocations are spent on fixing problems with the hybrid system which weren’t caught in a pre-purchase inspection, one might find themselves in a jam. High mileage hybrids can be worth the cash - just make sure to thoroughly inspect the thing before signing up. Just like you’d do for a normal car, right?
