This becomes particularly evident with older hybrid vehicles, where the price of a battery replacement can exceed the vehicle's total value. A recent case in point involves a man in Arizona who was taken aback by the expense when he had to replace the battery in his 2014 Infiniti hybrid, a car with a mere 70,000 miles on the odometer.
From Western Journal:
“They called me and said, ‘Oh, I’ve got bad news, Mr. Turner. You need a new hybrid battery and it’s going to cost $18,000 for the battery and another $2,000 to have it installed.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ My jaw dropped,” Turner said.
“I almost cried,” he said.
Turner had bought the car three years back and paid $16,000 for it. That made a $20,000 battery repair way out of line from his point of view.
“I can’t make this make sense in my mind. How does it cost $20,000 to put a battery in a car, but you only paid $16,000?” he said.
“When I bought the car, it came with the battery. It came with wheels. It came with brakes. It came with a body. It came with glass and everything. It came with an engine, but they want $20,000 just for a battery. It makes no sense in my mind,” he said.
How in the world can anyone justify such a steep repair cost?!
Once again, this stands out as a major drawback to investing in these battery-powered vehicles, and more folks ought to be clued in before making a purchase.
