"John Horner" > wrote in message
news:kNngf.2035$PC2.606@trnddc03...
> Daniel J. Stern wrote:
>
>>
>> No. My officemate has an '03 Honda Civic hybrid. It started giving
>> problems on his way from Montreal to Toronto. The Integrated Motor Assist
>> system went offline, which also meant the SLI battery (Starting,
>> Lighting, Ignition -- the conventional 12v item under the hood) was not
>> being charged. When he limped into the parking lot, his SLI battery read
>> 9.9v.
>>
>
>
> Yep, this is the dirty little secret of hybrids. They are going to be
> worthless after they hit the end of warranty period because the cost to
> replace the battery pack will exceed the value of the vehicle.
>
> Have people learning nothing from cell phones and laptop computers where
> failure to take a charge rechargeable batteries are often the death
> sentence?
>
> John

Hold on there! I just bought a replacement battery for my Dell Inspiron -
total cost $72. It was a little over two years old (a bit soon for failure
IMHO). But the cost was only about 10-15% of the laptop's resale value.
Certainly no reason to trash it.

Point being that IF the cost of a replacement battery pack for a hybrid was
10-15% of the vehicle's value at the time it was needed, the resale would
not be so adversely affected. I admit, though, that the price is unlikely to
drop to that level.

Doug