JimH2

Purchasing a new hybrid vs. a used one creates a lot of different scenarios. One would not likely want to purchase a hybrid that is 10 years old or for that matter is older than 8 years old since it is out of it's warranty period for the battery packs. That would be a huge deterrent in my opinion.

socalJD

I'll let you know in about 33 months when my lease is up - at that time I'll have to make the decision of whether to turn in or buy it out. If resale is lower than residual, I'll turn in; if resale is higher than residual, I'll buy it. Then you'll have the answer to your $54,000 question. . .

Dong99

Yes, that is an uncertainty. However, Toyota has over 30 years of history to show the world that the probability of need a tranny or engine is relatively small. One the other hand, there is no real world experience how long a NiMH battery pack will last beyond 10 years, at least not yet.

I agree with you 100% - so this begs the question, if no one is willing to buy a 10 year old hybrid, what will be resale value for these hot potato?

I would not count on lithium battery yet, there is no mass produced lithium battery for automobile use yet, although quite a few auto manufactures are diligently working on this. Even they do produce affordable lithium batteries at certain point in the future, I am not sure if I want one. The reason is simple: none of my lithium battery (in laptops or digital cameras or PDAs or cell phones) lasted more than 2 years, on the other hand, I have NiMH batteries still working after 4 to 5 years. However, I personally never have any rechargeable battery last more than 10 years. Also different battery types will require different battery management systems, I am pretty sure I am not going to pay for that on a 10 year old car.

RXSF

the Prius and Honda Insight have been around since 1997, which means we have been using those battery packs for 13 years. Of course, I dont have the data on how many of those 1997 hybrids are still running, but I have a feeling that at least some are.

Tesla has been using Li-ion batteries for the last 3 years or so. They are also used in the Mercedes S class hybrid, the Nissan Leaf, and the Chevy Volt.