What to look for when buying a used hybrid car

WHILE buying a hybrid car presents similar concerns in terms of mileage and condition, there are additional areas that will require your attention.

Here is what you need to look for.

If you are considering making the transition to a greener vehicle, you are no doubt thinking about a hybrid of sorts.

A full electric vehicle (EV) is the gold medal, but a hybrid comes a close second.

You have weighed up the cost versus the mileage you do, the intended use of the car and your driving style.

Pricing remains one of the most considered factors when selecting a new car for oneself.

With the current batch of hybrids and EVs still falling victim to research and development costs, the used market is a space that you may be considering playing in, but are unsure of how to go about it.

The fact remains that a hybrid is not that much different to a regular internal combustion (IC)-only car and the areas that you would inspect when buying a used vehicle hold fast.

You would naturally want to know of any previous accidents, the service history of the car and would take the condition and mileage into account.

The pricing of hybrid cars is rather attractive and now is the right time to be looking for one, as we predict that the prices will only increase from here on in.

As it stands, hybrid cars are coming in fairly cheaper than their traditional full-IC counterparts. Other factors that need to be considered when looking at a used hybrid car include:

Warranty on the batteries

While some manufacturers will include the batteries in their standard warranties, many offer an extended warranty on their battery packs.

Toyota offers an eight-year/195 000-kilometre warranty on their battery packs.

Many others offer similar conditions. Check to see that there is still the balance of the warranty transferable to the new owner and ensure there are no red flags or notices.

Battery replacement

Check the records to see whether the hybrid system batteries have ever been serviced or replaced.

If it has been, you will need to ascertain why this happened.

If the car has low mileage and has already had a battery replacement, your concerns should be over the supporting electric and charging system as hybrid car batteries are designed to last many years.

If the mileage is high, however, a battery replacement may have been on the cards due to natural degradation of the cells and you may be sitting with a high miler with a near-new battery that will last for ages.

Battery performance

Related to the point above, you will need to check the battery performance.

Many of the onboard systems will give you a report on the battery health and performance (much like your cell phone does these days).

This will indicate how hard the battery has worked (factor in the mileage when looking at this) and if there is a battery replacement due in the near future.

Should the car not have a system health report, you may want to consult the manufacturer, who will be able to use on-board diagnostics systems to check this for you.

Charging capabilities

Whether the car is a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) or series hybrid (IC and motion charged systems with no external charging capabilities), you will want to check the ability to charge the batteries.

It is not uncommon for a hybrid car battery system to run out while standing for long periods — as would be found on a dealership forecourt.

Check to see if the batteries do charge up, be it through plugging the car into a wall outlet or, in the case of a series hybrid, taking the car for a drive to see if the motion systems work.

Charging accessories

In the same way that you would check to make sure that the car you are looking to buy has its spare wheel and jack, you must ensure that the car comes with the necessary accessories for charging.

This applies mainly to PHEVs and all should come with a standard wall outlet charging cable and some will have a control box, as part of this package.

You cannot expect a home charging station to be included with the car, but feel free to contact the manufacturer to see what solution they can offer you. — AutoTrader