The used prices of luxury hybrid cars in Malaysia have been moving downwards and it is hard to ignore if you are looking to upgrade your ride and status in the coming months.
Despite the similarities of hybrid vehicles to a pure petrol or diesel driven vehicle, there are some key differences that you should know about if this is going to be your first hybrid vehicle.
Three elements to be found in a hybrid
The hybrid car comes with an electric powertrain, advanced computer controls and battery packs are three significant aspects that set hybrid cars apart.
Technology complexity
Hybrid vehicles have a lot of complex technologies that make it difficult for regular petrol and diesel mechanics to work on. Not all mechanics are qualified to inspect and repair a hybrid car, however there are more mechanics getting the required knowledge in Malaysia. Join one of the many hybrid car clubs on Facebook and get the members to help you find the right workshop and mechanic.
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The 2011-2013 Audi A6 Hybrid (please see picture below) uses a 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine mated to an electric motor. it can drive almost two miles on electric power alone and hit 100km/h from standstill in 7.3 seconds. This was the first luxury hybrid sedan to get the full eco-friendly tax exemption from the government. Prices today in the used car market range from RM58,000 to RM65,000.
The 2015 Mercedes E300 Bluetech Diesel Hybrid had a showroom selling price at RM338,888.00. At the time the petrol driven locally assembled Mercedes-Benz E200K was selling for RM340,000.00 and the very popular locally assembled BMW 520 diesel was selling for about RM368,888.00 but most units were sold as pre-registration cars at a lower price.
This Mercedes E300 Hybrid (please see picture below) has been appearing in the used car market and its prices are more than 70 per cent lower after 5-years. A quick run of the online classifieds show that owners are trying to get between RM95k to RM105k before hard negotiations.
So, if you are still keen to buy a unit, make sure the first owner purchased the extended battery warranty that Mercedes Benz Malaysia offered to owners at just a tad below RM2,688 for an additional 4 years. This means this 2015 hybrid battery is covered by warranty until 2023. If not, the replacement hybrid battery pricing is close to RM70,000! Which is more than the used price of an Audi A6 hybrid.
Lets not leave out the Mercedes Benz S400L Hybrid which arrived as a local assembled model in May 2014. Its ‘actual’ selling price was to be about RM900,000 but because it was local assembled in Pekan Pahang and it was a hybrid, it got a great tax discount to allow all the well to do Malaysians to buy a luxury tax-free car at just RM587,888. At the time, the middle class Malaysians were paying full tax when they bought non hybrid cars (as they had no choice) whilst rich Malaysians enjoyed a super savings of nearly RM320,000 on their S-Class hybrid.
Fair or not? Well, today this S-Class hybrid (please see picture below) after only 5 plus years has depreciated to a price of just RM189,000 before any hard negotiations. There are plenty for sale and you can take your time to check around and bargain with the dealers.
Now, if you are looking for a used luxury hybrid that still carries a long battery warranty to reduce you fear of high battery replacement cost, then you look at a used BMW 530e Sport Plug-in hybrid (please see picture below) which was launched in January 2018 for RM343,800 whilst its petrol driven sibling was sold for RM388,800.
On June 1st 2020, BMW Malaysia announced an extended plug-in hybrid battery warranty for its plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV). The new eight-year or 160,000 km PHEV battery extended warranty programme is an upgrade from the previous six years or 100,000 km PHEV battery warranty. This is separate from the five-year unlimited mileage warranty for the rest of the vehicle.
This upgraded 6+2 years PHEV battery extended warranty programme includes the BMW 530e and also the latest G12 BMW 740Le LCI.
Today you can find a few units of this 2-year-old BMW PHEV for sale from RM220,000 which is good 30 per cent depreciation.
