Mercedes Benz owners who purchased the E300 BlueTEC or the more premium S400 Hybrid will be now sweating away wondering how long more will the battery last and how much it will cost. The main concern for hybrids is the battery lifespan and cost of replacement, as the battery of these two models reach their end of life, Mercedes Malaysia has shared options for either purchasing new units or extend the warranty of current ones.
The Hybrid Battery Extended Warranty programme, gives customers an additional battery warranty of 4 years for a price of MYR2,688, the warranty provides 100% coverage for the repair or replacement of the hybrid battery for up to 8 years or 180,000 kilometers whichever comes first. While this could ease the worry for another 4 years, the eminent replacing will one day arrive, so if owners prefer replacement the the recommended retail price is RM50,000 for the E 300 BlueTEC hybrid battery and RM65,000 for the S 400 h hybrid battery.
A major drawback for hybrids has been the expiry of the battery and the cost of replacement, this fear is not allayed with Mercedes announcing its price. A quick check on Carlist indicates a second hand 2015 E200 BlueTEC is now selling for RM157K, with the battery costing RM50k, a third of the price of the vehicle is just on the battery alone. What a bummer!
