I'm a believer in Hybrids. Used 2018 Prius Prime.

The Journey.

My son, who is attending UH Moana, needed a dependable, relatively inexpensive car for his commute to school. In Hawaii, EV, which plug in hybrids are included, get to use the carpool lane. In the mornings, there is a special carpool lane called the "Zipper Lane". The zipper lane is a protected, by means of concrete barriers, carpool lane from the west side suburb, aka Leeward side, to Honolulu. The zipper lane can reduce commute times by 1 to 1.5 hours. Hawaii in general is a big Toyota loving island so it is really hard to get new Toyota plug in of any model.

The Find.

One night I was cruising the online new and used car lots for plug in hybrids. There was a lot of 330e plug ins but was weary of the longevity of BMW. i.e. burns twice as bright and dies twice as fast. I stumbled upon a used 2018 Toyota Prius Prime Hybrid. Of course, pictures are always doctored up to make the car look better than it is, so I didn't really pay too much attention. The car sat in the dealer lot for a week before I seriously look at the online pictures and info, to include the free carfax. What impressed me and what made me go into the dealership to look at it was the mileage.

2018 Prius Prime Advanced
Mileage: 34K
Grey Exterior, Black Interior
No door dings or rock chips (must have been all town driving)
All 4 tires new. (Replaced by dealer)
All windows, except front, tinted with Formula One 35% ceramic, 54% heat rejection. The previous owner used the same Company that I used for tinting my other cars. I later got the front windows tinted for heat rejection.
FitCamX Camera for Prius. (The dealer didn't even know it was there. I didn't even know it was there until I read the user manual. i.e. "What the heck is that camera? It's not in the manual". I got to see some interesting videos)
Final Price: $28.5K+tax. Seemed high for a 5-year-old car but it was in line with KBB trade in value.

Impression after buying:

At first, I didn't think I would drive the car very often. It was for my son after all. However, after a few drives, I started to like this little rascal. I would take it on little errand runs in the neighborhood using all EV power. The gym I go to has a few free level 2 charges and I would plug in during my workout, assuming they were not being used by the Tesla mafia. (Tesla owners don't seem to understand the 2 hr limit and honestly, how can they just sit there for 5-6 hrs waiting for a full charge.). The impressive part was the how long between gas fill up would be. Almost 1200 miles per fill up, about 6-7 gallons. Electrity is expensive in Hawaii (.50/kwh) but I have solar, so the cost is negligible. I like to consider myself a Shadetree mechanic so, I did the once around the car to see how hard it would do repairs and maintenance. Very interesting internals... There is no drive shaft, no power steering fluid, easy to get to spark plugs, 2 coolant tanks (I believe one is for the battery), a CVT that doesn't use a chain or belt, transmission fluid change (according to my favorite Toyota Master Technician on YouTube) is too simple. I can't wait to do an oil change on this car.

Final Thoughts.
I am so impressed with the Prius Prime, I am know considering replacing my 2006 GX470 with the upcoming 2024/25 Lexus TX550h+ (the + is for plug in). At 33miles EV run time, it would be like owning a BEV.

 

No. It has to be less than $25K.

 

Hawaii actually has good used car laws. Before a dealer can sell a used car, it must pass the State Safety Inspection. One of the checks is the tire treads. Hawaii also has cracked down on safety check station because in the past there were some pencil whipped inspection. The State now makes the station take pictures of the car (Tire, Suspense, Exhaust, Lights, etc.). I am not sure how true it is but I was told the State review the pictures if there is an incident with the car due to safety. If it is found that the station "cheated" they will be fined and lose their business license, which is normally connected to a repair shop.

I hear you about watching the car for hidden issues. To me, this was a deal that was almost too good to be true. Most of the Prius Prime I saw for sale in Hawaii, 2017 or 2018, had 60-80K miles. So far, after 2 mths, everything is still riding smooth. Battery has performed flawlessly with a level 1 and level 2 charger. Looks like the battery is providing the rated 24 miles EV. The ICE engine turns on and off quietly. I don't even notice the engine, unless I am accelerating from a stop or punching the pedal to pass a car. Car drives straight as an arrow. I guess time will only tell if I the car is a lemon or an orange.