buying used 2017 Prime (150,000 km) worth it ?

I don't know what the used car market is like in your area, but for a car with close to 100K miles, even though it is only 3 years old, 12523USD is a lot of money for a car with that much mileage. Just to give you an example, I traded in my 2017 PP Premium with 40K miles (65k km) this year and got only 16500 USD (21,072CAD) for it. It depreciates tremendously in the first three years in the US.

Also Prius Prime is not a cheap car to repair and service if and when it needs to be serviced. Yeah, regular maintenance may not be that much, but with almost 100K miles under the belt, you are thinking of coolant and spark plugs soon if not done already. If you have to repair or replace the traction battery or any of the infotainment system or body parts due to an accident, it will cost a fortune. In my area, a brand new 2020 PP LE can be had at ~18K USD after all the discounts and incentives, that's 22,990CAD. I would skip any used high milage PP if I were you. That's just my 2 cents.

 

I ran a Gen 2 in southern Ontario climate, and the battery did fail around 7 years and 273k KM, but had it rebuilt. I think overall I was a bit unlucky, as most last longer.

I am up to 180k KM on my ‘14 PiP (Li-ion) and so far so good, though my ChargePoint reports about 2.4-2.5KWh per charge these days, where it used to be 2.7 or so. 87% HV usage since I got it 4.5 years ago. Could be slight degradation, but not really measurable in real world results, so take it how you will.

To the OP, as long as the car has been maintained, these HSD cars run forever, I would not be concerned.

Lastly, in Canada we still call it “mileage” even though we measure some things in metric.

 

Private-party KBB values for the lowest trim with that mileage in "good" condition vary between $12–14k. Other trims and better conditions have private-party KBB values up to $17k. Also, these are for Southern California. Canadian prices are probably even higher. I also doubt in Canada they get the tremendous tax breaks and EV credits we get in the US. You are buying a $35,000 car for $12,000, which is not a bad deal at all.

 

The car might have been $35000 when new, but no matter how good the condition of the car is, 3 years old with almost 100kmiles driven is not a $35000 car. So, he is not buying a $35,000 car for $12,000.

 

Of course, I meant $35k when new for the Limited trim.

 

The KBB Canada private-party value (base trim, 153,000 km, good condition) is $16k CAD. So, the car is listed at the current market value there.

KBB Canada 2017 Prius Prime base trim, 153,000 km

 

I believe it was to make room for the battery at that time.

 

The battery was always in the cargo area.
The 4 seats was about weight and making the car seem more luxurious.

 

I've heard no reports about the battery changing in size or weight. One theory is to make it easier for owners to stay under the GVWR. Another is that the middle seat is unusable for a typically sized American, so why have it in the first place? But after all the complaints, they brought it back. I wonder if it's a little of both.

 

No, it was to make room for the battery charger. They've moved the battery charger with the 2020 model, which has allowed them to add the middle seat.

 

My 2018 prime has 150k miles on it.
I've only done oil changes and none of the extras like transmission flush.

Still driving fine. Only noticable issue I've had is a steering wheel creak at 12 o clock coming from my front right side strut mount.

 

i thought the 4 seater was because japan got a solar roof option with battery under the rear console, and toyota was hoping to save some dough on the n/a version

 

No, the battery charger was under the rear console.

 

The solar battery was also under the rear seat. It went where the battery on the Prius went, and was, in fact, the same NiMH pack.

The Prime is built on the standard Prius. The traction battery and other equipment is a lot of weight added to that frame. Keeping the 3 seats in the rear needed reinforcing for the weight of the third passenger. Toyota opted to go with two seats.

 

along with the battery

 

Nope. The Prime's battery has always been under the rear cargo deck. I looked. And there are pictures. And that's why the cargo area is so small.

 

The solar battery is under the seat. Or in the right rear passenger's footwell. I found a video.

Looks like I'm wrong about the battery being the same pack used in the hybrid.

 

Which country gets a solar battery on their Prius Prime? I'm sure Japan does.

 

Every one that gets the solar roof.
Saw a statement that the panel directly charging the traction pack was too inefficient at the rates it produces. So it charges up that little battery when parked, which will then transfer the energy to the traction pack when the car starts. With the car running, the panel only supplies power to the 12V system.

 

That video was from 2016 from Toyota Global. I haven't seen or heard of it being implemented yet, at least in North America. I can't find it on Toyota's US website.