The end of March I bought a 2018 Clarity Limited
PHEV for $13,400 with 123,000 miles. Yes, the mileage was high, but it is the cleanest 100K car I have ever seen. Every part of the car is spotless, inside and out. I got such a good deal on the car I was skeptical, so I insisted that I be allowed to try the car for 5 days to determine the condition of the battery and engine, and the dealer agreed. I knew they were motivated to sell it, because they had the car for nearly 5 months. Lucky for me I learned that the battery and motor appear to be doing a great job the day after I bought it. EV delivered 38.4 miles on my first mileage test, not to mention it was 35 degrees outside, with rain and wind. The
ICE came on the final 3 miles home, but I was impressed none the less. The next day I left home in EV and it was even better than the prior day, which tells me the battery management is working well. Although I neglected to reset the trip odometer I estimated it to be the same distance round trip. All I know I went to the same places as the day before with battery to spare, and no ICE.
I have been asked by the folks that have looked at it and ridden in the car if it it possible the mileage is wrong? Could it possibly be 23,000 and the digital dash is just messed up? But the CarFax I pulled confirmed the mileage over the past 6 years is accurate. I have zero complaints about the maintenance record, the car was VERY well cared for and shows no signs of its age. Just to make it fun, I wait until my friends are well amazed by the condition of the interior and exterior to open the hood. It is crazy clean in the engine compartment and they are blown away when they see it the first time. I'm not teasing when I say it looks like an engine compartment on a new car in a showroom - which has me blown away! The dealer said on the phone the car was nice and the mileage does not show on the car. I figured that was just "sales talk" to get me to come drive it, but they were not kidding.
I set out to find a used EV in the $16K range for my daily commute before I found this car. Unfortunately most dealers have not been paying attention to the resale price on used EV that has been in a steady decline as the newer and more efficient cars are coming to market. I looked at the 2nd generation Leaf (149 mi) but the kind folks in the Leaf Forum told me not to even try if I would need to climb steep grades the first part of my commute and I do. Not to mention there is no access to a chargers on the mountain where I work, even a 110 plug for a Level 1 charger in our parking lot. What mountain you ask?!? Well my commute is 48 miles each way, and the final 1/3 of the first leg is up a mountain 3000 feet to nearly 8000 feet! Which is why the Leaf folks told me to reconsider even trying a used 2nd generation Leaf. But the nice part about the climb up in the morning is the healthy regen down the mountain on the second leg coming home! I have changed how I use the battery because the 20 minute climb up the mountain is better in EV mode with about 25 to 30% remaining when I park. Then I regen 35 to 40% back down to flat land and run most of the 30 miles home in EV and park it needing a full charge.
And after more than a week of driving it on 96 mile daily commute, it has not failed to impress. Well the car has been outstanding, but the radio leaves much to be desired! I am very disappointed by that laggy POS they put in this fine car. It operates like an experimental head unit made up of decade old computer parts. The voice recognition will respond to a request a day or two after you ask it to call someone on your contact list. And it often lists 5 or 6 people it thinks it heard, and none of them even sound alike! It is absurd to say the least. But that is a topic for a new thread! But I am all for trying to replace it with an aftermarket android unit, and for the record, unless they built functions into the radio like computers that support car functions I know for a fact that it can be done by most aftermarket system. It just take a skilled audio installer (which I was in the 80's) and some patience to sort out the wiring. I know the mount will need to be modded, but that is easy. So we will see.....