The base price of my (new) HCH '05 was $19,600, but it was a CVT, not a MT, and I don't know exactly what the difference in price between those two models was, but it could have been a couple thousand. Not $6k, though, I'd assume, so the guy telling you that it was $26k new sounds like he's trying to fool you or wildly misinformed. $26k was the base price for the HCH 06, though- so could you or he be mistaken as to the year? The 05 is an HCH I, and the 06 is an HCH II, so there are some really obvious differences; just get a picture of each and look at the car, and you should be able to pick out whether it's an 05 or an 06. The options varied widely. Check out the thread entitled 'How much did you pay for your hybrid civic' under the HCH section of the discussion forum and you'll see the full range of prices people have paid, and when, and what options they had.

The HCH 05 has a trunk that is a bit smaller than a regular Civic because of the battery pack, and the rear seats don't fold down (no 'pass through' trunk). It's still fairly big, though, and I've never had a problem fitting stuff in there.

As for the tax credit, if the 'used' status really does mean someone else was going to buy it and didn't, then you would still be eligible for the tax credit this year on the 05. It doesn't matter what year the car was made- the tax credit goes to the person who puts the car 'in service,' basically by bringing it into the pool of vehicles that are in use in this country. Lots of people on GH have posted about the details of the tax credit, including me, so if you want more assurances, search the threads here or look it up yourself on the IRS website or through links on the Honda and Toyota sites. It's pretty easy to find.

Good luck!