Retirement Is a Great Time for … an Electric Car
Category: Home and Garden
Sept. 7, 2023 — Driving is one of life’s great necessities, and for many, one of its top pleasures. The feeling of freedom that comes with getting one’s driver’s license is hard to forget. At the other end, losing that license to old age or infirmity can be a crushing blow. Just about every American retiree has a car to attend to life’s necessities, as well as to enjoy activities and travel. In this article we will make the case that, particularly for retired people, the next car should be some kind of electric vehicle.
Electric Vehicle (EV) sales are taking off in the U.S. and in many countries of the world. In 2021 EV sales represented 3% of all U.S. sales, but they are expected to hit 13% in 2023. The target in Norway is 100% of the market by 2025, and China and other European markets are not far behind. Car companies are frantically trying to come up with new models and improve the ones they have.
Electric cars come in 3 basic varieties: hybrid (runs on a battery which is charged by small gas or diesel engine – Prius is the best selling version), plug in hybrid (can plug into an outlet or charger to charge for short distances, and has a traditional gas or diesel engine for longer ones – BMW X 5 is a new one), and pure electric (plugs in to charge and runs only on battery power – Tesla is the most famous).
Advantages of each
A hybrid like a Prius is economical and proven. The small conventional engine charges the battery, which can take the car short distances. When that charge expires it runs on the gas engine, which also charges the battery. Electric cars of all types also charge the battery by regenerative braking when the car slows down. Because of the conventional engine there is no range anxiety – you just fill up at a gas station. An economical compromise for any kind of driving.
A plugin hybrid can be charged at home or at a outside charging station. Some can go as far as 50 miles on a charge, which means most everyday driving can be done without having to use gasoline or diesel. For longer trips the conventional engine takes over, eliminating range anxiety because you can gas up anywhere, while providing good performance. They are an ideal compromise for someone who occasionally takes long trips and doesn’t want the hassle of charging on the road. On the other hand, there is a lot of maintenance and complexity involved in having a conventional engine.
A pure electric vehicle like a Tesla, Chevy Volt, or Mustang Mach e runs only on battery power. They are charged at home, or at a roadside charging station. These cars have neck-snapping acceleration because of the electric motor torque. Range varies from just over 200 miles on a charge to 400 for some Tesla models. They can be charged at home from an ordinary outlet at 3 miles per hour, 10 – 20 miles/hour with a dryer (240) outlet, or in a few hours with a more expensive charging system. Beginning in 2024 most electric cars will be able to use Tesla’s fast chargers , which provide an 80% charge in well under a half hour.
Your editor’s experience is probably like many retirees
In late June I purchased a base model Mustang Mach E. Currently it is available for just under $43,000 and comes with a $7500 tax credit. My calculation is that it gets the equivalent of about 70 miles per gallon at $.15kw/hr. home charging (120) outlet). Its range is about 270 miles, and 0-60 acceleration is 5.1 seconds (that is almost GTO fast, although I am just reporting what the car mags say!) Most weeks my biggest round trip is under 20 miles, which can be easily made up overnight or in a few hours of charging. Performance is great and the car comes with many bells and whistles (e.g.; you can adjust the sound and performance between whisper, engage, and unbridled). The Ford app tells you where available chargers are located. The huge screen in the car shows all your apps and Apple Play, so the navigation is vastly superior to most other cars.
Our family plan is to eventually replace the car we use to travel to Florida in with a plug in hybrid. That way we can use the battery for almost all daily driving. For longer trips the gas engine means we won’t have to rely on charging stations. So far there isn’t a lot of choice for hybrids or plug in hybrids, particularly for larger models, but they are coming. The Ford Explorer is a hybrid, Ford Escape is a plugin hybrid, and so is the Toyota Highlander (Toyota has a full lineup of hybrids).
Bottom line
Electric cars seem particularly well-suited for people in retirement, who rarely drive long distances and whose driving is usually just a few miles a week. Plugging into the wall will provide all the charging they need. There is almost no maintenance in pure EVs, since there is no gas engine (think no spark plugs, oil changes, transmission problems, head gaskets, timing belts, etc.) There are reports that tires wear out faster on electric cars because of their heavy batteries and the wear from regenerative braking and fast acceleration.
For those who frequently go on trips that exceed the normal range of their car (250 + miles for most), a hybrid or plugin hybrid might be a better choice than pure electric, at least until charging on the road becomes as easy as it is to pull into a gas station now.
Comments? Have you bought, driven, or ridden in an EV? Or are you thinking about buying one? If so, please share your thoughts and experiences in the Comments section below.
For further reading:
Don’t miss Bill Carito’s fascinating 2 part travelogue about his trip to and from Key West and Portland ME in his Volkswagen EV.
Comments on "Retirement Is a Great Time for … an Electric Car"
LS says:
I have a Lincoln Corsair plug-in hybrid that I bought new in August 2022. I have about 9000 miles on it and 7000 of those are on pure electric. I only need to buy gas about every other month and it's never more than half a tank. It gets about 30-35 miles on electric power before the gas engine kicks in. That covers almost all of my around town driving without using any gas. When we built our downsized house three years ago, I had a 240 volt plug installed in the garage anticipating the purchase of a plug-in vehicle. I make a habit to plug in as soon as I get home so there is always a full battery when I need it. I plan on keeping a plug-in hybrid for the time being until the new solid state battery technology is proven and the charging networks are more robust.
Roger says:
True EVs are fine if you only travel short distances. However, I agree with LS - until the availability of charging networks across the country is more robust and the range of EVs is longer, a hybrid will probably be my next vehicle.
Pam says:
I own a 2023 Ford Mustang Mach E extended range premium. There is a lot to learn about driving an EV, but that pales when compared to how enjoyable it is to drive it! The Mach E seats are comfortable and the interior is well laid out and easily accessible. I don't drive it a lot but I do come up with extra reasons to drive it. I charge at home with a Tesla wall charger and an adapter - I had a Tesla on order, waited months for it and the delivery date kept getting pushed back month by month, but the Tesla wall charger was already delivered. Finally I ordered the Ford Mustang Mach E and waited six months for it, and received the Mach E a full month before the Tesla's estimated delivery (I canceled the Tesla order). Not sorry at all that I have the Ford, in fact, it worked out the best for me. I love my car!
Madeline says:
Purchased a 2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime (plug-in hybrid) because during the year I make several out of state trips and don't want to try to figure out where charging stations are. Around town, I usually use electric mode (full charge is around 50 miles) and I usually recharge every other day. Like the fact that I don't have to go to the gas station very much, but I did learn that you can't keep the plug-in hybrid in electric mode all the time as if you have gas in your tank, it will get old....old gas will ruin your engine...don't let old gas sit in your tank for more than 6 months; just put it in hybrid mode and drive it for several miles to get the gas used up in the engine...I prefer to only keep about half a tank full since I mostly use electric mode....Like LS, I am waiting for the battery technology to move forward to get to an all-electric vehicle.
Stevo says:
I have a Rav4 hybrid and really like it. I'm retired and in no hurry to go anywhere so I can get around 45mpg in town and 42 or so on highway trips. I would have purchased a plugin hybrid but I don't have a garage. An EV would be good as a family's second car but the infrastructure and range is just not there yet and won't be for a while.
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Now PA is looking to tax people with EVs and hybrids around $500/yr. The tax would be the same for EVs and hybirids (to make it easier to implement) which I believe is totally unfair. We already have one of the highest gas taxes in the country. If the government really wants people to adopt electric then they need to act like it. If they're in need of $s for roads a tax on people's mileage would be more appropriate. That could easily be done when we do the yearly inspection.
steve t says:
EV? Absolutely no way. They are totally impractical and only a foolish luxury. The disadvantages and drawbacks are too numerous to mention here. The real advantages are nonexistent. People who actually buy then are just going to have to learn the hard way or they have lots of money and time to burn so for them it doesn't matter. EV viability is maybe 20 years in the future, maybe.
Mike says:
Is there scheduled maintenance with EVs? How does insurance costs compare with gas powered vehicles?
Admin says:
Great questions Mike. There is scheduled maintenance but it is pretty low key stuff - change cabin air filters, rotate tires, inspect suspension, change wiper blades etc. If you keep the car long enough (10 years or more) the batteries slowly lose their ability to charge, so you might have to replace or buy a new car. Apparently that was worse with older models.
Reports are that car insurance on EVs is higher - the cars are more expensive and there is costly stuff to repair. If the batteries are damaged that is another reason for higher rates. Here is what Progressive says.
My FL policy (USAA) for a (gas powered) Outback is $580/6 months and the CT policy for the electric Mach E is $440/6 months. The Outback is driven much more and it is insured in FL, so it is not an apples to apples comparison.
Ron says:
Love my EV!! $12 to go 400 miles saves me hundreds of dollars each month! Many recharging stations around make travel easy! My contribution to help save the planet PAYS ME DIVIDENDS EVERYDAY. if you drive less than 309 miles per day everyone should own one!!
Richard says:
In my retirement years I only drive once every 3 weeks and an expert Toyota mechanic said it would be hard on the electric battery as they are made to be discharged and charge at least once a week. A short battery life would be very expensive. I'll stick with my 4 year old gas car for now.
JCarol says:
Love my RAV4 hybrid. It averages 27 mpg between city and highway driving. Bought it 3 years old with only 26,000 miles on it, and at least $10K under what a new one would have cost. Have had no problems with it. The value has held so well that I could sell it for nearly what I paid in January 2020.
Not interested in an EV. Maybe at some point, but for now a hybrid suits me fine. Gasoline is easy to find, even in very rural areas. Charging stations, not so much.
Truth is, electricity is largely generated by fossil fuels in the US, primarily by natural gas (40%) and (believe it or not) coal (18%). Then there's nuclear energy (18%), which ushers in problems of its own. Renewable power, i.e., wind, hydro, solar, biomass and geothermal, combine to contribute roughly 20% of US electricity needs.
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us.php
Gene Hill says:
I have a 2013 Ford Fusion hybrid SE with 107k miles. Routine maintenance from the start. A great car and my next one will likely be another hybrid, but not an all-electric one. Way too soon for that in my opinion.
CAPS says:
What a timely topic, as we have been watching YouTube vidios to compare larger hybrid vehicles. We would like to purchase one before the end of this year. We wouldn't mind getting low milage lease back or rental with low milage. We're not sure how difficult how difficult it would be to find one, or if the tax incentive would make it a wash to purchase new. Then there is the matter of a higher electric bill if the rates contiue to climb, placing an increased demand on the power grid (that will need upgrading). Another issue to consider is the disposal and cost of the replacement of the heavy battery. Have any of you ever had to replace the battery?
Admin says:
Good question Caps. A lot of people are concerned about the batteries. According to JD Powers they have an expected life of between 10-20 years. Replacement cost varies by brand and size, somewhere between $4000 and $20000. Good news for people with solar panels is that they can basically charge their cars for free, after discounting installation costs. Here in CT the cost from Eversource generated electricity is $.14k/hr.
UncleAL says:
zoom zoom ! ...you'll have to pry my Dodge Challenger from my dying hands before I give it up...I'm past 70 years young, and you only live once !
Ron says:
EVs are not right for every situation BUT, If you drive less than 150 miles per day you are missing a chance to save your budget along with saving the planet!
Admin says:
We have had some negative and sceptical comments about electric cars (and others with real questions) Suggest if you want to know how people feel about them, ask an owner. Willing to bet you will get an overwhelming positive response.
RichPB says:
Our last two cars have been hybrid Toyota Camry and Avalon. Both got 38 mpg and with 5000 mile maintenance schedule have been trouble free. Both reached 100K miles. We are now planning on another hybrid (likely Camry or RAV4) bu will keep the Avalon as "my" car trading in our gas drinking Tacoma (16mpg) which we no longer need. We agree that it's too soon for EV but the coming Toyota plug-in hybrids are very tempting.
Caps says:
We are researching our next vehicle purchase using YouTube, and found a great and informative channel called "car care nut." We have learned so much this week! He said some Toyota EV's and hybids are hard to get this year. He reviews many vehicles from a mechanic's POV.
steve tracewski says:
Purely electric cars are a definite NO GO. They will never catch on unless the gasoline option is taken off the market against the public's wishes and they are simply forced down the consumer's throats. A hybrid is a possibility but there are still many draw backs and they are very expensive for what you get for your money. At present they are basically a glorified golf cart.
Admin says:
An article in the NY Times today says that this is a great time to buy a used electric car. As supply chain issues have succeeded post pandemic, supply of both used and new cars is better and that is reflected in prices.The article pointed out that buyers should check the health of the batteries, although most carry an 8 year/100,000 mile warranty. Also, couples with income below $150,000 may qualify for a $4000 tax credit on their purpose.