Retirement Is a Great Time for … an Electric Car

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Is there scheduled maintenance with EVs? How does insurance costs compare with gas powered vehicles?

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.

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!!

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

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 !

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.