Start Social Security to buy a new car or cash in equities

[Bamaman]

I'm slow to change. And I prefer proven technology. We take trips longer than EV's ranges, and don't care to spend time finding charging stations and sitting there waiting for cars to charge.

I also like having mechanics locally that know how to fix my cars. And body shops that know how to fix my automobile.

I'm on my second Toyota hybrid vehicle, and they get great fuel mileage and are some of the most dependable vehicles on this planet.

 

[davidfin]

I'm slow to change. And I prefer proven technology. We take trips longer than EV's ranges, and don't care to spend time finding charging stations and sitting there waiting for cars to charge.

I also like having mechanics locally that know how to fix my cars. And body shops that know how to fix my automobile.

I'm on my second Toyota hybrid vehicle, and they get great fuel mileage and are some of the most dependable vehicles on this planet.

A hybrid is definitely in the mix for consideration.

 

[Out of Steam]

The final group are in the in-betweeners. They can retire but defer SS by withdrawing money from their investments whether tax-deferred or not tax-deferred. So, technically, they could be in group 1. But, they don't have so much money that they won't miss what gets withdrawn to cover those years. They worry about depleting their funds to a point that they would not be comfortable with. They may have most everything in tax-deferred funds and every major purchase they have to make generates a taxable event.

FWIW, we fell within this group. I didn't like the idea of depleting the nest egg that much. I worried about unknown future expenses. I didn't want to feel that I would have to abruptly making a taxable withdrawal for some major expense. Our money was mostly in tax deferred vehicles. So I elected to take SS early. As things have played out, I am glad I did it this way.

We're definitely in this final group, and are trying to stretch the life of two cars that are older/higher mileage than we're comfortable with for long-distance travel. Both are also sedans, which is inconvenient for a variety of reasons, including camping and DIY. Definitely don't want to buy in the current car market, but will likely buy a modest new vehicle in the spring.

We're leaning towards delaying one SS payment until at least 66, and taking one within a few months of 62. Our two payments will be fairly equal, and we'll choose the one that the Open Social Security program identifies as best, considering our relative life expectancies.

Agree that every major purchase or expense becoming a taxable event is an annoyance. We're taking a $300 a month increase (gross) from our retirement savings in August to manage increasing prices. We'll see what my pension increase and my wife's part time work look like in January.

 

[Out of Steam]

I'm slow to change. And I prefer proven technology. We take trips longer than EV's ranges, and don't care to spend time finding charging stations and sitting there waiting for cars to charge.

I would like to own an EV relatively soon, but believe that it is about 4 years from being practical for a primary vehicle in the Southeastern US, especially off the interstates.

I'm open to longer charging times on a trip, as long as my total time spent fueling/charging isn't increased over a month or year.

 

[stephenson]

Wouldn’t start SS for a car, but did consider to start investing, again - sounds funny but I miss DCA investing ...

 

[ivinsfan]

I'm slow to change. And I prefer proven technology. We take trips longer than EV's ranges, and don't care to spend time finding charging stations and sitting there waiting for cars to charge.

I also like having mechanics locally that know how to fix my cars. And body shops that know how to fix my automobile.

I'm on my second Toyota hybrid vehicle, and they get great fuel mileage and are some of the most dependable vehicles on this planet.

Us too, we went with the Escape hybrid and are very happy with it so far.

 

[Vacation4us]

We have a rental car right now, a Prius. Getting about 63 miles per gallon. Would have never considered it before but it’s pretty comfortable.

Our friends own a Tesla S. So uncomfortable and not easy to get in and out of. Actually for 70k I would call it horrendous and did as I tried getting out of the backseat. Oops

 

[homestead]

Us too, we went with the Escape hybrid and are very happy with it so far.

I think that is a pretty good choice based on what I have reading on Ford escape forum.
Also thinking of the Escape too, either a Hybrid or PHEV.
Both are in short supply around these parts.

 

[ivinsfan]

I think that is a pretty good choice based on what I have reading on Ford escape forum.
Also thinking of the Escape too, either a Hybrid or PHEV.
Both are in short supply around these parts.

Our severe winters and being 15 miles from the nearest town make the PHEV a no go for us. We do minimal city driving and the miles break down to 75% gas and 25% battery. I think you'd do better with the battery number if you do any type of urban driving.

 

[homestead]

Our severe winters and being 15 miles from the nearest town make the PHEV a no go for us. We do minimal city driving and the miles break down to 75% gas and 25% battery. I think you'd do better with the battery number if you do any type of urban driving.

We do about 80% city 20% on the highway and the winters here are mild so a Plug-in might do well as we take a lot of short trips in town. We might have to wait a while to actually see one and take a test drive.