For most people transportation is their biggest expense after housing.  This doesn’t necessarily change in retirement or semi-retirement, but you probably do have more options.  This article talks about some of those options.

Lots of Options, Especially in Retirement

There are plenty of transportation options and lots of opinions on what makes sense.  I’m going to concentrate on four.  As is the case before retirement what makes sense for you depends on factors such as your finances, how much you drive, how far you drive, and how precious is your time.  Here are my four options:

• No car at all
• New car, replace less often
• New car, keep it forever.
• $5000 Used Car, keep as long as possible

No car at all

First of all your financial situation or health may dictate no car.  That isn’t all bad because it certainly makes life less complicated.  You just have to make adjustments to make the car free lifestyle fit into your other plans.

Where you choose to live makes a big difference.  Can you use public transportation?  Can you walk or bike to the store, parks, and friends’ houses?  Can you offer to help a friend with expenses in return for a weekly shared grocery store run and maybe an occasional doctor’s visit?  Cars are expensive and helping that friend may solve a problem for them too!

No car doesn’t have to cramp your travel plans either.  Look into bus tour trips and one stop vacations where you can go to a destination and then take guided tours from that location.  For example some of the national parks have tours where you stay at a lodge and then take tours and use the parks mini bus system to get around.

New car, replace less often

This scenario is similar to what many people do before retirement.  The average American replaces their car every 5 years or so (this is slowly increasing after the great recession.)  As a retired person maybe you can stretch that to 7 to 10 years.  What makes that possible is that many people drive less in retirement and have more time to deal with repairs, whether they have them done by a mechanic or do the work themselves.

New car, keep it forever

This is the natural extension of the above option.  It works well if you don’t drive too many miles, are meticulous about maintenance, and are willing to spend some money and time occasionally on repairs.  Many new cars are lasting for 150,000 to 200,000 miles these days.  If you drive 7500 to 10,000 miles a year that means you could potentially buy a new car at 65 and drive it until you are 85.

Buy a relatively cheap used car and keep as long as possible, then replace

Statistically, this may be the least expensive option beyond no car at all.  It makes sense if you mostly take short trips and don’t mind an occasional break down.  (This isn’t quite as scary these days with cell phones and motor clubs.)  It really helps if you are able to do some of the repairs yourself.

Make a decision and include in your budget

This is a big topic and this article just scratches the surface of possible options and what you need to consider.  More to come on this topic, but I hope it helps you keep thinking outside the box as usual.

Until next time…