Economics of EV for elderly driver

Fair play to him.

Getting him something cheap and reliable and easy to transition to would be the easiest way for him to keep on enjoying driving. As newoven mentioned above there are several inexepensive (ish) evs out there, take him out for spins in a few and go from there.

EVs cheaper than that right now, with instant payback.

With a hybrid - you pay more to get it, and then pay more to keep it moving.

Doesn't make sense to me.

Excuse me?

At 86 he may not have the luxury of waiting around for years to see EVs go even more mainstream. Right now there are a few electric vehicles in relatively affordable territory that would require less upfront outlay than a hybrid and very little running costs, compared to a HEV, or even a PHEV which still needs the Devil's juice - hence the "pay more to keep it moving" principle.

Considering the man's age an EV could be a great move - with the caveat that it's possible to install a home charger. He has all the advantages then. Life is literally too short not to experience the driving joy of a full EV - he won't regret it!

You are excused.

Give me an example of a car, not some general statement.

There's also the resale value. EVs are keeping their value extremely well, so if your grandfather needs to sell the car in a year or two (or 10), a well specked low mileage BEV could get most of his money back which could mean several years of very low cost motoring.

In contrast, buying a hybrid or Petrol/Diesel new today could see big depreciation as the tax system begins to penalise ICE cars and there are restrictions on ICE cars being taken into city centres (even if your grandfather lives in the countryside, these low emissions zones will drive the reduction in value of ICE cars lower as city dwellers look to offload their cars to avoid the costs)

This is not an EV issue. Most new cars only come with a tub of goop in the boot. Strangely, the new Leaf actually comes with a spare wheel....albeit stored under the boot and not in it.

Ensure you get breakdown cover. Sometimes this is free with new car, sometimes it's included with car insurance. In some cases you can get a spare wheel from dealer or scrap yard and car may or may not have a location to put it. Don't get AA cover as it's crazy overpriced and they sneak it up yearly. Far cheaper to get via car insurance. You can also ring AA if stuck without having any policy with them. They just bill you a lot.

Hybrid or non hybrid is not much different in terms of fuel cost particularly on short trips and low mileage.

Any car is a horrible loss maker. You have the initial cost and then it keeps costing you more. An EV at a slower rate.

I wouldn't let payback be a factor.

At 86, comfort and safety are going to be the number one factors. Good driving safety features like lane keep assist, forward collision monitoring so it will brake if a car stops in front of a kid runs across if front of the car.

yep, but at 86 it is likely to be their last car and if they have the cash (and it seems that €35k + is floating about the current account, which is not surprising given the gigantic tax allowances in ireland and all the free-bees pensioners get on top of that) then its a case of

a) dying with an Ev in the back yard that has suffered depreciation, and 35k less in cash in the bank for relatives to inherit

b) dying in a few years with 35k more in the bank (for the kids to inherit), and an old yaris in the back yard.

Have some people here processed that this is a last car of their life ever purchase. They will almost certainly not care about the cars resale value as they will be dead before the car is.