My minivan got bumped in a parking lot. The damage was only cosmetic, and I did have it repaired. However, Mrs. Triedaq, before I had the dent repaired, said that I might want to apply the money spent on the repair and trade the minivan for a new vehicle. She said that it is important for senior citizens to keep up with new technologies. I am 82 years old, and she may have a good point.
I recently had to upgrade my smartphone and the learning curve for the first couple days was rather steep. An old classmate came to visit a couple months ago and we took him out for lunch. We went in his brand new SUV and offered to let me drive. I declinedâI was intimidated by all the features that arenât on our present vehicles.
My question is this: " How much new technology am I missing out on learning by keeping my present 2017 Toyota Sienna?"
You donât have to worry much about technology on cars unless you like the price of new cars. Then you can worry, but itâs optional. No matter what happens; if youâre able enough to ride in a dealer shuttle, you can still avoid living in the waiting room for new electronics to be installed. If your current car doesnât stay lit up like a Christmas tree after you shut the engine off, itâs a treasure.
Depends on what the replacement is going to be, a new Sienna will have more safety and comfort features than the 2017, XLE and up have hands free power sliding doors that y9u kick under the door to open as long as you have the fob on you. Some of the new stuff will come with a learning curve but it depends on how the major controls feel and how user friendly the electronics are.
Iâve got a matched pair of 77yr olds where one is used to technology and the otherâs stopped looking at the cable remora like itâs got 3 heads. Iâm bracing myself for the reaction to the new Prius compared to the 2010 thatâs not in immediate need for replacement but thereâs interest in the newer safety features along with a backup camera.
That is a hard one, and I am going to come at you from a different angle, I would look at family history for things like any kind of Neurodegenerative diseases that would/will stop you from driving⊠Sounds like yâall are both doing pretty good in that department so far, but what about in 3,4,5 years from now, will having a newer vehicle even matter?? My dad at age 82 was still very strong with a good head on his shoulders (mostly) but by age 85/86 I had to take the keys away from him due to almost having to put a silver alert out for him when he got lost (long story), it was a hard choice I did not ever want to makeâŠ
So for him buying a new vehicle at age 82 would not have done him much good, didnât drive much anymore anyway, Church, Krogerâs, fast food was all a mile or less awayâŠ
So if yâall still do a lot of traveling or seat time in your current vehicle and it is getting up in miles and you want to treat yourself to a new vehicle, then that is one thing, or the current vehicle is getting harder and harder to get in and out of or use, or just want to treat yourself in general, but I would never buy a new vehicle just to try to keep up with new technologiesâŠ
You can all ways have fun and rent different vehicle for a week or month at a time here and there just to enjoy something differentâŠ
Cause like they say, as soon as you buy the newest and best computer on the market, it will be outdated by the time you get it home and pulled in anyway⊠lol
I am older than Triedaq ans have no plans to retire my 2012 Toyota Camry LE. I know where the controls are and it goes where I point it which is about all I ask of a car. A 66 Valiant would suit me just about as well. The only thing I use my cell phone for is to make and receive call and take pics. I donât text. Every year I buy a new tracfone with one year of service, 1500 minutes, 1500 texts and no dats, plus a new phone. It cost $55 for the year. It uses no minutes when using wi-fi.
I activate the new phone, try navigating it and always transfer the minutes and service back to my 8 year old phone because it is smaller and easier to put in my pocket.
Technology has long passed me by, but I am too busy and having too much fun to waste much of my remaining time to try catching up with technology because I would not accomplish it anyway.
I wouldnât buy one just for the new technology, and 2017 is pretty safe. Our 2023 is loaded with tech, still learning after a year.
Iâm 6 years younger than Triedaq, but I think I still qualify as being very âseniorâ, and hereâs my take on technology for seniors: I went from a 2011 Outback Limited 3.6R to a 2022 Lexus NX 450h+, and the increase in technology was massive.
Was there a learning curve? Surely there was, but the learning curve doesnât prevent one from being able to safely operate the vehicle right from day one. The young âtech expertâ at the dealership gave me a good tutorial before I left the dealership, but I hadnât internalized many of the new functions before I then set-out on a 70 mile Interstate highway trip to bring the car home.
Over the next few days/weeks, I increased my knowledge/understanding of the high-tech features, and the result was that I was able to operate the vehicle with an even greater margin of safety than I had previously enjoyed with my less technologically-advanced vehicles.
Now, at 18 months into ownership, I still occasionally discover features that I hadnât previously known about, and Iâm really enjoying those advances.
Regardless of age, there can be a considerable difference from one person to another when it comes to mental acuity, the ability to learn new things, and the ability to adapt to change, so my experience might not translate to everyone in the âseniorâ age group or even with some younger folks.
But, the bottom lineâIMOâis that a person who is still able to learn new things, and to read and comprehend technical information, shouldnât have a problem with the new automotive technology. The vehicle will be instantly âdrivableâ, and as you learn the details of the new features, you will have a greater margin of safety than you had previously, and you should have a greater level of satisfaction with the vehicle than you did with the previous vehicle.
If you continue with the orchestra, replacing yourn2017 Sienna with a new Sienna hybrid might make sense. There should be a lot of similarities, reducing the new things you need to learn. Both you and your wife seem sharp for any age. I think you will pick up on new technology in your new van quickly.
As for EVs, I think your only choice is the VW ID.Buzz and that isnât available until MY2025. It has been available since MY2022 in Europe and that could soften the debut in the US somewhat. Availability during early MY2025 in Indiana might be spotty.
Learning curve , yes there will be one . But anyone with an open mind can adapt . A person does not need to use all of them . But some are really nice such as Adaptive cruise control - blind spot warnng lights ( me convinced that they kept me from an accident ) - I like the touch door handle to lock and unlock the car - dash readout of what the speed limit is - hands free rear gate opening - backup camera
I would make sure that the Stop/Start feature is easy to turn off for when you donât want to use it.
I am âonlyâ 54 years old, neither a senior nor a Millennial or Gen-Z, but I find my self less accepting of the new tech - mobile or in cars - than either of those age groups.
It takes me ten minutes to pair a phone or iPod to anything (a car, a portable speaker,), and I still prefer my radio and TV both OTA(over the air).
What a âdumbâ thing to say.
As compared to yours ?
+1
Even without considering factors such as mental acuity, there are some people who simply cannot readily adapt to change. A prime example would be a middle-aged woman who posted her âproblemâ here several years ago. Otterhere had to get rid of her old Suzuki Swift, and she bought a new 4-door Toyota Yarisâat nightâand without driving it.
She told us that she was miserable from the first morning, when she saw the upholstery pattern on the 4-door model was different from that of the 2-door model that she had looked at. That woman couldnât even adapt to a different upholstery pattern! She also thought that her new Yaris was âtoo bigâ, without having done enough pre-purchase research to know that the 4-door model was longer than the 2-door model.
She told us that the old Suzukis were the ne plus ultra of automotive technology 
, and that the Yaris was simply inferiorâin every way. There were a few other complaints that she had regarding her new car, and they were all of the type that anyone with enough sense would have noted prior to purchase.
After we had all gone back & forth with her for a day or so, I posed the following question: Are you a person who can readily adapt to change, or are you someone who typically has a hard time accepting any type of change in your life?
She conceded that she was of the latter type, and she finally told us that she would try to adapt to her new Yaris.
Mrs. Triedaq and I grew up in families of modest means. We grew up by the principle: âUse it up, wear it out. Make it do or do withoutâ.
I like the idea of a hybrid minivan. However, we have one woman in our church congregation that bought a new Sienna hybrid when the Sienna hybrid became svailable. The Sienns hybrid does not have a spare tire. She had three flat tires in the 60,000 miles she owned the car, so a month ago she traded it for a Hyundai Telluride. Before the Sienna Hybrid, she had a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica (not a hybrid model). The Pacifica gave her so much trouble that she traded it in for the Sienna hybrid. While I need a minivan, I am a little leary of Chrysler products. The Sienna hybrid minivans weigh more than my 2017 Sienna due to the weight of the battery and may be hard on tires. Also, the Sienna hybrid has a 4 cylinder engine. Consumer Reports, in its test, says the engine is noisy. Mrs. Triedaq does not like a noisy engine. We once owned a Ford Tempo and it had a lot of engine noise on the highway.
We really donât need a new vehicle at the moment. Our 2017 Sienna has 67,000 miles on the odometer. We also own a 2003 Toyota 4Runner with just 96,000 miles and Mrs. Triedaq keeps it looking like it just came out of the show room. The original reason for purchasing the 4Runner was that Mrs. Triedaqâs parents were in an assisted care facility 50 miles away. We barely made it on one winter occasion in the Oldsmobile 88 we owned at the time, even though it had front wheel drive. I had to shift into low range to plow through snow drifts. Mrs. Triedaq decided it was time for a four wheel drive. Also, Mrs. Triedaq was a professional administrator at the university where we were both employed. On snow days, neither Mrs. Triedaq nor I, as a faculty member, had to be on campus. However, the staff had to be there or lose a dayâs pay. Mrs. Triedaq would go into work in the 4Runner and go pick up her staff if they wanted to come to work and not lose pay.
I keep up the maintenence on both vehicles (oil changes, tires, struts, etc.) Mrs. Triedaq says if we trade the 4Runner, she wants another 4Runner, even though we are both retired and her parents are both deceased.
I know that the tendency for seniors is to keep driving the same vehicle and neglect doing the proper maintenance, not realizing that the vehicle may becoming sloppy in handling and braking. I learned about how things wear out with a French horn I brought in 1957. I thought I had maintained it properly, but in 1994, I was having difficulty playing fast passages. I finally went to a horn teacher for lessons. The problem wasnât me, but with the horn. The valves leaked si badly that fast passages were impossible. I bought a new horn. With seniors, an automobile that is o.k. around town may be dangerous on the interstate.
I am healthy and fitnes walk for a mile and a half five days a weekand try to keep my vehicles in good shape. I want to keep up with new technologies in all fields.
I just recently retired from a 45+ engineering career spanning 5 decades. Iâve always been current on technology. I LOVE new technology. But I wonât sell (or trade in) a perfectly good vehicle just to upgrade the technology. Wife still drives an 07 Lexus with over 270k miles that runs like new. And my 2014 Highlander runs perfectly also and expect many more years. When I do buy - Itâll have many of the latest safety and comfort features. My middle son owns a Hyundai which has some nice features like a light that tells you when a car is on your left or right. Nice feature.
The choice to purchase new for the new safety features is a personal decision.
I would recommend that someone keeping a good liked vehicle might want to have one of those after market rearview mirrors with the backup camera installed .
I concur w/the Mrs thatâs itâs important to challenge your brain as you get older. Helps to keep your thinking style flexible. But thereâs many other opportunities for that than buying a new car. That would be my last choice. Iâm also in the geezer age bracket and Iâve taken up doing daily newspaper puzzles, re-reading my old math books, and learning about challenging technology here. It didnât used to be the case, but these days , cars are the main place where scienceâs rubber meets the road. Of the stuff we interact with daily, thereâs not much containing more complicated science & technology than cars and computers.
Poster @Bing offers another good suggestion, the âGreat Coursesâ dvd and audiobook series. They are a set of college-level mini-courses & have some excellent mind-challenging content, especially in physics and quantum mechanics.
If none of that seems interesting, just doing your income taxes can be very mentally challenging. Anything is good that seems really intellectually difficult. As long as it doesnât stress you out in the process.
There are a few instances where old technology has it all over new technology. I still use the typewriter I received as a high school graduation present. I have been the soloist with the orchestra for which I am a member on Leroy Anddersonâs musical composition âTypewriterâ. There is no way this composition can be played on Microsoft Word.
When I perform this work, I make it automobile related. The oboe sounds an âAâ and I strike a key on the typewriter. The conductor shakes his head and I open the top of the typewriter. The concertmsster passes me a spark plug wrench and I extract a spark plug from the typewriter. I pass the spark plug up to the conductor who takes a gap gauge and resets the gap. I âinstallâ the spark plug back in the typewriter. We âretuneâ the typewriter and proceed to play the piece. The older members of the audience really laugh. I have had younger people come up on stage and look at the typewriter because they have never seen one.
Except for performing Leroy Andersonâs âTypewriterâ, I prefer the new technology of the word processor.
As far as vehicles are concerned, I like the new technology. I prefer the way the interval wipers work on my present ride as opposed to the foot operated âinterval wipersâ on my 1947 Pontiac. The interval wipers on the old Pontiac only wiped the windshield when I released the accelerator pedal. Only old timers on this board remember wipers that ran on engine vacuum.
Heâs older than Triedaq sounds like the next meme to take over from my favorite. He buys his clothes from Home Depot was my favorite. I did buy clothes from Orchard Supply Hardware in Santa Maria. I once described myself by saying âI dress like Iâm changing your oil.â I said that when a woman liked my voice on the phone and suggested we should meet. That and my eyewear came from 1977 stopped that from happening.
Triedaq- your bit with the typewriter sounds a lot like an old Victor Borge routine. I seriously enojoyed him.