Should I buy a second car?

[Nords]

Your thoughts? Go/nogo?

We've priced it out. We could get rid of our second car to save $400/year on insurance and untold additional hundreds on repairs. We can rent several times per year from the franchise a few miles up the road and still come out ahead.

Of course the beauty of owning a beater second car is that you just don't have to give a crap about it. Somehow the other drivers on the road can sense your attitude, and they stay the heck out of your way.

When our 14-year-old Altima dies we're going to donate the carcass to Goodwill and start pricing used plug-ins. If I can find some hobbyist's electrified pickup truck then I'll buy it for a stand-up paddleboard hauler. Otherwise it'll be a Leaf or a Volt.

 

[Danmar]

Go for it if you can afford it-life is too short. Good way to go is one practical car and one more sporty. In our case in Alberta it's an X5 and an M6. In Ontario it's an X3 and an M5. Wheels is fun man!!

 

[Danmar]

Cowboy Cadillac ?

Something with bull-horns on the front or what ?

Dwight Yoakum refers to a cowboy cadillac in one of his songs. He is talking about his horse.

 

[braumeister]

This "buy almost new and let someone else eat all the depreciation" isn't **nearly** as true as it used to be

I found this out a couple of years ago, when I was in the market for a car. My previous vehicle was a Honda CR-V, and I liked it so much that I wanted another one. After diligently scoping out all the possibilities, I found that a two-year-old CR-V with fairly low mileage would cost me within $400 of a brand new one.

Needless to say, I got the new one. Of course, this is highly dependent on the market in your local area, but I was flat out amazed!

 

[Glo]

LOL! A cowboy cadillac is a fancy pickup with full-size back seat, leather interior, and all the bells and whistles. That's here in NE Ohio anyway. Bullhorns on the front is Texas, I think!

 

[Meadbh]

That said, I am considering buying a new Corolla ($18K?) as a second auto. I have the cash in savings (getting 0.40% yield) and think that six years between new cars is about right. DW can live with it either way, but I think she really would like a #2.

Your thoughts? Go/nogo?

A new Corolla would be cheap and reliable and it will probably outlive the Camry. It will improve your quality of life. The opportunity cost of spending versus investing the money is minimal. I suggest you go for it.

 

[jacob]

Calculate the cost per mile. E.g. $18000 depreciated over 9 years (or however long it lasts) + $500/year in insurance/gas or $2500/year. Maybe add storage costs (extra cost of living in house with multiple garages).

If driven 1000M/year, you're paying $2.5/mile (or more).

Compare that to occasional use of a rental or a taxi.

It's not just whether you can afford it, but whether the money could be spent better.

 

[MasterBlaster]

LOL! A cowboy cadillac is a fancy pickup with full-size back seat, leather interior, and all the bells and whistles. That's here in NE Ohio anyway. Bullhorns on the front is Texas, I think!

This is the west-coast variant - Green style...

 

[Katsmeow]

I would get the second car. I would hate only having one car and feeling trapped at home if DH had the car to go somewhere. I live in a suburban area with no public transportation and cabs rides would be slow to get here and expensive to take and a pain to do something like go to the grocery store.

If you decide what vehicle you want I would suggest looking at new and used. That said, I second what Ziggy said. We bought a Prius a few years ago and actually found that it was cheaper to buy new than by one that was a year or two old. Might have specific to the market at the time, but still...

If you drive the second vehicle only 1000 miles a year you might rethink the replacing in 6 years though.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I would get the second car. I would hate only having one car and feeling trapped at home if DH had the car to go somewhere. I live in a suburban area with no public transportation and cabs rides would be slow to get here and expensive to take and a pain to do something like go to the grocery store.

If you decide what vehicle you want I would suggest looking at new and used. That said, I second what Ziggy said. We bought a Prius a few years ago and actually found that it was cheaper to buy new than by one that was a year or two old. Might have specific to the market at the time, but still...

If you drive the second vehicle only 1000 miles a year you might rethink the replacing in 6 years though.

Don't be trapped at home,

Use the Bar-Stool-a-Go-Go to get down to Thirsty's for a long cool one.

Or you could take the second car...

 

[VaCollector]

Calculate the cost per mile. E.g. $18000 depreciated over 9 years (or however long it lasts) + $500/year in insurance/gas or $2500/year. Maybe add storage costs (extra cost of living in house with multiple garages).

If driven 1000M/year, you're paying $2.5/mile (or more).

Compare that to occasional use of a rental or a taxi.

It's not just whether you can afford it, but whether the money could be spent better.

ME....ME....I want to but that 9 year old Toyota with only 9000 miles

 

[obgyn65]

Based on the information you are sharing with us, I would buy the second car.

 

[FreeAtLast]

I would want a car that is different than vehicle #1. Perhaps a small pickup or a crossover. Perhaps even a sports car or convertable.

 

[mickeyd]

I would want a car that is different than vehicle #1. Perhaps a small pickup or a crossover. Perhaps even a sports car or convertable.

I already had my sports car phase ('66 Austin Healey 3000) but I would not turn down a new Corvette, but the cost of 5X what I am willing to spend on a car creates a big problem.

 

[rmark]

If you can afford it, then buy it. We've usually had two cars (well, three til the kid moved out) - a newish sedan as a daily driver and good older pickup for hauling stuff or towing the small tent trailer.

 

[kumquat]

As the first guy to say go for it if you can afford it, I'll confess to spending on cars. Between DW & me we have:
2003 Ford Escape
2005 Mustang GT
2007 Ford Ranger 4X4
1960 Sunbeam Alpine
1961 Sunbeam Alpine
1959 Hillman Minx convertible

We never have to call friends (or taxis) for a ride. Because of living in the deep dark hideaways of the frozen north, the total registration and insurance is about $2500/yr.