Should we downsize to one car

[kfindley79]

Here's the situation...

My wife and I each have our own cars used primarily for commuting. My commute is only ~3 miles one way while my wife travels nearly 50 miles one way.

We have talked about dropping one car with the hope of pocketing the money from the sale of the car (car is paid off) as well as taking advantage of the lower insurance and fuel costs.

The car we would get rid of is the one I drive but I do have access to a work truck that I could drive home during the week. This truck would only be used for travel to and from work without any use for "personal" situations.

BTW, we should be able to get 11K - 12K for my car. Would anyone seriously consider doing this?

 

[mickeyd]

Here's the situation...

My wife and I each have our own cars used primarily for commuting. My commute is only ~3 miles one way while my wife travels nearly 50 miles one way.

We have talked about dropping one car with the hope of pocketing the money from the sale of the car (car is paid off) as well as taking advantage of the lower insurance and fuel costs.

The car we would get rid of is the one I drive but I do have access to a work truck that I could drive home during the week. This truck would only be used for travel to and from work without any use for "personal" situations.

BTW, we should be able to get 11K - 12K for my car. Would anyone seriously consider doing this?

Sounds like a good quick way to reduce expenses, especially now since gas seems to be going north of $4.

DW and I (both now retired) tried the one car approach for about 6 months and decided to buy a new Corolla last summer. We got tired of asking each other "Are you using the car on..." in order to make simple appointments and local runs.

Why not give it a try (going/using one-car) before selling car #2 (2-3 months) to see if it works? If not, go to plan B and not sell?

 

[kfindley79]

Sounds like a good quick way to reduce expenses, especially now since gas seems to be going north of $4.

DW and I (both now retired) tried the one car approach for about 6 months and decided to buy a new Corolla last summer. We got tired of asking each other "Are you using the car on..." in order to make simple appointments and local runs.

Why not give it a try (going/using one-car) before selling car #2 (2-3 months) to see if it works? If not, go to plan B and not sell?

That's what we have discussed doing. The scheduling part would be one downside...the profit from the sale of the car sure is tempting though.

 

[Alan]

We have managed with one car during several periods and while it gave scheduling issues at times, we needed the money more. We did have an 18 month spell while living in Scotland where car pooling was not an option so I would cycle 5.5 miles to/from work, rain or shine. On icy road days DW would drive me to work and pick me up, but those days were few as we lived in SW Scotland and had a very mild winter. (but WET!)

After coming to the USA we always had 2 cars while we both worked. As soon as we ER'ed we dropped to one car and have rarely missed the use of a 2nd as we live in a small town. Even while I was volunteering 2 days a week last year I would ride my cycle the 3 miles to and from the place. On bad weather days DW would drop me in the morning and I would either walk home if the weather had cleared, or more often, someone would drop me off rather than DW coming to collect me.

 

[rescueme]

What would you do if DW's car needed to be in for maintenance or unavailable for a host of reasons? I'm sure your employer won't let her use your "work truck".

Rent a replacement? That's OK if it is part of your vehicle insurance coverage, but it would not work for simple/major maintenance issues.

While I'm retired (DW will be so next month), we would not consider giving up our indivudial cars. We live in the surburbs, with no public transportation.

Our cars are fairly old (7 & 10 years) and driven less than 5K a year. Insurance and maintenance is only a few hundred a year for each and there is no reason to have more than minimum insurance for vehicle loss.

Just my $.02.

 

[kfindley79]

What would you do if DW's car needed to be in for maintenance or unavailable for a host of reasons?

Rent?

No, we live in the same town as both of our parents. There is always access to alternate transportation, if needed.

 

[rescueme]

No, we live in the same town as both of our parents. There is always access to alternate transportation, if needed.

In that case, the major impact would be removed (assuming your parent's agree to your plan).

 

[bbbamI]

Why not give it a try (going/using one-car) before selling car #2 (2-3 months) to see if it works? If not, go to plan B and not sell?

I agree...

In regards to what happens if your car breaks down, it sounds like you have things covered. Besides...what would a single person do if their car breaks down....?

If you do decide to sell and later find you need another vehicle, you can purchase another one.

 

[Alan]

I agree...

In regards to what happens if your car breaks down, it sounds like you have things covered. Besides...what would a single person do if their car breaks down....?

If you do decide to sell and later find you need another vehicle, you can purchase another one.

+1

Our son is single and doesn't have a 2nd car as a backup.

 

[Dimsumkid]

Would anyone seriously consider doing this?

We did this exact same thing last year. A friend approached us to buy our 1998 Camry for $2900, so we sold it off even though we didn't have it for sale.

We have good bus and train public transportation available to us, also hourly car rentals (i-go and zip car) are really close to us now. Haven't had any big situations to consider in all this time. I had a dentist appt when DW couldn't pick me up, it was 3 miles away so I walked home. We have bikes to use in better weather too. Nothing has occurred yet to warrant any regrets in selling off the 2nd car.

 

[Mulligan]

+1

Our son is single and doesn't have a 2nd car as a backup.

I am single and only have one car in a rural area. Sure I have friends who could help me in a tight spot, but that has never happened as my car is 12 years old and has not once refused to answer the call to go to work. So the answer is simple, get one that wont ever break down I would have never thought a chevy would be so reliable based on my past experiences.

 

[Alan]

DD lives and works in the Seattle area and her husband will be joining her sometime within the next few weeks/months. They are planning on selling the 10 yr old car he is using rather than drive it up from Texas, and they are going to try managing with 1 car since DD is in easy reach of work via public transport.

It'll be interesting to see how that works out.

 

[pb4uski]

Or a compromise might be to sell the car and get a used, small motorcycle or scooter for your work, nearby trips, etc. though you would probably need to get a motorcycle endorsement if you don't already have one.

 

[easysurfer]

I like the idea of giving the one car a try to see if you really miss that or not?

As to the question of what does a single person do with only one car if there is car trouble? The answer is to be prepared. Preparation such as having AAA or other type of roadside assistance. Bring a working credit card, cell phone in pocket or purse. Travel with an emergency kit (snacks, water, blanket, etc.) in car.

My car is about 17 years old. Overall, it's been pretty good about starting and going from point A to point B. (I have taken it in the shop for plenty of repairs in the past).

As for roadside assistance, even if you don't belong to AAA. I think Visa (I'd expect Master Card too) and Discover have one time roadside assistance for a flat rate.

 

[savory]

In a heartbeat!! we have one car and try not to use it. We BIKE - to the store, clients, gym, restaurants, etc. A 3 mile commute is a pleasurable ride. You will not get sweaty and you can ride ALL YEAR. I do not know where you live but I am in Wisconsin. If you have winter riding questions, I will be happy to answer them for you. You'll feel better and you'll be doing good things for the environment. Get some saddle bags and you can carry your work stuff, shop on the way home, etc. Your local bicycle non-profit group or bike shop can give you advice, too.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

Give it a shot for a month or two. Three miles each way isn't bad, nice walk or bike ride. You might enjoy the exercise and quit the gym membership (if you have one)!

I rode 10 miles each way to my college job 5 times a week... back in the days.

You can always buy an older used car if you really feel like you need it.

 

[mh]

In a heartbeat!! we have one car and try not to use it. We BIKE - to the store, clients, gym, restaurants, etc. A 3 mile commute is a pleasurable ride. You will not get sweaty and you can ride ALL YEAR. I do not know where you live but I am in Wisconsin. If you have winter riding questions, I will be happy to answer them for you. You'll feel better and you'll be doing good things for the environment. Get some saddle bags and you can carry your work stuff, shop on the way home, etc. Your local bicycle non-profit group or bike shop can give you advice, too.

+1 I started to bike to the market almost every day and that's 3 miles one way. I also find it an easy ride and i do tend to feel better since i don't get much other exercise at the moment.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

It's always worth a try. We tried it seven years ago and it just didn't work out. DW and I just had too many irons in the fire. After two months of trying one car, we went out and got a beater just to run around town. Now our lifestyles have changed and we moved to a community where you can have a golf cart to get around town. Got rid of the beater a few months back. Tomorrow, DW is off on a trip with her friends and she's driving. I'll be out doing my thing on the golf cart.

 

[oldtrig]

What you happen if that one cars need repair? I own four vehicles. I have two sitting in my shop that I do not use unless I really need it. I do not keep insurance on those and only would buy it if I had to use them. That way I would not have to borrow a vehicle. I can also repair most any vehicle if I needed to and having this many works for me where I can take my time repairing it. None of the cars or trucks I own are newer vehicles, I only take out liability insurance on them so that saves me a ton. oldtrig

 

[jazz4cash]

I suggest you contact your insurance company to see what the savings would be. I sold off our backup utility van awhile back and I was surprised that my insurance only went down a few bucks due to multi-car discount, etc. In my case I would have kept the car as it was paid for and did not cost me anything sitting in the driveway.

 

[Nords]

Here's the situation...
Would anyone seriously consider doing this?

Sure. There are these arcane skills called "bicycling" and "walking", let alone the concept of ride-sharing or coordinating schedules. People used to do that back when the stable was only big enough to hold one horse.

When our daughter started driving, the car essentially sat at school all day. (Much like an adult vehicle sits at work.) Spouse and I had no problem sharing the remaining car.

What you happen if that one cars need repair?

Well, you either do your reading & TV watching at the mechanic's waiting room, or you bicycle home after dropping off the car, or you call Enterprise to have them drop a rental off.

And if you go out to start the car for the drive to the big event, but the car won't start, then you do the same with a combination of taxis and rental cars.

The idea is that in the long run you'll save a lot more than you'll spend on an occasional "emergency" or other inconvenience.

 

[ShortInSeattle]

Here's the situation...

My wife and I each have our own cars used primarily for commuting. My commute is only ~3 miles one way while my wife travels nearly 50 miles one way.

We have talked about dropping one car with the hope of pocketing the money from the sale of the car (car is paid off) as well as taking advantage of the lower insurance and fuel costs.

The car we would get rid of is the one I drive but I do have access to a work truck that I could drive home during the week. This truck would only be used for travel to and from work without any use for "personal" situations.

BTW, we should be able to get 11K - 12K for my car. Would anyone seriously consider doing this?

We did this for ten years, minus the backup work truck. I dropped off DH at work on my way to work and picked him up on the way back. Once in a while he took the bus and once or twice a year when schedules were impossible we hired a taxi. We enjoyed the shared commute time, and it quickly became the new normal. These days we still share a car but we live in a city so mostly use public transport.

It was a good choice for us.

 

[Ronstar]

Downsizing to one vehicle makes sense for some people - those that are not inconvenienced by the downsizing. It would work if you can walk, bike, mass transit, etc in lieu of driving. Whenever I downsize a vehicle, I ask myself if the monetary gain more than offsets the inconvenience. If yes, then I would downsize.

 

[landover]

Here's the situation...

My wife and I each have our own cars used primarily for commuting. My commute is only ~3 miles one way while my wife travels nearly 50 miles one way.

We have talked about dropping one car with the hope of pocketing the money from the sale of the car (car is paid off) as well as taking advantage of the lower insurance and fuel costs.

The car we would get rid of is the one I drive but I do have access to a work truck that I could drive home during the week. This truck would only be used for travel to and from work without any use for "personal" situations.

BTW, we should be able to get 11K - 12K for my car. Would anyone seriously consider doing this?

I will take a look at three things,
- Reduced insurance, may not be much due to multi-car discount.
- Depreciation for both cars. 50 miles one way is high, 25k miles/yr, so putting 13k per car may be better if cars are rotated. How old are the cars, if past 5 yrs, depending on model, depreciation rate will be slow.
- Opportunity cost of $10k.

Convenience factor, how much maximum you want to spend on second car? Cycling, work truck etc. can be used even with second car, so fuel cost is not a factor here.

I had two cars even there was only one driver, I used older for commuting, 50 miles total. I guess it cost me $1k extra every year, but I put 10k less miles on my newer car.

 

[Koolau]

Ditching one of our cars falls under my ER philosophy of belt and suspenders. If we find we can no longer afford two older cars (12+ years) we will get rid of one. We have reasonably good access to mass transit, so we could manage. Having said that, we are still willing to pay for the convenience of 1) No scheduling conflicts 2) Extra car available for breakdown or repairs (few repair places here take appointments - it's either wait and wait or leave it. 3) Spare car for our not-infrequent visitors to use when on the Island.

I calculated that our two cars cost us less than a total of $500/month last year. That includes all fuel, maintenance, insurance, repairs and estimated depreciation/replacement. Per mile that turns out to be about $.50 to $.60. Not cheap, but just about the average Edmonds estimates IIRC. Getting rid of one car WOULD save us some fixed costs such as insurance and depreciation/replacement. As old as our cars are, I doubt it would save over $2K per year. So far, for the convenience, we are willing to pay the extra costs.

If our cars were more valuable (to the extent we could sell them for $10K each) it might be more tempting to do that. As it is, we have two "known quantities" that aren't worth more than $5K to $6K total if we sold both cars. Until repairs begin to cost too much, I consider that we are in the "sweet spot" of car ownership: reasonably reliable and relatively inexpensive ownership. YMMV