Sold the second car this evening.....

[superdave]

After decades operating 2 cars, we sold our second car this evening. Since I ERd, we just were not using it regularly, so... its gone.

Anyone else find/do the same thing?

 

[WannabeRetired]

Not retired, but was able to do it for 7 years when we both worked at the same company. Loved only having to maintain one car!

 

[cbo111]

I am retiring next month, but wife and I just sold our second car. We have been car single for a few weeks and we frankly have not missed it. DW is already retired, so that helps. It will be interesting to see how this works out. I may have to
get a moped.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Car-Guy]

Not counting collectables, I'm down to two regular or daily drivers. Now that I'm retired, the DW rarely drives anymore. I think she's driven once this year and maybe 2 or 3 times all of last year so I sold our third daily driver last year.

 

[Texas Proud]

Well, we have three cars... but son is driving one...

We have to have an SUV that can tow the boat....

Also, there is no way that I would want to be without a car if DW went somewhere.... and I know she feels the same if I am going somewhere...

Nope, not going to a single car unless I cannot drive at all... and I might keep one just to think that I could.....

 

[FUEGO]

We're seriously thinking about it. DW has been on a sabbatical since April and while we were living at home, we never needed two cars at the same time. We've been traveling without a car for the last month so obviously haven't used 1 car, let alone 2 cars.

Since many places in our neighborhood are walkable (kids' school, multiple grocery stores, restaurants, ethnic markets, library, 2 parks, 3 bus lines, etc) we can rely on our two feet and/or transit for many trips. Though I doubt we'll ever go carless.

We do have 3 kids and in another year they will be attending 2 different schools and eventually 3 different schools. And the oldest will be driving in another 6 years, so we might want a second car then if she chooses to drive. So we might drop to 1 car for a few years then go back up to 2 cars while the kids are still our responsibility.

 

[Markola]

This topic grabbed me because, even though usually decisive about money issues, we are struggling with it! We could easily go to one for our limited needs, but can't decide which one to sell and are having trouble pulling the trigger. The 13 year old CR-V is more of a need, with its ability to haul stuff, and it will probably run until the end of time. Gas mileage is probably only 21 mph though and DW only tolerates driving it. She'd like a Suburu wagon. My 2006 Saab was a vanity purchase and is now an extinct brand but, darn it, it's comfortable, we love driving it, it runs great and gets 31 mph highway. Both are long paid off and are covered with cheap liability insurance. Oh well, we save on most things so we can indulge in certain other budget categories so we will probably remain stuck on this particular matter. Glad others could easily make the practical decision and cut the cord though.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[martyb]

We'll probably always have 2 vehicles. A car or SUV For daily driving & trips, and a pickup truck for boat towing and other things that require a truck. I just gotta have a truck!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[gerntz]

We have two cars - and no arguments over transportation. Would be a different story if public-subsidized public transit was readily available at below cost rates.

 

[Bamaman]

We have 5 cars, 2 boats, a fifth wheel RV and three houses. We have a tow vehicle, a people hauler, a sports sedan, the daughter's Honda and a convertible play car.


Auto and homeowners insurance is my biggest single living expense.


I wish I could get the desire to shed myself of toys--and cars. My wife doesn't drive much, and she took the fender off our new Explorer 2 weeks ago--$500 deductible.
But I realistically can go another 10 years without having to buy a vehicle--as my brands and models are all chosen for high resale and low maintenance costs.

 

[RAE]

We'll probably always have 2 vehicles. A car or SUV For daily driving & trips, and a pickup truck for boat towing and other things that require a truck. I just gotta have a truck!

+1. We use the pickup all the time for hauling larger stuff around (boat, firewood, camper, etc), and we love our little Jeep Wrangler for running around town and going places where we don't need to haul much (it is much more fun to drive than the truck). So, no plans to go down to one vehicle anytime soon.

 

[Theseus]

Living in a rural area, I don't think we'd be comfortable with only one vehicle. Right now we are down to two functional vehicles - and one is a summer-only roadster. Could be used in the winter in a pinch, but not something I'd want to do, even if the roads were clear of snow. Actually had 4 vehicles plus a motorcycle when both working, DW had a Honda that we turned in at lease end to reduce fleet by one. In March my well-used pickup truck got T-boned so that went to the junkyard. Having less to maintain and insure is great, but expect we will either replace my truck if the insurance ever gets settled favorably, or maybe get a newer, more fuel-efficient vehicle for long term use. Motorcycle will probably go before long, riding isn't much fun anymore as the aches and pains act up a lot sooner.

 

[Pbkmaine]

We sold our second car before moving to Florida. Now we have one car, a golf cart, two regular bicycles and two e-bikes. Works fine for us.

 

[FIREd]

We sold our second car a couple of months ago. We don't drive enough to justify 2 vehicles and the second car was turning into an expensive liability.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Hermit]

We have 5 cars, 2 boats, a fifth wheel RV and three houses. We have a tow vehicle, a people hauler, a sports sedan, the daughter's Honda and a convertible play car.


Auto and homeowners insurance is my biggest single living expense.


I wish I could get the desire to shed myself of toys--and cars. My wife doesn't drive much, and she took the fender off our new Explorer 2 weeks ago--$500 deductible.
But I realistically can go another 10 years without having to buy a vehicle--as my brands and models are all chosen for high resale and low maintenance costs.

This is a weakness I share. SUV, truck, sports car, Motor Home, not to mention shared ownership of a dump truck and tractor. Next on the acquisition list is a couple of ATVs. Oh, I have also committed to an older Jeep builder that will go to my favorite charity after it is fixed up. I'm not much on traveling, but I like to tinker.

 

[brett]

Gave the second car to our son last year. Have we missed it? Not a bit. We live close to rapid transit.

Plan was to rent a car once in a while if we needed a second car. Have not had to do that.

We actually find ourselves taking rapid transit downtown rather than the hassle of taking the car and finding parking.

 

[superdave]

Should have added, we live in a very walkable neighborhood and near a great bus route downtown. My wife still works part time, but often just takes the bus to work.

Being in Canada, summers with one car should be a piece of cake. Winters may be more.... challenging

 

[superdave]

This topic grabbed me because, even though usually decisive about money issues, we are struggling with it! We could easily go to one for our limited needs, but can't decide which one to sell and are having trouble pulling the trigger. The 13 year old CR-V is more of a need, with its ability to haul stuff, and it will probably run until the end of time. Gas mileage is probably only 21 mph though and DW only tolerates driving it. She'd like a Suburu wagon. My 2006 Saab was a vanity purchase and is now an extinct brand but, darn it, it's comfortable, we love driving it, it runs great and gets 31 mph highway. Both are long paid off and are covered with cheap liability insurance. Oh well, we save on most things so we can indulge in certain other budget categories so we will probably remain stuck on this particular matter. Glad others could easily make the practical decision and cut the cord though.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

Easy decision for us. Had a 2008 and 2012 Ford Focus. Sold the 2008 which was a coupe. Kept the 5 door hatch. Expected savings will be insurance and maintenance costs on the second car.

 

[folivier]

We've only had 1 vehicle for over 4 years now. Currently have a Tahoe since we tow a small cargo trailer with a Rzr on our summer escape to the mountains. Not real concerned about the mileage since it's only 1 car, and it's a very comfortable car. If we need a second car for anything we'll just rent one but so far haven't needed it.

 

[btdt22]

Sold the Lexus 460 work car when I retired, and real happy with a Mini Cooper for shopping and a pickup for towing and hauling. Nice to have the flexibility of running errands at the same time, dropping one vehicle off all day for maintenance, and knowing we have a backup in the event of an emergency

 

[freedomatlast]

I enjoy driving and enjoy cars, so this is one area that I could easily cut back on, but don't plan to. I do 100% of the maintenance and repairs myself, so recurring costs aren't significant. Insurance costs less than $1900/yr for the fleet. Presently have 9 vehicles ranging in model years from 1970 to 2014. Before the kids left home, the fleet was as high as 12 at one time. The fleet includes sports cars, high performance cars, SUVs, a pick up truck and a couple of economy cars for running around town. Three have antique plates, so no registration fees or annual inspections are required. Some I have bought cheap and fixed up, some were bought used, and two were bought new. Finally bought a home where they can all be under roof. As a money making hobby, I buy, fix up and resell cars as opportunities arise. Sold the motorcycles last year due to feeling unsafe with so many inattentive and distracted drivers on the roads these days. At this time, I couldn't imagine having less than 5.

 

[ivinsfan]

Not counting collectables, I'm down to two regular or daily drivers. Now that I'm retired, the DW rarely drives anymore. I think she's driven once this year and maybe 2 or 3 times all of last year so I sold our third daily driver last year.

Is there a reason why your wife doesn't drive much? I drive for things I do without my DH, such as doing things up at church or running errands in the closest big town about 15 miles from here. He loves to drive and when we go together the default is for him to hop behind the wheel. Every once in awhile I'll say my turn to log a few miles in a longer trip. I don't want my driving skills to degrade from lack of use. I know a few older widows around here who hadn't driven in years when their spouse died and found driving alone intimidating, I don't want to be in that position. We have one personal car and one older dirty mini-van that's the farm car, so our vehicle expenses are low.

 

[ggbutcher]

Just sold my Subaru Outback to DD, replaced it with a Toyota Highlander. Good for long trips, holds a decent amount of people or things, and will pull a small RV. DW's got a Hyundai Azera; its main use now is "airport car" when I travel for w*rk. When the EVs get decent range for $30-40k, we'll probably replace the Azera with one. And that is how we'll enter retirement, Highlander and EV.


I miss my truck (of the sort where DW laments, " Can you please get it painted all one color? And preferably, not primer?"), but I'm just not into working on vehicles anymore.


Really, I'd prefer to just have one vehicle, but our walkability is borderline. We're close enough to stores and work, but the intervening hills make it challenging. We've lived in a no-car situation (Kwajalein), bikes and hoofing it, and really appreciated the simplicity of not dealing with the whole motor vehicle thing.


We have retired neighbors who have tried a one-car situation, but went back to two, both H and W still too active to conveniently share one vehicle. My folks did fine with one vehicle in their late 70s on (interesting to watch 4' 9" DM wrangle a Ford F-250), but that was about DF removing himself from the driving roster after his first stroke.


I guess it just depends on your situation...

 

[jpjr]

We retain two cars, one of which we use for our long trips (2010 Acura TSX) and one for me to tool around in (2000 Toyota 4 Runner). I guess we could manage with only one, but given the low cost of maintaining the 4 Runner, the ability to haul junk without worrying about adding a scratch to our "new" car, and the number of miles I put on the beast, maybe 4k per year, we'll keep it until it dies.

 

[Independent]

We will have two cars for a long time because my wife refuses to drive anything except her 2001 Toyota Echo.

This thread got me to look up the expense of owning it.
These are average annual costs for 2008-1014:

$ 216 Insurance
$ 145 Maint & Repair
$_ 73 Gasoline
$_ 50 Plates
-----------------------
$ 483 Total

Clearly, a very high per-mile cost. But, it simplifies my life.