Sold the second car this evening.....

[Donzo]

Pickup truck, Jeep Wrangler, VW bug and a motorcycle.
They all have their place, not ready to part with any. An example, the gym I go to is 25 miles away, the bug gets 30mpg if I took the truck or jeep mpg would be closer to 15. The bug only costs $32 per month to insure and more than pays for itself in fuel savings. If/when it starts having mechanical issues it will go bye bye. Another high mpg auto will be purchased.

Truck is for around the property wood gathering and cab over camper. Jeep is for fun and to get around when we get snow and the bike keeps me sane!

 

[Live And Learn]

Bravo on selling the second car. My thoughts are that we will eventually sell the second car. To me giving up one of the cars would feel like one of us giving up independence, and neither of us is ready for that. It's one of the few places where I actually "waste" money (the other is on the hot-tub).

 

[fritz]

Always had two vehicles as we both worked, but I traveled by air with endless car rentals, and the wife worked within a mile of home. Had a 5 year old Altima with way less than 50k miles, and a 2 year old Elantra with under 8K miles when we retired. Sold the Altima to sister-in-law when we retired as we felt that letting it rot in the garage was a waste of money, and gave the one vehicle retirement a go. Been 5+ years now and have found no need to add a car. Replaced the other when it was 5 years old (28K miles). Wanted to keep us in a fairly new car as we enjoy traveling by car/wintering in FL and like the 5 year/50k mile bumper to bumper warranty scenario of Hyundai/Kia.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

We dumped our 2nd car last year. (We 'retired'? early this year.) Should have dumped it at least 3 years ago but there was resistance. We live in a small, almost walkable (by me) town.

If you can do without one, do it!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[ohyes]

I always figured we would go to one car. Our neighborhood is not a cool, walkable one.


A couple weeks ago, both vehicles were in the shop at the same time. Thankfully, our youngest lives in the same town and just happened to have the day off and could cart us around the day my 2008 Impala got towed. (Needed a new starter).


DH's 1994 Ford Ranger was in the shop for a week. Turns out they had lost his keys and neglecting to mention that fact whenever DH would call to see if the truck might possibly be ready to pick up? (They were doing some test to make sure the head gaskets weren't cracked).


That experience convinced me that DH and I are not ready to go to one vehicle. When/if we move to a walkable neighborhood, with stores and restaurants near, I'd be all for it.


Last week we sold that pickup DH loved so much and purchased a 2013 Honda CR-V.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, within 6 months of retiring we sold our second car. We used the proceeds to buy a camera lens!

 

[Sunset]

We have talked about it, but right now its not possible, and we can afford both easily.
My purchase of a van (dreaming of towing a pop-up) might have even forced us to keep 2.

 

[rayinpenn]

Phase 1
Hey if we go to one car it will save a substantial amount of money.

Phase 2
I just need something in case your out shopping

Phase 3
Honda Goldwing with heated seat and handle grips

Yeah baby... I know
"You'll kill yourself"


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum.

 

[Walt34]

I just gotta have a truck!

Same here, we'll sell the truck if/when I can't drive anymore, but not before that.

 

[karen1972]

We sold the second car when we moved to avoid fixing it, plus licensing is expensive here ..always an issue when switching states. The only time we have to arrange is when we have long times away, say I volunteer for 4 hours and then go to the farmers market, then we may be have to arrange stuff. Our theory was it was going to cost $1000 to repair the car plus at least another $250 to license it in the new state, plus a place to park it.. gas.. etc. So thats $1500 which worst case scenario is used for taxi rides. The airport costs $11 ..so you can see..thats a lot of taxi rides so a much better option for us.

 

[38Chevy454]

I think one of the key points several mentioned is depends on where you live. If you live within walking distance for things you generally need, a lot easier to get by with one vehicle. Having public transit nearby is also an alternative for personal vehicle. Another big difference is if working or retired.

I will never be down to one car, between my older classic cars (my hobby) and the fact that I do all my own maintenance, it is not a major cost for having multiple cars that are all paid for long ago. I have had for myself 2 or more cars since I was 18. Never been stranded with a non-working vehicle, since I always have an extra to use.

 

[FIYes]

We still have 2 cars and this is clearly an area where we could save money by going to one car now that we are both retired. However, we enjoy the freedom and flexibility of two vehicles so we probably won't make that change in the near future. Probably, over time we will allow one of the vehicles to become an older, beater vehicle. Currently both vehicles are fairly new...4 years and 6 years old.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[unclemick]

Same here, we'll sell the truck if/when I can't drive anymore, but not before that.

Lust dies hard. Before Katrina three - 78 Ford 3/4 ton, 99 Chevy Silverado 1/2 ton and a little 94 GMC Sonoma.

Now - Honda Fit with Wife and 30+ years of driving greater Kansas City who knows every street and me with a Chevy Equinox and trusty Tom Tom for long trips.

heh heh heh - yes I often get that old pickup twinge but so far .

 

[bld999]

We have two and likely will for 5 to seven years, maybe forever.

Unrelated, but interesting, I had a 235k mile '97 ranger I used to build with for 14 years, lately it hauled dirtbikes. I bought a low mile replacement for it and finally the clutch started making noise and it needed front alignment, full exhaust system, which together would be > $1500. I ride with a 28y.o. who just bought a fixer house and his wife is expecting soon. I gifted it to them, and was straight about all defects, they were real happy, so was I.

Next time he & I go riding, I may get chauferred in my old ranger, which I don't miss trying to pedal on craigslist for bonehead money. I'll get the latest mechanical status report first, though. If it breaks big, they can leave it in a parking lot and hope somebody steals it.

 

[racy]

No. There are two of us: 1 crossover, 1 coupe, 1 pickup & 2 motorcycles. And, may buy another motorcycle.

 

[unno2002]

Not long after my retirement, we sold the third car… Working we both needed to get to the job, meetings, etc. DW is working thru the end of this year, and is the primary driver of the “reliable” vehicle. We’ve also still got a 27 year old Suzuki Samurai… around a quarter million miles, but it still runs. It’s the pick up something messy, and get me around in the desert.

 

[shortstop14]

A decision we'll need to make when my wife's 1996 Saturn reaches the end of its useful life. We use my Tacoma pickup for longer trips and trips out into the forest and desert - it works great for mountain bikes and camping. And we manage to use our bikes for a lot of local area trips. So we *could* drop down to one vehicle if we need to.

Still, we'll likely replace the Saturn - it's hard to imagine the logistics of one vehicle until we move into a more easily walkable area.

 

[gerntz]

All these people with less than two cars must love killing the economy/jobs & thus their investments. I prefer helping my fellow citizens.

 

[audreyh1]

All these people with less than two cars must love killing the economy/jobs & thus their investments. I prefer helping my fellow citizens.

What

By that logic all of us saving any money for our retirement or anything at all are killing the economy. Not to mention all these early retirees who could be out there still slaving away for a wage and spending all the earnings as fast as possible to help their fellow citizens.

 

[Nunthewiser]

I am doing a major downsizing/restructuring after retirement. Wrenching is my hobby and I used to have a 100 mile commute, so I have a pile of cars (Mercedes and VW diesels) that no longer have much purpose. So, about half my fleet of 10 cars needs to go. At the same time, my elderly mom stuck me with her car, my wife wants a new one, and I need something sportier with working Airconditioning( It is Florida). Lots of work ahead to make this happen.

 

[karen1972]

All these people with less than two cars must love killing the economy/jobs & thus their investments. I prefer helping my fellow citizens.

Doesn't hurt anyone, the money one doesn't spend on a car, you spend elsewhere. Plus having a single car often forces one to be healthier, ie walgreens is 5 blocks away which I now walk to rather than drive... also better for the environment.

If you look at it this way, its the new trend. Between the rental bikes in many major cities, uber, car sharing.. The younger generation is not buying cars as much as the older generation, just as they don't buy physical books, physical music, etc. One has to re-think their portfolio and careers as I see car production going way down.

 

[Dreaming of Freedom]

We will probably always have two vehicles until my fiance is too old to drive, and even then, we still may have two vehicles. We will have a full size van to tow our travel trailer with, and a small sedan to run around town or take non-camping road trips in. It would be hard to go down to one vehicle while we are still towing a travel trailer because I do not like driving big vehicles around town all the time. I am a lover of smaller cars. I could not drive a big truck or SUV around town just for the heck of it; parking it would be a PITA! Plus I hate spending tons of money on gas unless we are traveling. I would probably walk, bike, or take the bus everywhere if we lived in a city that was friendlier to those transportation modes.

 

[Sarah in SC]

All these people with less than two cars must love killing the economy/jobs & thus their investments. I prefer helping my fellow citizens.

Haha! Good one!

Don't worry, plenty of us with extra vehicles scattered around the yard to keep up the profits at the parts store!

 

[NW-Bound]

I have 3 cars right now, not counting the motorhome. We should not need more than 2, and in fact often drive just 1, so am going to sell or give away the one least used.

I think it will be difficult mentally to go down to 1 car. I feel vulnerable somehow having no backup.

Ideally, of the two cars that I should own, one would be a plugin EV for short-range driving, while the 2nd one would be a longer range flat-towable vehicle for RV travel, and also large enough to tow a flat-bed trailer as I do not own a pickup. None of the 3 I currently own fit the bill. In fact, I do not think there's a vehicle in the market that will work for me for that 2nd multi-purpose car.

 

[Dreamer]

I doubt that we go down to 1 car until much later in life, if ever. We have 3 cars for 2 of us. My car is the beater, 2002 Buick Century and DH has a 2012 Toyota Camry and a 2007 Corvette. He misses having a truck, but I will help him drive the Camry on trips and I do not like driving big vehicles. It would be nice to get down to 2 vehicles some day, but that will probably be much later in life also.