Anyone Share a Car After Retiring?

[Ronstar]

I was thinking of cutting back from 4 to 3, but now that I have them they're costing me less than $400 each per year to keep. Each of them are worth more to me than the cash I would get by selling them now. Maybe when one dies I wont replace it.

 

[Alan]

We will be dropping back to one car when we retire. We already have bicycles and the place we'll be moving back to in Texas is well set up for bikes and pedestrians and we really miss it. We plan to bike most places we need to go when possible. (grocery shopping etc we'll obviously be using the car).

For the first 11 years of our marriage we managed just fine with 1 car, even with 2 kids. Car-pooling to work was ubiquitous and most families made do with 1 car.

 

[audreyh1]

So, no one is falling over in shock that we sold our second car and spent the $10K proceeds on a camera lens?

I got more ribbing over my $300 Whole Foods grocery bill!

Audrey

 

[REWahoo]

So, no one is falling over in shock that we sold our second car and spent the $10K proceeds on a camera lens?

The only one who seems shocked is you.

 

[audreyh1]

The only one who seems shocked is you.

I guess you're right! LOL!

Audrey

 

[FUEGO]

So, no one is falling over in shock that we sold our second car and spent the $10K proceeds on a camera lens?

I got more ribbing over my $300 Whole Foods grocery bill!

I told the DW about this last night. She was shocked. Then I said "rich people" and we laughed.

Heh, rich people and their money...

 

[Nords]

So, no one is falling over in shock that we sold our second car and spent the $10K proceeds on a camera lens?

We're all thinking that we should have spent 2008 investing in camera equipment instead of stocks...

 

[HFWR]

So, no one is falling over in shock that we sold our second car and spent the $10K proceeds on a camera lens?

I got more ribbing over my $300 Whole Foods grocery bill!

Audrey

But you can photograph a gnat's a$$ from a thousand yards...

Btw, I have my eye on a lens for my Canon, but it's only around $2k. No thanks, just looking...

 

[SarahW]

Share a car?? No way. My hubby prefers that I do my back-seat driving in my own car.

 

[audreyh1]

We're all thinking that we should have spent 2008 investing in camera equipment instead of stocks...

Well, we bought the lens in early 2000. Hey, maybe it was still a good move! LOL!

Audrey

 

[audreyh1]

I told the DW about this last night. She was shocked. Then I said "rich people" and we laughed.

Heh, rich people and their money...

Well, when it comes right down to it, it more more a matter of priorities than sheer $$$. It is really more of an indication of how serious we are about our photography. Some people spend that kind of dough (and much more) on a boat, or a motorcycle, or remodeling a room in their house, or whatever.

Like any truly great toy, the numerous hours of enjoyment over many years makes the initial investment seem trivial.

Audrey

P.S. Speaking of toys, well, in 2005 we bought this great motorhome........ well, nevermind!

 

[Cruisinthru]

We are still a two car family. We will probably go down to one car in a few years. We live in an over-55 community and travel around the community on the golf cart or bikes most of the time. The only reason we have kept the second car is that my husband does a lot of transporting his 93 year old mother to doctors appointments, etc. Eventually we will let the second car go. Both of our vehicles are just a few years old, so we will probably trade both in on a new ride one of these days.

 

[JonnyM]

Could we survive with just the one reliable vehicle? Sure. Would that be the best result? I don't think so on a day to day basis. Most days, even the large majority of days, neither of us go anywhere. By that definition we don't need any car. Reality is we require something that will transport us and Three Irish Wolfhounds. We have a 2004 Dodge PU from new, it just passed 42K miles. One way we keep the miles down on the long trip "car" and transport truck of all things pretty darn big is to use the "spare" car for in town stuff like that trip to the grocery, Dr, Whatever, and I use it for my Musical Transport to weekend Jams (80 mile round trip) as if it ever really broke, where do I have to be? Certainly not to W__K the next day LOL. Current Spare was acquired in 04 ('95 Lincoln Mark VIII 119kmi then, 133K now) to replace '85 Cad Deville 185k mi. when we donated it, Both of those were auction cars $3k for the Mark VIII. Keep Mobil One changed regularly and the engines run pretty indefinitely. It becomes a matter of when the rest of car falls apart around it. We most often travel places together, but when I go on an errand or off to musicland alone I don't want to leave her stranded, that's what you end up with in the one car scenerio. When this spare finally gives it up (hopefully not for a few more years, we'll see what is in store next. She'd really like a Caddie XLR, can't argure with that from an esthetic POV. Don't see them ever being a bargain though.

 

[guest]

I am "car poor"! We have three cars and a pickup for two drivers. I am still a bit of a "mini-farmer" and not having my truck just doesn't seem right! Of course it is sitting 99% of the time. The wife needs a commuter car (still working) and I wanted something to drive that wouldn't make me feel guilty doing so. Now, about that other car.....thought I was going to turn a quick buck back when gas prices were skyrocketing and finding economy cars was getting hard to do. Bought it and gas prices plummeted...any one want to buy a in okay condition 45 MPG geo that I paid WAY too much for? I even added to my tab and had a mechanic go over it for me...

 

[BUM]

We have one truck. It works out just fine most of the time. Bicycles pick up the slack.

 

[toofrugalformycat]

DH and I were down to one car for awhile. This is not a walkable or bikeable area for the majority of the year. Now we have one old beater and one really really old old beater that we seldom drive. But it saves a lot of conflict and negotiating to have that second car when we both want a car. With only liability insurance, and a clean driving record, it isn't a huge expense, even for cheapskates like us.
I considered buying a pickup instead of a small car, but it's much cheaper to rent one for the few times a year or less that we need to haul stuff bigger than will fit in a Honda Civic hatchback.

 

[Finance Dave]

Not yet rehired, but plan is to do so in about 5 years. We've already discussed the "shared" car thing and have come up with a hybrid solution. We will buy one "nice" car that we will use anytime we go places together, which will be most of the time. Also, if one person is going somewhere and the other is staying home, they will use the "nice" car.

Then, we'll also have a "not so nice" car. perhaps this will be 7-8 years old and be a little rough around the edges, but likely we'll only spend $5-$8k on this one. It will only be used whenever the "nice" car is not available.

I realize in some families this could cause some fights ("I want the nice car today"), but we are unique in that....

my hobby is sports cars, so I have two fabulous high performance cars that I COULD drive if the "nice" car is not available...although I try to avoid driving them in rain or snow. They are more for sunny weekend rides and car shows than anything else, although a jaunt to the grocery store is perfect exercise for them.

 

[Kroeran]

preparing for retirement, we gave the amazingly reliable 96 civic to our neice, sold off the 98 Tracker winter car which was starting to cost too much in repairs and body work, sold off the 02 Thunderbird summer car for not a lot less than I paid for it (used), and took advantage of a 4K government subsidy which was expiring and bought an 08 Civic Hybrid, bringing us down to one car, which was possible as I have a 5 minute commute to work on foot. The house is actually closer than the department parking lot, which they put a quarter mile from the building following some sort of health policy...of course senior management parks IN the building.

Then the wife didn't retire (she keeps waiting for an awful event to trigger her departure) and the department moved 2 miles away from my house (after buying the building 8 years ago, discovering asbestos, spending 5 years cleaning it up, then selling the building just before we moved in, then leasing it back for 25 years, and of course the department has outgrown the space, before we have even completed the move). This permitted me to buy a gas guzzling 150kilometer 2000 Jeep Cherokee, which is what I lusted for in the first place, instead of the civic. When she finally retires (and I will not be far behind) the Cherokee will probably become the florida car that we leave down there.

Sadly, Segways are illegal here for regular use.

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

My partner and I have shared a single car for two years now, and I can't recall a single instance when we needed another, but that is probably because we live near downtown - within walking distance of a grocery store, library, and post office.

Living within walking distance of a grocery store was one of our main requirements when looking for a place to retire, another was mild winters. Oops. That and affordability proved to be a difficult combination to satisfy. We found many towns and small cities with nice downtown areas, but while the architecture is often preserved, the nature of the businesses has changed. Athens, Georgia is a good example. The beautiful old downtown area even has some condos available, but to buy groceries you have to drive out to "the loop". The same is pretty much true all over the south. I guess that is what people mean when they complain about "Walmartization".

 

[headingout]

We plan to downsize to one vehicle, selling off our too-large-for-the-empty-nest luxury wagon. DW is off work, perhaps forever. I don't commute. Probably won't be a problem. If it doesn't work out, we'll pick up a 2nd vehicle that's cheaper to insure and maintain. Friends of ours, a very active couple where only one works, have shared a car for 10 years.

 

[superdave]

This is a timely thread. We have had a 2004 Saturn view and a 2007 VW GTI for a few years, but made a few moves that would enable car lite or car free:
* sold rural type house and moved to a more urban setting last fall . Had figured that we would be able to go with 1 car after the kids flew the coupe in 1-2 yrs
* I started bike commutting to work ( when I was working ) for the past few years
* college age kids were not given cars and handed bus passes

So, last week on a lark I listed the Vue on Kijiji. To my surprise, it sold for pretty much what I was asking. So we are now a 1 car family of 4 adults. No problems so far. Winter may be more challenging. May solve that be snow birding.