How many cars per driver in your household?

[RunningBum]

I'm curious how many vehicles (owned or lease) you have per driver you have in your household. Feel free to explain. I'm most curious about "extra" car usagae. Are you a collector, have a "fun" car to drive, an old pickup for utility, snow car, or what? Include anything you drive on a public road, such as an RV or motorcycle. No farm tractors, junkers on blocks, riding lawn mowers, stuff like that.

Read on if you want to know my situation and why I ask, or you can just answer the poll.

I have two, as a solo driver. A daily driver (2014 Subaru Forester), and a '97 Miata for fun, on good weather days only. The back plastic window is torn so I try to not even get caught in the rain with that.

I'll keep this combo for a few more years if I can. Just thinking ahead to what I'll do when I finally part with the Miata. It may be that the Forester will be ready to trade in by then too. I live on a mountain and need a car that does well in snow and ice on steep roads. I know a lot of Subaru drivers who don't know what X-mode is on theirs. I know, and use and really appreciate it on snow/ice. I'm not going to debate whether I need to drive in those conditions. I want to be ready in case I get caught unexpectedly, and I also like to get out to ski, so I consider good AWD or 4WD a must-have on at least one car.

I see various options:

1) Keep the Subaru as a bad weather car, and get a new second car as a daily driver. It could be any one of:

- Another Miata or similar roadster. The Miata RF with hard top would expand its driving season.

- A retro Mustang, Camaro or Charger/Challenger. I love the look of all of these.

- A luxury car. Maybe I've had enough of roadster and want to be spoiled by relaxed driving. The Genesis G80 intrigues me, as do a few others. Not sure how much of an upgrade that really is from a new Subie.

- An econo (wrt to gas usage) car such as a Prius, or Tesla. I don't want to start another Tesla thread but I'll just say I have reservations about it for my situation, the main one being distance from service facility.

- A class B RV. Not sure I could really justify this, but it has its appeal. We're not allowed to have RVs in my community but a class B could probably pass, but it'd have to sit outside.

- A pseudo RV option such as a sprinter van or even a minivan that I could outfit myself for occasional weekend trips. With a cot, good cooler, portable propane stove/grill, solar bag shower, and perhaps a marine toilet, I'd have all I really need. I even have a portable generator, which I know I'd have to use outside the van. I'd need to think about this a lot more. The Toyota Sienna even has an AWD option.

2) Drop down to one car, either my existing Subaru or one like it. That's all I really need, it'll free up room in my garage, and be less hassle to maintain. Certainly the most economical option, and the most ecological option as well. No matter how green a car is, the manufacturing of a second car has more of an impact.

I'm not looking to be told what I should do. I'll make up my own mind. I'm just interested to hear what others do. Maybe it'll expand or influence my decision.

 

[Car-Guy]

Just a couple of years ago I would have said 7 to 10 cars to 1 driver (me)... But that's when I was buying, selling and working on collectables. These days it's about 3 to 1... One ultra HP AWD fun car and my daily driver, one 4X4 pickup and one old collectable (just bought another one.)

 

[Midpack]

My other car was a boat for over 30 years. We’re all enthusiasts, with different passions, cars for some people. No right or wrong. DW and I don’t really need two cars, it’s a luxury we choose to afford.

It could be many years off, but many of us may have fewer cars when ride sharing, robo taxis, EVs and/or autonomous cars become more and more common.

 

[Bir48die]

One small SUV each (2) and a pickup for our camper and project that maybe has 3,000 miles a year

 

[Alan]

We sold DW’s car the week she retired. We’ve only had 1 car between the 2 of us for 10 years now, plus we have owned our current car for 2.5 years and only put on 6,000 miles.

 

[LRDave]

In this coming year, we are going to have 3 cars for two drivers. We have a 2010 Tacoma which we plan on keeping forever. It only has 80K miles and the annual mileage has gone WAY down. I live in the country and need a pick-em-up truck. We have a 2009 CR-V which is our traveling car. With 190K miles, its value is in the utility and not worth much to sell or trade in. We will convert it to the dog-hauling vehicle and for use around town. We want to get a Subaru Forester next year (maybe...). This will be our touring/long trip vehicle and the dogs will be verboten. Thinking strongly of leasing, as we will be able to easily manage to a yearly mileage cap.

 

[aaronc879]

I bought a 2004 Forester in 2004 and that was my only vehicle for almost 15 years. Then I got a little concerned about reliability and my company's strict attendence policy so I bought a low cost second vehicle(2013 Nissan Versa). The versa gets much better mpg so I use it as my primary vehicle and use the Subaru when the weather gets bad. I live in Wisconsin so it's about 50/50. When one of these cars dies I will replace it with a new car and go back to just one car. Probably a hybrid.

 

[Gumby]

The two of us have three cars. A 2019 Mini Cooper S; a 2018 Subaru Forester and a 2001 BMW Z3 Roadster. Since we retired in June of this year, we've put about 400 miles on the Mini, 2500 on the Subaru and about 100 on the roadster.

 

[jollystomper]

This year we went from 2 cars and 2 drivers to 3 cars and 2 drivers. We each have a sedan (Toyotas). We added a SUV for those times when we want to have more space to easily haul stuff (bike trips, stuff to recycling center, buying large items, etc.) and for longer drives (we find the SUV more pleasant and relaxing).

Next year (thank you stock market!) I am considering getting DW a newer car to get the latest safety enhancements. It is a 2011 model year but has a relatively low 65K miles on it. I'm torn between selling/trading it in or hanging onto it, primarily for when our kids visit from overseas and need something to drive for a week or two. However, we do not have a lot of parking space in the driveway and cannot park on the street, so that is also a consideration.

 

[Rianne]

We have a new 2019 Hyundai Sonata SEL for distance travel and some local travel. And a 2002 Toyota Camry (~290,000 mi) for me and my lab (we haul him around to parks for walks etc).

 

[MRG]

We've had the same configuration for 20 years, a 4wd pickup and a Jeep Wrangler. Recently traded the 2 dr. Wrangler on a new 2019 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. Wow, what a difference our 4 prior Wranglers were 2 doors and rode like crap, this thing is a beast. I'd love to sell the GMC pickup as the Wrangler does everything I need and more.

The pickup is a little too big for this area, the garage is too full and it's harder to get a full sized pickup around other vehicles and snowbanks. If we keep it I'll trade it off in another few years on a Subaru or something I haven't seen yet.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

I am just like Gumby and RunningBum. DW has a practical 2011 Rav4. It is a mom-car that we also use for travel. I have a 2003 Subaru Legacy that is my daily driver (3,000 miles per year. On those nice weather days, I have a 2002 BMW Z3 Roadster. It can fly! 1,000 miles per year. It has never seen a Walmart parking lot.

 

[jimbee]

DW has a 2018 Honda CR-V, I have a 2018 Nissan Maxima and a 2001 Corvette Z06. The Z06 has been my summer fun car for the past ten years.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We have a 2008 Toyota Corolla with 55k miles and a 2010 Honda Accord with 80k. We won’t need new cars for 10-15 years. We have a motor home that we are selling. When one of the cars die we will just share one as we don’t drive a lot.

 

[ckelly78z]

My DW has a Jeep Liberty with 170,000 as her daily driver, and a BMW 325 convertible with 245,000 as her "fun" car that used to be her DD. I have a 2004 Mustang GT convertible with 178,000 as my DD in good weather, and a 1996 F150 with 140,000 as my Winter driver. We have a 2004 diesel Excursion with 140,000 as our camper towing rig, and a major people hauler for long trips....5 vehicles that all get driven on a somewhat regular basis. We also have a horse trailer, 18' car hauler trailer, and a 32' travel trailer, so you can imagine the license plate bill.

 

[Bamaman]

2018 Camry Hybrid @ 49 mpg for daily driving
2014 Explorer only used for hauling grandkids to the mountains.
2003 F250 diesel pickup for hauling our 24' boat--not driven much.
2008 Lexus IS--in process of being repaired and sold.
1999 Jaguar XK8 convertible.

 

[Jerry1]

We only have two cars for two drivers. We have an Equinox and a Silverado. I’d have another car and just use the pickup on occasion if I had more room. As it is, I only get the Equinox in our two car garage.

 

[Gumby]

I am just like Gumby and RunningBum. DW has a practical 2011 Rav4. It is a mom-car that we also use for travel. I have a 2003 Subaru Legacy that is my daily driver (3,000 miles per year. On those nice weather days, I have a 2002 BMW Z3 Roadster. It can fly! 1,000 miles per year. It has never seen a Walmart parking lot.

I have only ever put the top up on the Z3 to wash it. I have never driven it that way.

 

[leftyfrizzell1963]

Great question/poll!

Initially, I was a little surprised of the % that is greater than 1:1 given the general theme of the forum being fiscally conservative and vehicles are expensive. However it does make sense of all different needs/uses of vehicles and the members affluence to afford them.

 

[RetireAge50]

2 Honda dual sport motorcycles, 1 Honda Scooter, 1 32’ class A RV, and 2 cars. We are set for awhile.

3 to 1

 

[jollystomper]

Great question/poll!

Initially, I was a little surprised of the % that is greater than 1:1 given the general theme of the forum being fiscally conservative and vehicles are expensive. However it does make sense of all different needs/uses of vehicles and the members affluence to afford them.

We look at it as a "Blow That Dough!" Exercise . We do not need a 3rd car but... Blow That Dough!

 

[W2R]

F has a 2003 Nissan Murano with 265,000 miles on it. I have a 2009 Toyota Venza with 33,000 miles on it (I think? Maybe 35K).

Since we live next door to each other, if one car or the other is in the shop then we aren't stranded.

I thought about getting another vehicle, but see no justification for it. I can only drive one at a time and if I had two, I'd probably prefer one and the other would just sit in the garage. Kudos to those of you who have two and drive both but I probably wouldn't.

I would have liked to have a cute little convertible Miata or something back in my 40's or 50's, but I am 71 and now I prefer something extremely easy to get into and out of like my Venza. Besides, it rains a lot in New Orleans and people with convertibles don't get to put the top down as often as they might like, here.

 

[HFWR]

One car, a 2011 Prius, and one driver, me...

 

[6miths]

We have 6 drivers and 3 cars on the road. One DS has a fair-weather motorcycle which around here means April to November generally. One DD has own place but no car so uses now and then and another is here part-time in same situation.

 

[38Chevy454]

Way more than the poll upper limit of 2 or more. Have 11 vehicles, 2 drivers. Although technically one of the vehicles is not drivable at this time since I have it taken apart. 5 of the vehicles are older classic vehicles, and 1 is our motorhome. Even taking those out, have 5 daily driver type vehicles for 2 drivers.