One car or two?

[Danmar]

Couldn't imagine having only be car. But it is pretty personal, ie where you live, what kind of things you do, where you drive, etc.

In a slightly different approach. It is fairly rare that posters try to "up" the discussion level a bit by trying to generalize the topic into a framework. We seem to be much better just describing what we do. Most of these discussions are highly individual so end up reducing to "depends on the individual" and would seem to be of limited usefulness unless we can generalize into some kind of framework? Maybe I'm just irritable this am. Had a late night.

 

[ls99]

Too many? Two cars, two pickups, one suburban.

 

[splitwdw]

...We live in a beach community that has decent public transit and easy access to Uber. Plus we can walk or bike to many places. Still, the idea of one of us being "trapped" at home while the other is out for several hours has thus far deterred us from cutting down to one car...

How can one of you be "trapped" if you have public transportation, Uber or can walk/bike? Even if there is an unexpected repair, it sounds like transportation isn't a problem.

 

[Bamaman]

We have too many cars, but are in the process of selling two and buying a hybrid. That will leave us with a SUV for trips and hauling grandkids, the hybrid for local travel, a pickup truck for hauling and a collector car (convertible.)

When retired, all major assets cannot be replaced at the same time. We've got to plan ahead and stage major purchases out.

 

[Corporateburnout]

DW was not too happy when I brought it up a few months ago. She insists on having two cars even though we live within a very short walking distance to a major supermarket, restaurants, coffee shops with the library at the center of town only a mile away.

Since we can afford it I won't bring it up again

 

[RetiredGypsy]

We went from two to one without issue. The cost of insurance just wasn't worth keeping the car.

We've run into scheduling conflicts maybe a dozen times over the last few years, but nothing so dire that one or the other couldn't just be rescheduled.

 

[kcowan]

We moved to one car after I retired. We use a common calendar to schedule anything requiring it. So far no need for emergency transport.

After we bought our snowbird Place, we drove the car there and left it. Tried zero car for awhile and decided that it was workable but why should we bother?

 

[Scuba]

How can one of you be "trapped" if you have public transportation, Uber or can walk/bike? Even if there is an unexpected repair, it sounds like transportation isn't a problem.

You're right, it's more of a mindset than a true problem of being trapped. We are used to being able to jump in a car and go whenever we want. Dropping a car would require a mindset adjustment as we would at times have to depend on others (bus, train, Uber) to get somewhere. The real issue is losing some flexibility, convenience and independence. OTOH, we could probably function just fine and would save money on vehicle maintenance, licensing & insurance.

 

[splitwdw]

Scuba, You are so right about mind set. If you do sell 1 vehicle, nothing stops you from buying another if it doesn't work out. Guess other mind set would be when does "my" car become "our" car. I know my husband and I refer to "my" suv and "his" truck" but the corvette is "ours".

 

[rodi]

For now we have 2 cars... mainly because during the school year I have to schlep kids home from school in the afternoon... and if they have swim team practice or robotics - I'm gone for a longer period of time.

That said - DH's truck sits in the garage 99% of the time. He has to make a point to drive it every 10 days or so. We both prefer to take the bus if we have meetings or errands downtown since parking is expensive... The kids use the bus to get to school.

As soon as the kids are launched we'll drop to one... we've already discussed it and agree.

 

[athena53]

DH and I had one car for 11 years. He was retired, I was employed. For a few years he drove me to work every day, then he drive me if he needed the car. For a few years after that I was teleworking 3 days a week, but then changed jobs to one with a 5-day a week-in-the-office culture. Back to DH driving me if he needed the car. In 2014 we decided it was getting too hectic and bought a second car. Ironically, I quit 3 months later.

When we had one car, we'd rent one on the few occasions we both needed it all day. Cheaper than owning a second one. Neither was ever in the shop more than a few hours and DH was always OK with taking it there and waiting.

I sold the older car a few months after DH died. Good to be rid of the maintenance, registration and insurance. I get regular maintenance done at a dealership(it's where DDIL used to work and if I arrive with my granddaughter we get the royal welcome so I figure they won't rip me off). There's a local repair shop in town that will pick me up and drop me off if necessary for other work, but I can also bicycle back and forth in good weather. Very happy with just one car for now.

 

[LRDave]

We will have 2. CR-V 2009 for most driving and a 2010 Tacoma 4door-cap-towing package.


I plan on keeping the Tacoma for the rest of our retirement lives. I need a truck in the country (hauling around dogs, towing, trailer, kayaks/canoe, etc.), but the annual miles will go to a very low number.


The CR-V - will need to replace it but will likely drive it a year or two more. Thinking about a Forester next time around....

 

[ceciledian]

Two cars for now and the foreseeable future. When we go up north to our cabin for weeks at a time we only take one, and manage it with minimal disruption.

 

[Sojourner]

Good point about a car to drive if one is in the shop. We can afford two, but eventually one or both will need major repairs.

I have two cars, and I've been quite pleased about that on numerous occasions when one of them was in the shop for maintenance or a multi-day repair job. I remember thinking how inconvenient and limiting it would be to not have a 2nd car whenever that happened, and after a while I started to firmly believe that having two cars was a pretty essential part of my lifestyle.

Well... that was then and this is now. These days, with services like Uber and Lyft being so widespread, convenient, and reasonably priced, it's actually kind of hard for me to justify having two cars. Honestly, it's purely a luxury... and a rather expensive one. I could easily afford dozens of Uber rides every year for what I pay in taxes, tags, insurance, maintenance, and gas for my 2nd car.

Probably the only reason I'm likely the keep the 2nd car is that it's fun to drive, it's a bit of a "head-turner", and I can easily afford it. But it really makes little sense on a practical level.

 

[Walt34]

Our neighborhood is not considered walkable (the "walk score" is a pathetic 4/100), so I did wonder if the person staying home while the other ran errands would feel "trapped"..

I hadn't heard of the "walk score" and had to look that one up. Our neighborhood has a score of 2/100 so a car is a virtual necessity.

Hence, two vehicles, one a 2003 GMC pickup and a 2014 Honda Accord. The Honda is used most, the pickup I sometimes have to make a point to drive once a week or so. But it makes up for it when we need to move something large or heavy.

DW is sometimes gone for a day or three babysitting grandnephews or grandnieces so yes, I don't want to have to stay home for days at a time.

 

[NW-Bound]

I hadn't heard of the "walk score" and had to look that one up. Our neighborhood has a score of 2/100 so a car is a virtual necessity...

I heard of "walk score" before, but did not look up for my homes. Just now, see that the metro one has a score of 36. Seems about right.

The boondocks one has a score of 0. The nearest movie theater and Walmart are 40 miles away. For Trader Joe's, Costco and the likes, I will have to drive 130 miles one way.

 

[Scuba]

I just looked up our walk score. It's 93. Hence my wondering if we really need two cars.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

How about...None. We walk extensively in our small city and otherwise rely on the excellent train, bus, ferry system here in Switzerland. We rent a car when we need one for trips to places that are only accessible by car. Even gave away my bicycle and now use a country-wide bike sharing service that is cheap and convenient. The city bus has a stop just outside my apartment building and goes by every 15 minutes into the center. It's a nice feeling to pay once a year for a rider's card and never worry about maintenance, taxes, gas, washing/waxing/vacuuming the damn interior, road permits, etc.

-BB

 

[splitwdw]

I just looked up our walk score. It's 93. Hence my wondering if we really need two cars.

Does your husband not want to give up one of the cars?

 

[Corporateburnout]

I disagree with our walk score of 36. I live within a 3-5 minutes walk to Walgreens, stop and shop, dunkin donuts and few restaurants. We're also a 15 minutes walk to the center of town where most banks, post office and town hall are located. I think we can easily manage with only one car but it limits DW flexibility if I have the car when her friends call for an impromptu lunch get together

 

[Ronstar]

4 cars. We need to downsize. We get along fine at our snowbird place with 1.

 

[Scuba]

Does your husband not want to give up one of the cars?

When I first asked him, he didn't want to even think about it. But we managed fine with just one in the VI's for 3 months, so he's a bit more willing to think about it now. We can afford two, but I feel like it might be better to cut down to one and use the money saved on more travel. We should probably keep a journal for a few months to confirm how often we use our cars separately but at the same time. I suspect not that much.