FIREing on one or two cars? - if you do not consume more than 6K-8K miles a year?

[Sue J]

We have 2 cars and plan on keeping both of them.

Mine is a 2014 Toyota Corolla that I bought 1 year ago. I took it in for an oil change even though I've only driven 1600 miles in a year!

DH drives my hand-me-down 2003 Toyota Camry. It has about 86,000 miles on it and is in very nice shape for being 15 years old. We keep the Camry because we already own it and it's been inexpensive to maintain and insure.

One of the reasons we keep it is that sometimes we loan it to our son and DIL. She is immigrating from China but when she has been here it has been helpful to them to have a 2nd car so he can go to work and she's not left isolated. We are more than willing to loan it to them for blocks of time (like 3 weeks or so) and we can accommodate that pretty well but it does take some planning, compromising and adjusting on our part. We just like our independence and the ability to go somewhere without leaving the other one stranded. Just takes some planning.

 

[youbet]

We will retire next June. Our plan is to keep 3 cars -- 2018 Subaru Forester (just bought in December), 2019 Mini Cooper (to be purchased this coming spring when I retire the 2008 Civic) and 2001 BMW Z3 Roadster.

We're on the three car plan too. Two daily driver sedans and an F-150 for fishing trips and to pull the camper. We could dump one of the sedans and use the F-150 as a daily driver but, living in the shadows of the Chicago skyline, the truck is a pita to maneuver in traffic and park, so we just let it sit in the garage between trips.

When we get tired of the camper, we'll downsize to two cars. Eventually one car I suppose, but not anytime soon.

 

[Christine]

I have a motorhome and a small runaround. And I've been thinking about selling the little Merc since I do atleast 90% of my driving with the MH. Taxis and rentals if needed would be good enough. And my electric bike.

I could have used it as a toad but it seems like too much hassle. If I wanted that I'd go all out and get one of these with the garage option.

 

[youbet]

We just like our independence and the ability to go somewhere without leaving the other one stranded.

Yes, our feelings too. When I want to go someplace for a few hours, I strongly prefer to announce it rather than ask if I'm creating a problem by taking the only car.......

 

[Souschef]

My late wife's cousin, who we believe was put on earth to be a bad example, sold one of their cars.
He would take their only car into town all day, leaving his wife isolated in a mobile home park that was near nothing.

 

[audreyh1]

We quickly dropped down to one car a few months after retiring. That was now 19 years ago!

My DH does not care to drive. I am usually his chauffeur. If he takes the car it's someplace local and just for a few hours.

If we occasionally need to leave our one car for repair, Enterprise usually rents us a car for $30, and picks us up at the service place.

 

[W2R]

We will retire next June. […]

WOW!!! How exciting! If you mentioned this before, I did not realize it but how wonderful that you two can retire so soon. I am SO HAPPY for you and your DW!!!! Honestly I think you are going to absolutely love retirement.

 

[MRG]

Two vehicles with low mileage and we'll probably keep both. They have completely different uses.

My GMC pickup is a great road vehicle. We've done many 800 mile days in it, in comfort. Its 4x4 but you know it is a pickup.

The Wrangler has a different purpose. I had it towed on the last 800 mile trip. Who wants to be beat up for 800 miles? However when the snow flies and the roads vs. mud thing is going on there's no comparison.

 

[Just_Steve]

I have 3 cars, 1 is a family spare, don't cost much to keep it insured and plated. Until the day I can't drive I will never be isolated and not be able to go when I want to. Nothing is within walking distance and there is no public transit in the immediate area. Just checked my Uber app, nearest car is 45 min away so thats not a useable service.

 

[Dash man]

FIREing on one or two cars? - if you do not consumer more than 6K-8K miles a year?

We also have three cars. One is a Subaru Outback we use for the Jersey Shore and carrying any cargo we need to move. We like having a spare and don’t think the cost of a third car is a burden.

 

[Kwirk]

We drive ~18k miles/yr but have just one car. We seem never to go separate ways and we can borrow/rent if we need a second. We sit and read during minor repairs.

On the other hand, we have 2 desktop PCs, 2 notebooks, 2 phones, and one tablet.

 

[davebarnes]

We are not "retired" yet at 69 and 60.
We went to one car over a decade ago and put 4500 miles/year on it (1/2 of that is my wife's short commute).
We like to walk and our house has a WalkScore of 90.
We are using Uber a bit more lately.

My 55 year old neighbors just went to one car. She is grumpy, but he is happy (and is the bread winner).

My 45 year old neighbors are muttering about going down to one car. She works at home and he takes the bus (or walks) to work. The problem is that the logical car to drop is his beloved Jeep.

My 60 year old neighbors are muttering about going to one car. If Honda still made the Element, they would be at one now.

On the other hand, we have 2 iMacs, 1 Macbook, 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, and 3 Apple watches.

 

[brett]

We FIRED on two cars. Then gave one to our son. Did not miss it one bit. We moved to a condo that was walking distance to rapid transit. Plus, we are away for 4-6 months a year so the car is sitting there.

Picked up a 10 year old second summer car after we moved. Soft top. So now we have two. But we only insure and have one of the road for eight months or so. Now it is a 2006 Accord and a 2007 Solara. Both with very low mileage so hopefully we will not be shopping for another car for a long time.

 

[friar1610]

A 3 year old Volvo wagon, recently purchased used with very low mileage and a 2011 intermediate sized sedan purchased new, now with 80K miles. We will stick with 2 cars for the foreseeable future because we often head off in different directions, have activities/events with time conflicts, etc. If the sedan dies before one of us does, we'll probably pick up a used Civic/Corolla type to replace it if we're both still driving. Based on previous experience with Volvos, It may well outlast my driving career.

 

[Texas Proud]

I find it interesting that some people talk about both going to the same place... heck, there are times both DW and I go to the gym and we both take our own car!!! After a class I might do 20 to 30 minutes of treadmill and go home (or just go home) where DW will sometimes do a second class and then do some machines...


I do not want to have to wait around for her to finish nor have her feel any pressure to finish before she wants... it is just under 3 miles to they gym so not using much gas...


One of the things I wish people would put down is how close anything is located to their location... we are out in the burbs and nothing is really in walking distance (say 1 mile) and the closest grocery is about 1.7 miles or a 3.4 round trip that would take an hour.... vs 10 to 15 minute round trip drive...


So unless one never wants to leave without the other then you need two cars... now, not sure how good Uber is around here but there are no taxis without calling them and waiting...

 

[Walt34]

As long as we both can drive we'll have two vehicles. Right now DW's car is the 2014 Honda Accord but it is also the daily driver when we both go out, so between her running around with babysitting and being used most, it gets about 15k miles a year on it. The Honda gets almost twice the gas mileage of the truck.

The other vehicle is a 2003 GMC 4WD pickup truck we bought new when we retired. It just recently turned over 100k miles so it gets about 6k miles a year. Although it is also garage-kept I do try to make a point to drive it at least once a week since more than one mechanic has told me that the worst thing you can do to a vehicle is not drive it.

 

[audreyh1]

One of the things I wish people would put down is how close anything is located to their location... we are out in the burbs and nothing is really in walking distance (say 1 mile) and the closest grocery is about 1.7 miles or a 3.4 round trip that would take an hour.... vs 10 to 15 minute round trip drive...


So unless one never wants to leave without the other then you need two cars... now, not sure how good Uber is around here but there are no taxis without calling them and waiting...

Apparently not for us. We’re also out in the burbs and no retail or restaurants around here. But we do have bicycles. We just don’t need to go somewhere in the car very often. Exercising we do locally. Errands we tend to run together.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

FIREing on one or two cars? - if you do not consumer more than 6K-8K miles a year?

We have 3 cars. A smaller fun Mercedes for me, an E Class, and a new GMC SUV Terrain to carry stuff to Florida and just to have more space on our drives there. Always will. We live in the suburbs so you have to drive.

We both have lives! We both are independent and do lots of different things. I’ll go to the tennis club for 2-3 hours, she goes shopping with her sisters, daughter. No way am I going to sit around the house without transportation, unable to go anywhere until she gets back! And believe me....how many times have I heard...”Going to shop with my sister, probably be back in a few hours”. 6 hours later she calls....”We are at XYZ for dinner and ran into whomever so we will see you later.

Don’t know how many times I’ve gone to play tennis, then we ended up grabbing something to eat, then one of the guys wants help moving a table or whatever out of his den. 2 hour time frame turns into 5 hours. Who wants to be like a kid.....sorry I have to go home now.

We are the opposite of homebodies.

We are 63 and have active separate lives. Perhaps in our 80’s, but I doubt it.

 

[timo2]

We dropped from two to one car when we retired. Helping with that was the VW diesel buyback. The paid off VW golf diesel was purchased back by VW, so we sold the paid off Honda fit, and used the proceeds from both to pay cash for a VW Tiguan. We don't need two cars anyway, but the Tiguan is the nicest vehicle we have ever owned.

The reduced maintenance and insurance of only one care is a part of our retirement spending plan.

 

[LastOfTheBoomers]

One of the things I wish people would put down is how close anything is located to their location... we are out in the burbs and nothing is really in walking distance (say 1 mile) and the closest grocery is about 1.7 miles or a 3.4 round trip that would take an hour.... vs 10 to 15 minute round trip drive...

.

Our one car living setup:

Gym 1.4 miles
Starbucks .5 miles
Dunkin’ Donuts: .25 miles
Small coffee shop: 120yds
Supermarket: .6 miles
Target: 3.7 miles
Walmart: 3 miles
Best Buy: 2.2 miles
Restaurant 1: 100yds
Restaurant 2: 110yds
About 10 other restaurants: .40 to .80 miles
Almost forgot!
Brewery: 500yds

 

[retired1]

4 cars (2 Prius, 1 Rogue, 1 CRV) - one for each family member. 2 of the 4 belong to <21 yrs so paying insurance through the nose But everyone is happy and independent

 

[athena53]

DH and I had one car for the first 11 years of our marriage. We'd moved from NJ to KS for my job and my car had over 200,000 miles on it so we donated it to charity. DH was retired and if he needed the car for the day he drive me to work and picked me up (about half an hour each way). We decided that my work schedule was getting hectic in early 2014 and bought a second car. Ironically, I got fed up and ER'd 4 months later.

We ended up keeping both cars but after DH died I sold the older one. When I take my car in for servicing I then jog/walk to the gym, do a shorter workout and jog/walk back and by that time it's done. Uber would be an option if it needed to be kept overnight. Far cheaper than maintaining and insuring a second car "just in case".

 

[38Chevy454]

As a car guy, with 6 old classic vehicles 1937-1968, and 4 newer daily driver type vehicles, I could never imagine having only one. Or even two vehicles with one for me and one for DW. Given that we live out in the country a bit, there is no walking option or safe bicycle riding option. All of my vehicles are paid for, so the incremental cost for reg is not much, and insurance is not too bad since the old classics are on lower cost classic vehicle insurance.


Yes I could save money by getting rid of some, but for now its an acceptable expense. Heck, I have had 2 or more vehicles myself since I was 18 years old.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We have 2 paid for cars with low miles. They should last another 10 years and when 1 dies we will try sharing a car and using Uber.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

One adult driver, five vehicles: One truck (2015 F150, 30K miles), one car (2006 Subaru Outback, 143K miles), one semi-classic car (94 Camaro, 27K miles). One RV. One Tractor (1988 Kubota L seriess). Also a 20' trailer to carry the Tractor.

DS just got his permit. I don't really want him driving the truck, but the others are all manual transmission and thus not a good vehicle to learn on. So I am in a bit of a quandary as to what to do.

I need a bigger garage.