One car vs two in retirement?

[clifffaith]

I want to become a one car family once my 19 year old PT Cruiser looks at us crosswise. Cliff wants a new car. I've been plying him with information on what it costs to insure, register and maintain a second older car; a new second car will be more than that. Since retiring, the PT now gets used about twice a week when I go to a medical or hair appointment alone. If Cliff goes out alone he drives the three year old Ford Escape, if we are out together we are in the Ford. I think part of the issue is I don't like to drive the Ford, mainly because the PT fits me better, and he wants me to have something I like. But I'll have no choice but to drive the Ford once the PT conks out, and I'm fine with that. When my parents went down to one car it was an issue for awhile because my (always selfish) father expected my mother to be the one left carless while he did his thing. Cliff and I worked together for 30 years where I was in charge of the schedule and told him when and where he needed to be, and that won't change, so I am not the least bit inclined to have a second car ever again.

 

[Timeshare Von]

We will probably also ease into being a 1 car family. My hopes however are that I'll finally be able to get an RV too. LOL

 

[slip]

One car for sure.

 

[needvaca]

learn to use and love Uber.

I recently saw a presentation on energy and transportation, and they showed that unless you drive over 7,000 miles per year, it is more cost effective to use Uber or public transit. So, ditch the 2nd car.
You can even rent a car for a couple weeks a year when you need it and still come out way, way ahead

 

[clifffaith]

learn to use and love Uber.

I recently saw a presentation on energy and transportation, and they showed that unless you drive over 7,000 miles per year, it is more cost effective to use Uber or public transit. So, ditch the 2nd car.
You can even rent a car for a couple weeks a year when you need it and still come out way, way ahead

Interesting that you mention Uber. My parents, as of December, are both on the "do not drive list". Cliff will sell my sister's car, and she will take my parents' car (she lives with them). When Dad was in the hospital my mother would take Lyft there if my sister wasn't around. That went along fine until twice someone arrived in an SUV in spite of economy car being chosen. Lyft won't come into the driveway, and the street is an upward hill, so getting into the vehicle is very difficult for someone using a cane. Mom probably took 40 rides before this happened, and now she is nervous about using them again and I suspect she will do everything she can to avoid it.

 

[WVBaker]

Just one man's opinion but, we did save money going from two cars to one. Scheduling can come into play but, over time and some give and take, that can be worked out.

 

[WinniWoman]

My husband and I were just "arguing" this because we met with the financial planner and he asked us about it. I feel we could probably be ok with one car once he retires and we move and are settled. He doesn't like the idea.

He thinks for example, if I were to break down and call him he would need a way to come to check out the car and get me. I told him that is what UBER is for. I mean- how many times would this scenario actually happen?

Also- like if I wanted to go swimming at a lake for a day or shopping or whatever, and maybe he wants to go to the range, he would have to worry about driving me and picking me up and so forth.

He also looks at it as his independence- having his own car with everything in it and set up the way he wants it. To shut him up I told hm, not to worry about it now. When he is retired and we move we can keep both cars for a year or so and see how it goes. We will probably have our answer then.

So far with me stopping work. we have gone down from 3 cars to 2 with no issues. I barely ever even go anywhere.

 

[VacationForever]

We went from 3 to 2 while working and then down to 1 when we retired. It only lasted for a year. We went back to 2 because my husband said transferring golf bags from the back seat of the SUV was hurting his back. Our intention was to get a wider SUV in the trunk but did not find one. We bought a sedan with the intention of selling the SUV. But I was unwilling to give up the SUV because I love that car. In 2 years time we will revisit options and may go to 1 car which we both like.

 

[geist1223]

Patti loves her Subara Forester. For me it is fine for in town or trips of less than 2 hours. I love my Silverado Pickup. Plus it is far more comfortable for long trips. Patti will not drive the truck in town but is ok on highways and freeways. Depth preception issues. Also my truck comes in very handy for gardening supply runs and dump runs. So we will probable be 2 car until we give up driving. The Subaru is now 11 years old. The truck is 5 years old. We average less than 6,000 per vehicle per year. Also Felix does not like riding in the Subaru. Not enough head clearance.

 

[Chrisky]

DH and I have been retired for about 17 years. When he worked there was a company car and our car. Then when DH finally retired we were down to one car. Initially it was awkward, because he was doing a bit of consulting and part time teaching at a community college. But we had everything written up on a schedule who needed the car and when. There were a few hiccups with this, but when DH’s part time stuff ended, we have not had any problem.
We never had the problem of me liking one type of car or DH another. We sold the one car and then both shopped around until we found a car that suited both if us. Now we are even saving more money as have a Prius Prime which is a PHEV. So since our purchase last July we have paid a total of $200. for gas and basically use electric only driving around our town and general vicinity. When we go farther a field, we then use the hybrid part of our vehicle.
We still have a schedule but it is now on our iPhones and we know at all times who will need the car and when. No problem.

 

[Jan M.]

After my husband retired he no longer got a company car which meant we only had one car. We decided to wait for a year and see how that worked out for us. I had read a post here on TUG where someone said they found it a lot more cost effective to take an Uber or Lyft or if they needed a second car for a few days to just to rent one. So it's now been 13 months and we've never had to do any of those things. However we live close enough to a Publix grocery store, the Library and other things that we can walk or ride our bikes.

We know how much it saved us not having to pay for a second car the 40 years my husband did what he did. However if we still lived up North we would have a second car. 1. Because of where we lived. 2. Because the car insurance rates were so much lower. And we would have bought a lower priced used car and just carried liability for the second car. 3. Because we had someone who worked on our cars that was reliable and very reasonable.

 

[DrQ]

We will probably keep two as DW and I do not like driving the same type of cars. She likes her compact and I like a performance sedan. For long trips, we use my car, but when she hates driving my car and does not like me driving her car in the the sporty performance mode.

 

[Talent312]

Ever since I retired, I've lobbied my DW to dispose of our older car.
It sits in the garage, rarely used. We drive it maybe once a month.

But I shut up about it 2 mos ago when our newer car spent a week
at a collision place after I accidentally put some dents in it.

I still think we don't need two cars, but I know she'll throw that at me.
.

 

[geekette]

Two cars. I wouldn’t be ok with being stranded nor tied together at all times. Seems like it would be a pain to have to check before making independent plans in case car already going to partner’s plans.

 

[geekette]

[QUOTE="mpumilia, post: 2259798, member: 45443]...

He also looks at it as his independence- having his own car with everything in it and set up the way he wants it. To shut him up I told hm, not to worry about it now. When he is retired and we move we can keep both cars for a year or so and see how it goes. We will probably have our answer then..[/QUOTE]
Exactly where I am on it. Not every trip out is planned, either.

 

[controller1]

We've been retired over six years and still maintain two cars. We would have to decrease some of our volunteer work to go to only one vehicle as those days/times sometimes conflict with the other's schedule. Also, as @geekette stated we don't wish to lose our independence.

 

[jimf41]

Two Vespa's, 1 Chevy Pickup, 1 Outback and an Audi A4 Cabriolet. I don't want to get rid of any of them. Total annual miles on all five, maybe 8,000.

 

[jehb2]

Once we had kids and purchased a mini van we almost never used the second car. A guy knocked on my door and wanted to buy the second car and I sold it. When the mini van died we got a sporty 4-door sedan with a spacious trunk. The kids have a thousand activities but very rarely are we ever in a situation where we need a second car. If we do we just rent one. For us having 2 cars was just a waste.

 

[Passepartout]

We keep 2. Wife has her electric. I have my pickup. She won't drive the pickup, but there are the inevitable trips to the home center and garden store for stuff she doesn't want in her car. She gets all 'Holier-than Thou' about her electric vs my gas guzzler, but there is no substitute if you need the space, range, and/or carrying capacity. We use the electric 100% around town because of the low cost- I think we last bought any gas in January, and there's virtually no maintenance. Consequently, I REALLY gotta call for an oil change appointment on the pickup. Thanks for starting that thread, Faith.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

We plan on going to 1 car when I retire in 2027.

 

[Luanne]

Two. I can't imagine a) being dependent on someone else for transportation, b) needing to be sure the car was available, c) going everywhere together.

 

[Beachclubmum]

I would love to go down to one car; we currently have 5, which sounds nutty, but it makes sense. One car will be re-titled to my son when he graduates this spring. Another car my high school aged son drives and will take with him to college next year; it's a compact SUV which I find is perfect for that stage when they're moving in and out of dorms and apartments all the time. My DH has his luxury sedan which is his baby. You'll have to pry the keys to my beloved Landcruiser from me when I die...it's such a workhorse, in perfect condition, and going strong with 300,000 miles; I get offers for it all the time. The last car is pure fun...a silver 2004 Mercedes CL 500 2 door coupe with only 45k miles. My dad bought it new and passed it on to me a couple of years ago. Now that I'm down to only one non-driving younger child at home the 2 door works out ok. Like I said, it's pure fun to drive around. Life would be a lot simpler with one car though...

 

[clifffaith]

We keep 2. Wife has her electric. I have my pickup. She won't drive the pickup, but there are the inevitable trips to the home center and garden store for stuff she doesn't want in her car. She gets all 'Holier-than Thou' about her electric vs my gas guzzler, but there is no substitute if you need the space, range, and/or carrying capacity. Consequently, I REALLY gotta call for an oil change appointment. Thanks, Faith.

We are supposed to be downsizing, but Cliff is one of those who can't stand to throw anything away. I got fifteen minutes of work out of him just now because I want to have a May garage sale and I need the garage free of things he does not want to sell so I can use the shelves to lay stuff out. It seems to cause him stress -- even just moving things around that I am not asking him to sell or trash. I did get him to give up a brand new box of oil, plus a spare. If you lived nearby passepartout I'd give it to you! The old work truck was an oil guzzler. If I'd noticed the box of oil I would have given it to the guy that bought the truck for $600 in November. That was a Nextdoor transaction that went well -- advertised "FREE gas dryer if you put the defunct washing machine at the curb for me". Got a taker (who decided the old Maytag was worth repairing so he took it with him along with the dryer) who asked "what else ya got?". He took a huge metal drawer unit for $100 while he was here, and said "I know someone who would want that ladder". So the second guy came and bought the ladder, and also said "what else ya got?" and Cliff sold him the truck!

 

[Kel]

We've been retired 6 years. I don't see us going to one car for a long time (I drive a Honda and my husband drives a Subaru). We also have a 4WD Chevy pickup truck with a Lance camper that stays on the truck most of the time. We camp as much as we timeshare. Happy travels!

 

[Wyominguy]

If you downsize to only one commuter car then it is time to add a sports car!!