keep 2 cars or sell 1?

[pekemom]

My husband bought our last 2 cars at the auction...2001 Buick Century and 2000 Chevy Blazer.
They are paid for and we keep them both, sometimes driving and insuring only one if we want to cut
expenses.

[1Prairiegirl]

Originally Posted by joe moving

Sorry if I missed this but is there any reason why you couldn't just go without a car if you work from home? You could bike or walk, and if the weather is that bad you stay home.

Exactly why I asked the question! I was thinking the same thing, but a lot of the responses brought up some valid points I hadn't thought of...such as what if one of the cars breaks down etc....and we have thought of keeping one in the garage and taking the insurance down to comp. My concern about that is cars and made to be driven and am not sure if we did that then we might as well sell it. (but that is a question for a different forum!)
Kind of on the edge...not complaining! Nice to have decisions! I am just looking to make the best I can make regarding our money We try to live simple lives not owning more crap then when need, consuming more crap then we "should",but not being miserable either, the fine line of balance is not always cut and dry for us!
Thanks to all for your help!

[ganto_2010]

i would keep both cars. you never know when you might need em or if one breaks down you have a second one cover your butt lol. you don't want to pay for taxi's as there not cheap. and if the other car breaks down can you depend on your neighbors to be home if you need to borrow there car?? when it comes to having a car i hate depending on pepole i like to be able to get up and go if need be. never mind saving yourself the headache of the run around to find another car to borrow if you need to!!

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by 1Prairiegirl

At this time we own outright 2 vehicles. DH works out of town most days so his vehicle sits in the parking lot. I have not worked outside the home for about 4 years now, so my car also sits - a lot. The "problem" is his office is 65 miles away, so picking him up and dropping him every time isn't that simple (2-21/2 hr round trip)but is not impossible either since I set my own schedule.

Ten years ago, I bought a third car from a friend who was heading into bankruptcy. My motivation was to have a car when one of the other two did not start. My wife would take the car often leaving me to "deal with it."

That was a complete MISTAKE. The first time #2 would not start, neither would #3.

You would think that the insurance on the third car would be less as it is not being driven on a commute like the other two. WRONG! And, it was more expensive to keep three cars moving.

My solution was to sell the third car (at a loss) and develop a relationship with my local Enterprise Rent a Car place. The following year, I rented when one of the cars would not start. I spent about $240/ year, which was less than I paid for the insurance on the third car.

[creeksitter]

I see 2 problems. The big one is your DH is 65 miles from work. If this is a daily commute you need to see if you can change this. The next is this attitude: you get a flat and suddenly you need a whole set of tires. Now I don't know - maybe the tires were bald - otherwise why not just fix the flat or if that's not an option, buy one tire?

[1Prairiegirl]

Greetings creeksitter! Sometimes my husband has a daily commute, some weeks he is out of town for the entire week...we never know! Up until about 3 weeks ago (last 4 years) he was out of town every week. Murphy's law I ask post a question and then the answer becomes more apparent. (hum might that work with other decisions??)
I got all new tires because they were 5 years old, and we could see all of Ab's hair..figured it was about time, yes that's bald! We knew that expense was coming and had saved for it. If we weren't going to keep the car we didn't want to put new tires on it.
Thanks for all the replies, we will keep an eye on our situation.....