Going from 2 cars to a shared car (55, divorce, move)
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We sold both of our cars five years into retirement and bought one new smaller car. Needs changed. We moved to another state, sold the trailer (thus did not need big Ford), and husband can no longer drive. However, for the first five years I loved having two cars. If he could drive now, I would still want two cars. I would love to "go" without him.
Two cars are expensive. Two tanks of gas, two registrations and insurance, two repair costs and no matter what car you have repair costs are going up up up due to cheaper cars and ethanol eating your engine.
That does not mean twice the cost, unless two people are always going to different places at the same time. If you drive 10,000 miles a year with one car, would you drive 20,000 miles a year if you had two? Probably not. Not twice the gas, usually not twice the maintenance costs. I generally get a significant discount on insurance for a second car.
I'm not saying it doesn't cost more, but it should not implied that it is twice the cost, either...
I don't see us cutting to one car until driving skills for one of us deteriorates. (Can you tell I've lived in So. Cal. all my life...).
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 07-15-2016 at 01:35 PM..
Reason: Part of your reply was to a deleted post...
After decades of 2 or three cars, I did downsize to one midsize SUV, a Rav4. The inconveniences have been few and far between but the money savings are consistent! Very seldom do we NEED 2 vehicles and now if we both want to go someplace different, we negotiate or find a way to ride together.
When I worked 50 miles away from home I had no choice. Now I do and I pick the cheaper option!
Retired and we went down to one vehicle, and it has been fine. We ended up buying a Dodge Grand Caravan just for the versatility of being able to haul cargo as well as roomy for people, and gets 26 mpg. My wife at first wasn't sure about a van but after owning it for a year we both still love the car!
My husband and I both had cars when we were working but being retired, there is only one car. It's never been a problem at all. We do have bus and train service on the rare occasions that we would both need to go in opposite directions at the same time. Mostly we just work out which day one of us wants the car or else we go somewhere together.
We save on car insurance, excise tax, registration, and inspection. dh is a car man whose specialty is MGs and has had five cars at a time when he lived in the UK. Now when he needs his MG fix, he just drives to one of his friends' houses and works on their MGs. It's a lot cheaper and they all have fun.
Well, we have made many of the decisions about being retired. DH retired in October and we sold the big house and moved to a condo we can lock and leave and travel. Its been a lot of work just doing that. We've made a couple of trips and actually believe we will spend about half the year here and be gone about half the year....mostly in the US until our dog is no longer with us. The big question is the cars. I am considering replacing my car and DH has lots of opinions about what I should get. I am ok with his suggestions only if we get rid of his car and share. Otherwise, I want something smaller for just scooting around in town. He's afraid there will be times we'll each want to be off separately and will regret giving up the second car. We have a rail station right outside our door and can walk to shopping and restaurants. But we have never lived with just one car.
Has anyone gone down to a single vehicle and regretted it?
Maybe I am misreading your post, but I don't think this is about going to a single vehicle at all.
1. What you really want to do is replace your car with a small, short distance, easy to park vehicle.
2. Your husband is trying to force his desires into your purchase, making you feel that, yet again, this will not really be your car.
3. You countered by telling him that he will have to get rid of HIS car if he wants to tell you what to do.
4. As a total surprise to you, he is actually considering the idea.
5. You find yourself in the position of having to argue against your own idea (#3), because all your really want is to choose a simple car for yourself (#1).
My suggestion is to find the car you want for your own and buy it. You will feel trapped if you go to one car at this point in your life, you still need to have a measure of independence, you've worked for it, and you deserve it. Good luck!
Maybe I am misreading your post, but I don't think this is about going to a single vehicle at all.
1. What you really want to do is replace your car with a small, short distance, easy to park vehicle.
2. Your husband is trying to force his desires into your purchase, making you feel that, yet again, this will not really be your car.
3. You countered by telling him that he will have to get rid of HIS car if he wants to tell you what to do.
4. As a total surprise to you, he is actually considering the idea.
5. You find yourself in the position of having to argue against your own idea (#3), because all your really want is to choose a simple car for yourself (#1).
My suggestion is to find the car you want for your own and buy it. You will feel trapped if you go to one car at this point in your life, you still need to have a measure of independence, you've worked for it, and you deserve it. Good luck!
Has anyone gone down to a single vehicle and regretted it?
We have been down to one car since October 2014. On SOME days, I do really regret it.
For example, today, I rode the bus to downtown Tucson and walked over to the bus I was transferring to. Two women started a major fist fight over some guy and that pretty much delayed all bus traffic for the next 15 minutes. What is usually an 80 minute commute turned into 95 minutes. I could have driven the same distance in 35 minutes easily.
The real problem is that it is difficult to coordinate things when people have different interests that require them to be in different locations.
However, there is always Enterprise RAC on those days where my interests take me out of time. I figure that I could rent a car 60+ days a year and still come out ahead over having to purchase another vehicle.
Let's just say that the jury is still out.
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