My wife and I are a one car family. When I met my wife last year she didn’t have a car and it was easy for us to stick with just one car after we got married. Since I mainly made my money from blogging I didn’t usually need to be anywhere at a particular time and could take my wife to and from work. Since then we have started working together which makes it even easier for us to be a one car family. There are both benefits and drawbacks to being a one car family though.
The main benefit to being a one car family is saving money. We only have to pay car insurance, registration, licensing, and personal property tax for one car rather than two. We are able to avoid taking out any car loans that might be needed to purchase a second car. Having just one car keeps our automotive expenses at roughly half what they would be if we had two cars. You don’t have to have an aat qualification to see that this is a good deal.
The main drawback to only having one car is when we need to be different places at the same time. This doesn’t happen too often though and we’ve always been able to plan ahead so that we can both be where we need to be. Another drawback is when we need to take the car in for repairs. Then we need to either borrow a car or hang out at the repair shop. The repair shop we usually go to has wi-fi and has pretty quick service so this hasn’t been too much of a problem either.
Most families don’t have as ideal of a situation as ours when it comes to being a one car family. It is worth examining whether your situation would allow you to be a one car family. The large savings are worth the few drawbacks.
I hope to revert to one car in retirement. It may be difficult in southern California though.
If you can swing it you would save a lot of money.
So rent a car on those those repair days or when you need two cars. Probably still cheaper than owning two cars.
We haven’t needed to rent a car yet but it is an option.
Hi there.
Same as yourselves we do not own second car for last 5 years. I could only count benefits. Yes, it is an occasional logistics nightmare..but every little helps on our way to financial independence.
I published our budget and expenses and for a car, it is probable 2-3 K a year, easily, including the amortization.
I would think it would be even more than 2-3k but even that can make a big difference in your budget.
We have children and live in a rural area so a 2nd car has become a necessity. Also, we can’t afford to be without a car for even one day.
Our 2nd car is an 8 yr. old beater that we paid only $4000 for.
Keep in mind that owning a 2nd car reduces the number of miles on
your primary (nicer) vehicle.
Besides fuel, it costs us just $90 to license the 2nd car and about $35
each month in insurance. For us it is worth the peace of mind knowing
that neither of us will be “stranded” in the event of an emergency or breakdown.
That sounds like the best solution for your situation.