Thinking about becoming a one-car family

[Elleshoodat]

Good morning!

DH's car is going to die soon (right when we're about to pay off my car), and we're thinking about sharing the one car rather than financing a new (well, used) car.

We think we have a good handle on the pros and cons for us; the main "pro" is obviously to save money for retirement, college for DS, etc. As for the cons, we know we will both have to make some sacrifices.

If nothing else, we will most likely try it for a few weeks to see if it works for us -- but I'd like to hear your experiences.

Are you a one-car family? How does it work for you? If you aren't a one-car family, have you ever thought about becoming one? What's stopped you from doing so?

 

[patsal]

Wow, that is brave, we just did kind of the oposite and became a three car family. With DH and I on very different work schedules that take us in opposite directions and a 16 and 20 yo at home we needed the ability to get all of us where we had to be without insane hassle.

Good luck! Your idea of trying it sounds good. Who knows, maybe it will work for you.

My sister and her family went to one car. She is landlocked and pretty much stuck at home all tlhe time--she can only shop when her DH is off, can't get the boys to appointments, etc. I know I couldn't do it.

 

[DawnM]

If we could we might try. The only way it would work is if we moved closer to the train station so DH could walk to get there. Right now he drives 13 miles each way to the train station and rides the train the rest of the way to work.

Thankfully all of our cars are paid for at this time so we don't need to worry about it.

Only you know if it will work for you.

If it meant me stuck at home all day with no transportation I would NOT want to try it. We live a ways out and there is no public transportation or anything near me.

Dawn

 

[ancestry]

Are you a one-car family? How does it work for you? If you aren't a one-car family, have you ever thought about becoming one? What's stopped you from doing so?

I wish we could be but we are actually a three car family. However, we live in the middle of no-where. No public transportation and nothing within walking distance. The closest grocery store is over 10 miles away. DD is a full time college student and works almost full time. She couldn't get to school or work without a car. DH also is a full time college student and works full time. He couldn't get to work or school without a car.

I work part time out of the house and full time in the house and have three other children (other than DD mentioned above). I have to have a car to get back and forth to work and to pick-up/drop-off the other three kids as necessary.

There is no way we could ever live with one car unless some of us quit our jobs and sat at home all day.

Now if we lived in a city with decent public transportation options like we used to (i.e. Pittsburgh) then we probably could drop down to one or two cars.

 

[raraloveseeyore]

We are a one car family and I will say that sometimes it is hard. My husband is retired and I work four days a week. In order to save money, I drive to work three days and on Friday my husband takes me to work. That day he does the banking and the grocery shopping and whatever else needs doing. We try to plan all our appointments on Monday when I am off. It works for us and we are saving money.

 

[kacaju]

We are a two car family with 3 drivers. It takes a lot of patience and communication to share a car.
How busy are you? For us,as a family of 5, at least 2 of us have some kind of meeting, practice...whatever every night of the week.

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

I wish we could be but we are actually a three car family. However, we live in the middle of no-where. No public transportation and nothing within walking distance. The closest grocery store is over 10 miles away.

Now if we lived in a city with decent public transportation options like we used to (i.e. Pittsburgh) then we probably could drop down to one or two cars.

Yep, me too, and I DO stay at home!! DH's job keeps him out all hours, we never know when he'll get home, so it just didn't work for us... we tried when our car broke down. Now if I didn't have the boys do anything we'd be fine, but DS and I take Tae Kwon Do and DS is trying soccer. We missed a few TKD classes when we were trying the one car thing because DH didn't make it home in time. I think there are ways that it would work for a lot of people if they sacrificed... extra time waiting for the other person here and there, combining trips, using public transportation... but for a lot of people it just can't work. I wish you luck with it, I sure wish we could make it go! But we do drive older cars, all paid for just need to do work on them off and on... luckily DH can fix anything!

 

[2disneyboys]

in Theory, I love the ideal of a one car family... however, 2 cars are a neccesaity for our family. DH has a random schedule (he basicly works when the ships come in and finds out if he has to work tomorrow between 5 and 9pm tonight.. so random schedule AND pretty short notice of his schedule. I work all day, plus the small school the boys go to does not have bussing, so I have to leave my house, drive about 10 miles in one direction to drop them off, then turn around, go back past my house (10 miles) and then drive another 15 miles to get to my office. so basicly 35 miles each morning and again each eve.. thats not counting dr appts etc. I also have to use my car for work some, so the few times one of our cars are in the shop and we are down to just 1 car it's a NIGHTMARE. Thankfully, both our cars are paid for (one is 10 years old and 1 is 5 years old) and we are working on a "car fund" so that when one of our current cars takes it last breath, we'll be able to go out and pick up a reliable "new to us" car to keep us going. I really hope to never have another car payment!!!

If you think it's something as a family you could do, then I think its a great ideal to try it out for a few weeks (maybe like 6-8 weeks) It has to be long enough that "life" can happen around you and you make sure you can adjust/deal with only having 1 car. the savings in your pocket and the impact on the environment are huge "pro's" to really consider if it's something that will work for your family. Good Luck!

 

[mhsjax]

Good luck with that. I don't see how it is possible for most people. Take us for example. DH works is self employed, he is out and about during the afternoons and on weekends for work. We have 3 kids and on at least 3 days a week they have to be in 2 or 3 different places at different times and it can be a total of 40 minutes between locations. It won't work for us.

Yesterday DD had to go to the Dr, thought she had appendicitis. DH had to work. One car just wouldn't cut it.

 

[DisneyDizzy]

We've been a one car family for 4 years. I won't say it was easy but it was nice to only have one car payment! Luckily, when I wanted or needed the car my husband could take the express bus to downtown. We live about 30 miles from town but in a very popular area that has a direct bus.

That said, I hated taking him to the bus that early in the morning. I'd have to take my son, and then we had the baby and it became impossible. OK, not impossible, just not a lot of fun. Mostly I just waited to run errands in the evenings and on the weekends. We made it work because saving that money was really important to us. It was super hard at first but once we figured out a routine, it just became our way of life.

We saved enough to buy a second car just recently. We had to buy one earlier than we intended because of extenuating circumstances. However, I like having the car but I almost never use it! I'm slowly getting out of my old routine. Somedays I'm like, "I need groceries. Guess I'll go tonight. Oh WAIT, we could go now." But then I have to take the baby and sometimes I STILL wait for my DH to get home so I can go alone.

I'd say it was very much worth the inconvenience in the end. But, I'm going to enjoy having that second car now. Well, as soon as I get used to having it around!

 

[DisneyDizzy]

Good luck with that. I don't see how it is possible for most people. Take us for example. DH works is self employed, he is out and about during the afternoons and on weekends for work. We have 3 kids and on at least 3 days a week they have to be in 2 or 3 different places at different times and it can be a total of 40 minutes between locations. It won't work for us.

Yesterday DD had to go to the Dr, thought she had appendicitis. DH had to work. One car just wouldn't cut it.

I should say my husband has a somewhat flexible schedule. So, in situations like this, he would just come home and I'd take one or the other kid to the doctor/ER. We managed.

 

[bettymae1121]

You need to make sure you have a back up plan if your car winds up in the shop. Basicly you'll need to rent a car for however long it will take to make the repair, so you'll need to either be able to work that into your monthly budget or have the savings to cover both the rental and the repair. I'd also get either AAA or some type of roadside assistance for tows and such. Because you know the car won't break down at home, you'll be out and about someplace!

DH and I have two cars, my little Saturn and DH's Ford Ranger truck. But the truck is A) a gas hog and B) a stick shift, which I can't drive. So since I work FT from home and DH is on 3rd shift anyway, he takes the car to work which leaves me without a vehical at night. I only take the car on weekends when I need to run errands, or the occasional trip into my workpalce durring the week (when he's at home sleeping). The only time he'll take the truck to work is if I really need the car during the week, but that's pretty rare.

 

[Elleshoodat]

If you think it's something as a family you could do, then I think its a great ideal to try it out for a few weeks (maybe like 6-8 weeks) It has to be long enough that "life" can happen around you and you make sure you can adjust/deal with only having 1 car. the savings in your pocket and the impact on the environment are huge "pro's" to really consider if it's something that will work for your family. Good Luck!

Thanks, 2disneyboys!

Luckily our DS is only 6 months old, so no school or extracurricular-activity schedules to worry about yet. DH and I both work, but he works closer to home than I do, so we would have to leave home a little earlier in the mornings so I could drop him off at work and DS off at daycare before coming to work.

It may not end up being feasible, but we figure there's no harm in trying.

 

[mrsklamc]

I wish. DH is a 'what if' thinker and is sure that if he took the only car to work, there would be a need to drive someone to the ER.

 

[Elleshoodat]

You need to make sure you have a back up plan if your car winds up in the shop. Basicly you'll need to rent a car for however long it will take to make the repair, so you'll need to either be able to work that into your monthly budget or have the savings to cover both the rental and the repair. I'd also get either AAA or some type of roadside assistance for tows and such. Because you know the car won't break down at home, you'll be out and about someplace!

Very true. We have AAA, but it would be rather inconvenient to have to rent a car. Not so much on our finances, but just a hassle in general.

 

[mhsjax]

I should say my husband has a somewhat flexible schedule. So, in situations like this, he would just come home and I'd take one or the other kid to the doctor/ER. We managed.

That is good that you can, we could not. He travels for work and I never know where he will be, plus with his job, he just can't leave because something at home is wrong, unless it was life threatening. But hey, if it works it is a great money saving idea.

 

[auralia]

problems i ran into... doctors appts couldn't do any cuz dh had car at work or i had to get up and drive him to work include here school issues sick kids appointments of other kinds... no grocery shopping or getting erands done when dh is at work (or you depending who works) so all that stuff will have to be done afte rwoork... if yoru kids have something "special and dh or you have to work you will need to find a ride for the kids or drive dh to work then he has to wait for you to pick him up.... it is really tough my dh is in the miltary and we did it for 7 years with NO kids 18 months after we had our first we bought another car i had to bring him to work or rely on him for everything. ick!

 

[amylynne01]

I think it really depends on your situation. We could easily do it. DH works 7p-7a, so that just means no trips out after dinner if he's working. I'd have the car during the day to do whatever I needed to do. If he worked days, it wouldn't work. he works 30 minutes away and has to be there at 7a which means this mama is NOT driving him there lol. He also only works 3 days a week (36hrs total), so the car is only an issue for that time. The other 4 days we're both home.

That being said, we have not gone to 1 car although I have suggested it a few times. It's a backup plan in case anything happens and we need more money monthly because we don't really NEED 2 cars, but they're nice to have. You also have to consider the savings in gas and insurance by going to 1 car.

 

[sevans89]

We've had only one car for about the last 6 years. It helps that we live in an area with very good public transportation. I'm the one that has the car all day. DH walks 5 minutes to the bus stop. He does have to take a bus and subway to get to his work, but it's right across from the subway station. I thought he would hate it when we started (when our second car died), but he actually finds it somewhat less stressful than driving in stop and go traffic. He now just puts his iPod on and reads a book.

There's really only been a handful of times over the past 6 years that I wished we had more than one car. We'll stay like this for as long as possible. Things may change once DD is older and into activities and we're going in two different directions. But, especially with the crazy gas prices these days, it's nice to only have to fill up one car!

 

[Scott'sAuntJill]

Yup and have been for about 4 years like a PP. We made the decision when I was laid-off from my previous job. We gave up my mini-van (I do still miss the space sometimes) and kept the smaller car. No car payment, insurance and fees, regular maintenance on only one car.

For us it works really well. I work from a home office 2-3 days/week so I don't need the car then. On days when I am out in the field for assessments, I can drop DH at his office on my way - both of us have flexible schedules so we can adjust fairly easily. I don't feel stuck if I don't have the car; I can walk to the CVS, the bakery, the coffee shop, the neighborhood grocer, the train station. On the few occasions when I travel out of town, DH can take the bus or he gets a ride with a neighbor. If there was an emergency and I didn't have the car, we have friends nearby or I could ask a neighbor. When DH's son is with us, he can ride his bike or walk to the park, the pool, the pizza shop, ice cream stand, the basketball courts, take the bus to the mall.

For us an unexpected "pro" is that we have more time/do more things together. On the days when I do drive him in and pick him up, we can talk about our day and other things with no distractions. We look for ways to combine our errands which has also been budget friendly (less impulse shopping). We're researching replacing our current car, but I think we will still stick with just one.