Thinking about becoming a one-car family

[Beezle2]

We have been a one car family for over a year now and we are making it work. We have one paid for car and are saving a ton of money on car payments, insurance, and gas. We really didn't have much of a choice after Dh lost his job but it has turned out ok. We are lucky that DH works close to where we live, less than 2 miles, DD's school is less than a mile, we can walk downtown, less than a mile, etc. I was ride sharing to get back and forth to school but I am glad that is over for now.

We are all going to ride our bikes a lot this summer and try and get by on 1-2 tanks of gas per month. Our daughter is not in lots of activities, we did Destination Imagination in the Fall (made it to State Finals!), and she is doing Girls on the Run this Spring. Both of those things were at the school though which is close. I am going to do Summer child care in my home this summer so she will have kids to play with and we have a pool so we won't need trips to the beach.

That got long but the gist of it is that it can work I am suprised that we have been able to make it work and thrilled that we have been able to deal with having our income cut in half. It has been an adjustment.

edited to add: didn't read all the way through before I posted and didn't realize there was drama Not picking any side just saying what we did and how it worked for us.

 

[Ephany]

My friends thought they wanted to become a one-car family and on the surface it looked like it would work. One works 12 hour days 3-4 days per week, the other spouse is a SAHparent. They tried for about a month and at the end, they both decided that the savings weren't worth their sanity. They were really glad that they did a trial run, it helped them figure out that it wasn't for them before they got rid of the second vehicle.

 

[DawnM]

I am going to make another comment that is not meant to be argumentative at all.

For US, going to 1 car wouldn't save all that much $$. We currently have 3 cars, all paid for. One is on its last leg and will probably die soon. However, since it was paid for and worth very litte, it was actually more economical to keep it and have it as a commuter car.

Our comprehensive and collision for all 3 cars in NC is less than $100/month and dropping one car from the mix only saves $18/month.

DH is very good with fixing cars. His dad taught him. We haven't paid for a rapair since we got married other than when our VUE had an electrical problem which he couldn't fix. So, upkeep on the cars has been fairly minimal as well.

With no car payments for the last 6 years, insurance at about $96/mo for 3 cars, and repairs and upkeep less than $100/mo for all 3 cars, it would not lessen the cost much to go to 1 car.

So, for some, going to 1 car (or in our case down to 2) may not save all that much.

Dawn

 

[Lucille1963]

I aslo love how some people have said that they can "borrow a car if they need it, How nice to borrow something that someone else pays for.

Borrowing, is not constant, its kinda like visiting friends at their summer home. Just because its nice to visit, doesn't mean we're going to go out and buy our own.

It is nice and I am thankful. I do take advantage of my parent's (2 adults with no kids at home) need to be a 3 car family (which is practical for them). They'd prefer to see me borrow one occasionally than spend the money renting one. Our neighborhood is super friendly and I've turned down borrowing a car 500x more than I've accepted.


When we chose where to live we wanted it to be as central as possible. While many of our friends moved far away to get more space and fancier housing, we chose to be close to downtown so we wouldn't need a car or spend the hours commuting. I'm not saying one is better than the other, I'm just saying that this was the conscious choice that we made. I don't think everyone could just snap their fingers and get by with less. Its a process.