Thinking about becoming a one-car family

[Elleshoodat]

We had only one car for a few years. I was an at home mom with DH working. We didn't have cash for another car and didn't want unnecessary debt.
My thoughts:
1-it can't hurt (too much) to try.
2-It is quite possible to live that way--it just takes extra communication, planning, and togetherness.
3- Living with only 1 car will REALLY make you appreciate when you have the cash on hand to go back to two cars.
Good Luck!!!

Thanks, kimara! I agree with all of your points.

 

[scrapquitler]

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.

I think that if you can make it work, it is a great way to save a lot of money.

That said, we could not make it work in my house. DH works at home and I only work part time, so on the face it might look like we could make it work, but it totally does not. Though DH is work at home most of the time, he often has to go into the office at last minute notice to have a meeting or something (he just found out NOW, 12:15pm) that he has to go to physically be at a client meeting at 3:00, 30 miles from here. Well, my DD needs to be picked up from school while he is there, and I have a meeting for a community organization at 6pm, so we'd be in trouble right now if I had didn't have a car. If my DD dance year was not over, and she had to get to dance class on a day when DH had to go to one of these sorts of meetings, she'd have to forego her activitiy that day.

But if it works for you, Fabulous! I'd try it for a long trial (park one car and try very hard not to use it at all for 6-8 weeks or longer before you get rid of it). Figure out if you actually use less gas/less mileage or not...if one spouse has to drive back and forth extra times to drop the other off at work to have a car when he/she needs it, you might not be saving as much as you think you will.

 

[Elleshoodat]

We're moving cross-country in May, and part of that process has been selling a car to become a one-car household. I've been looking forward to it, so I find this thread pretty fascinating. Since we are moving, and dropping down to one car was on the table from the beginning, we chose our new location in part based on walkscore and proximity to things we cared about.

As a result, we are:
.1 miles from the train station.
a block from the nearest bus stop
.3 miles from the library/park/pool/city gym and all of the summer programs and enrichment activities they offer.
.4 miles from a Trader Joe's
.3 miles from a Safeway
.6 miles from a fancy grocer
.5 miles from goodwill and another resale shop
.4 miles from the doctor's office with family practice and specialties all under one roof
.9 miles from my daughter's school
one train stop from zipcar

It's a -good- location, with a walkscore of 95/100, but it doesn't cost any more than locations with a walkscore of 30/100. Being able to plan for a single car instead of having it happen unexpectedly really worked to our advantage.

I was worried that people might come up with insurmountable obstacles, since we've already sold our car and committed to being single-car for at least 6 months to give ourselves time to adjust.



Taxi. If a taxi isn't fast enough, you should call an ambulance anyway.



How often do people's cars have multi-day repairs? In the 11 years we owned the car we just sold, I can't remember it staying in the shop overnight more than once or twice. Roadside assistance is handy, although I HATE AAA's roadside assistance enough that I cancelled AAA over it. A once-a-year rental car for repairs (or a loaner from the shop, which is frequently cheaper) is cheap compared to owning a car (maintenance/payment/insurance/parking/registration) , and can be found via hotwire or similar for better last-minute rates.



My husband technically "could" leave because something at home was wrong, but it gives an impression that we'd rather not give; even though no one would object. As a practical matter, I consider work time sacrosanct. Unless someone is in the hospital, I don't bother him while he's at a client. Even for the hospital, I wouldn't expect him to show up, it just seems polite to let him know.

I couldn't tell you when he'll get home tonight, or where he'll be tomorrow, so my assumption is that I don't have a car, and if I need one, I need to arrange for it. I have two rental car locations within a mile and a half, and one is Enterprise, who would deliver the car and pick it up again. And there's zipcar. However, the ideal plan is for me to arrange my life so I don't need a car. I'm expecting to have no car availability except on family weekends, and can be pleasantly surprised if things work out better than that.

Cool site, thanks! And thanks for your thoughtful replies. Everything you said makes complete sense.

 

[nicj8506]

We were a one car family for over 2 years. My husband had a work van so that helped.He had to return his work van every Saturday for his days off, so Saturday I would pick him up and on Monday I would take him to work. After he quit his job with Dish, we still only had one car. I would sometimes take my husband to work, or he would drive if I knew I wasn't going to need to do anything that day. Now he works about 10 minutes from our house, so it is starting to getting to warmer he rides his bike to work on some days. We do have 2 cars now but we try not to drive his car very often. Plus I do not know how to drive his since it is a stick shift. So to me we really only have one car, since I can only drive one! If he takes my car I am still stuck at home! lol
It can work if you are really committed to it. It does take sacrifices on both parts, but you get used to it and it becomes normal to you.

 

[Alice's Mommy]

DH and I have been a one car family for 10 years. It takes a lot of work and communication to share a vehicle. There's been a lot of compromise but it's doable. I was a stay at home mom for nearly 5 of those 10 years and my DH worked 45 min away. I got used to walking to a lot of places or getting up early to drive him and then pick him up when his shift ended. There have been lots of times when I've had to wait somewhere (work usually) until whatever he needed the car for is over. We communicate A LOT and live and die by our calendar for coordination. Our rule is whoever wrote it on the calendar first gets the car.

I know that having a second car would probably be nice but honestly I can't imagine what that would be like.

 

[bumbershoot]

We went to 1 car in 2007. It's worked so well I can only recall ONE day (hour, really) when it would have been extremely convenient to have 2 cars in all that time.

BUT! This is our situation. I am at home, and we homeschool. My husband works in Seattle on a bus/train route. As it is with many Seattle companies, they give their employees transit passes which cover most of the mass transit methods here...Tacoma bus, Seattle (Metro) bus, Sounder commuter train, even the ferry system, and he has one of those passes.

Our condo is in walking distance from the free lightrail which goes to the train station and transit center, or a long walking distance from the actual train station and transit center.

Since he's been working at this job (since '07) he's never *had to* drive to work. So I have the car. I will occasionally drive up to get him (most recently when he realized, while at work, that he'd caught the stomach bug that was going around), though I usually try to schedule those days for when I have other things to do in Seattle.

I shop during the day, or on weekends when it seems like a fun family thing to do.

He travels often for work, and when it's too early for me to take him to the airport, he takes a shuttle and work pays for it.


In other living situations we've been in, having just the one car would have been very difficult. I'm NOT a morning person, and so driving him to the transit station, instead of him driving there and parking all day, would have been extremely rough on me (and on our then-new baby who has never been a morning person, not even now at nearly 7yo). If he drove there, usually it would have been difficult if not impossible to get to the transit station on foot or on the bus. And nothing else was walkable, or if it was it wasn't really safe.


But now everything I really need is walkable or safely bus-able. Banks, restaurants, grocery store (the expensive one, but in a pinch it'll do). could bus to Costco if I didn't have much to buy. Even a toy store is in walking distance. Again, it's the expensive one...


So in our situation since '07 it has worked very well. Hope it works for you! Insuring ONE car, paying ONE registration fee, and filling up just the one car is great!

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.

For us, an ER visit = ambulance. I saw your subsequent post, and for our living situation with the streets and traffic and everything to be taken into consideration, waiting for the ambulance would be faster than doing the car thing.

Plus, an ambulance has people there with life-saving equipment and drugs, so a true emergency would likely be safer with those things (and the EMTs) around.

Roadside assistance is handy, although I HATE AAA's roadside assistance enough that I cancelled AAA over it.

I've talked with a towtruck owner who said that AAA barely pays them anything, and that roadside service from *insurance companies* is far better, from the operator's point of view. I guess many tow/service people aren't part of AAA's network, but ARE part of insurance company networks, because they are treated better.

Had this convo with a guy not involved with AAA, when I had AAA but they were estimating 2 or more hours until they could help me, and they gave me this guy's phone number. (I paid him and was reimbursed by AAA later b/c they couldn't help me and I wasn't safe waiting where I was until they could)

 

[bettymae1121]

How often do people's cars have multi-day repairs? In the 11 years we owned the car we just sold, I can't remember it staying in the shop overnight more than once or twice... A once-a-year rental car for repairs (or a loaner from the shop, which is frequently cheaper) is cheap compared to owning a car (maintenance/payment/insurance/parking/registration) , and can be found via hotwire or similar for better last-minute rates.

Not often, but it can happen. Both times my car was in the shop over a week it wasn't because it broke down, but because it was in an accident (minor) and needed body work. My DH's truck blew an engine last year and it was just over 3 weeks to replace it. I agree that a once-in-a-while rental is cheaper than owning a 2nd car, I just wanted to point out that having a back-up ride (be it a rental or a loaner or a friend that can help them out) is something the OP needs to consider in making the decision.

 

[MrsPete]

We were a one-car family for the first three years of our marriage. It was a great choice; and when we were forced to add another car, we were shocked by how much our budget was strained.

When we had only one car, he was working full time and I was working half time /going to college half time. We lived 30 miles from our jobs/college, but the jobs/college were within a 5-mile radius of one another. Public transportation was not available at all. So we rode in together each morning, and one of us kept the car -- usually I kept it because I had to switch from school to work at lunchtime, but sometimes he kept it and we got together for lunch.

It really was nice sharing the car. We were newlyweds, and we were forced to spend about two hours a day in the car daily. We looked forward to that "just us" time -- no chores, no distractions.

When I finished school and started teaching, a second car became necessary. He works 30 minutes in one direction, while I work 10 minutes in the other direction. Plus I work 7-2:30, while he works 8-5; either I'd have to wait several hours after school or he'd have to go in an hour and a half early. We could "make do" occasionally, but the time sacrafice wouldn't be worth it for us. The kids don't really play into it because they do have the option of riding the school bus. As I said, we found that adding the second car strained our budget -- I went from working part-time to working full time, and we had SLIGHTLY LESS MONEY available to spend.

When we retire, we will absolutely go back to only one car.

General thoughts on the one-car concept:

1. It saves WAY more money than you think it would. I suspect that MANY two-income families are using that second income JUST to pay for the second car. Include car payment (if you have one), insurance, gas, maintenance, yearly registration fees, and -- this is the big one -- all the extra money you spend because it's so easy to run around. So many moms say, "I wish I could stay home" and so many people can't find a job these days; if more people were willing to get rid of a car, a bunch of those people could probably do without the second job . . . if they were willing to do without the second car.

2. It'd be easiest to become a one-car family if one parent stays at home. The stay-at-home parent wouldn't have to be stuck without a car all the time: Just pick two days a week and designate them as "errand days". On those days Mom drops Dad off at work and keeps the car. This small inconvenience will save plenty of money. Schedule doctor appointments on those days.

3. In case of a real emergency, call an ambulance or a taxi. How much of your running around is a real gotta-go-to-the-ER emergency? I've been once in the last decade. The need for a sick-child appointment usually becomes apparent at night, so it'd be easy enough to do the "take Dad to work thing" on an unplanned day for those rare occasions. I cannot justify maintaining a car JUST for emergency purposes.

4. Likewise, I can't justify keeping a second car JUST IN CASE one breaks down. If you're not paying for a second car, you're going to have more money in your budget -- so you can keep the one car in good repair. And if you need to occasionally rent a car, that's really quite inexpensive.

Similar topic: I love both the size and the economy of my small car. When we bought it, we agreed that it'd be worthwhile to get this small car for everyday, and with what we didn't spend on a more expensive car/don't spend weekly on gas, we could use to rent a nice van when we travel. It's a great financial choice.

5. Someone else said it requires communication and planning -- that's true. You plan to take your lunch because running out to get a burger isn't an option. You and your spouse agree that you'll do grocery shopping on the way home on Tuesday, but you hurry home on Wednesdays because that's your circle meeting at church. You do give up some ability to be spontaneous.

6. Gotta say it again: The money that you save by giving up a second car is more than you expect it is going to be. It is worth some inconvenience. The main thing is getting over the idea that all adults in America have private cars.


And finally, you can test this easily enough: Right now you HAVE two cars. Park one and see how much it impacts your life. Of course, you won't be able to test the savings, but you can estimate it.

 

[sk!mom]

We did it for about 5 years when we were first married and undoubtedly will go back to it in a few years. Right now we work on opposite sides of town, we have a DD14 in many extracurriculars, and I work 7:15-3:30 while DH works 8-5. We also live in a small city with very little public transportation.

Once DD is away at college we will consider going back to one car. If not then, it's definitely part of our retirement plans.

 

[Elleshoodat]

We were a one-car family for the first three years of our marriage. It was a great choice; and when we were forced to add another car, we were shocked by how much our budget was strained.

When we had only one car, he was working full time and I was working half time /going to college half time. We lived 30 miles from our jobs/college, but the jobs/college were within a 5-mile radius of one another. Public transportation was not available at all. So we rode in together each morning, and one of us kept the car -- usually I kept it because I had to switch from school to work at lunchtime, but sometimes he kept it and we got together for lunch.

It really was nice sharing the car. We were newlyweds, and we were forced to spend about two hours a day in the car daily. We looked forward to that "just us" time -- no chores, no distractions.

When I finished school and started teaching, a second car became necessary. He works 30 minutes in one direction, while I work 10 minutes in the other direction. Plus I work 7-2:30, while he works 8-5; either I'd have to wait several hours after school or he'd have to go in an hour and a half early. We could "make do" occasionally, but the time sacrafice wouldn't be worth it for us. The kids don't really play into it because they do have the option of riding the school bus. As I said, we found that adding the second car strained our budget -- I went from working part-time to working full time, and we had SLIGHTLY LESS MONEY available to spend.

When we retire, we will absolutely go back to only one car.

General thoughts on the one-car concept:

1. It saves WAY more money than you think it would. I suspect that MANY two-income families are using that second income JUST to pay for the second car. Include car payment (if you have one), insurance, gas, maintenance, yearly registration fees, and -- this is the big one -- all the extra money you spend because it's so easy to run around. So many moms say, "I wish I could stay home" and so many people can't find a job these days; if more people were willing to get rid of a car, a bunch of those people could probably do without the second job . . . if they were willing to do without the second car.

2. It'd be easiest to become a one-car family if one parent stays at home. The stay-at-home parent wouldn't have to be stuck without a car all the time: Just pick two days a week and designate them as "errand days". On those days Mom drops Dad off at work and keeps the car. This small inconvenience will save plenty of money. Schedule doctor appointments on those days.

3. In case of a real emergency, call an ambulance or a taxi. How much of your running around is a real gotta-go-to-the-ER emergency? I've been once in the last decade. The need for a sick-child appointment usually becomes apparent at night, so it'd be easy enough to do the "take Dad to work thing" on an unplanned day for those rare occasions. I cannot justify maintaining a car JUST for emergency purposes.

4. Likewise, I can't justify keeping a second car JUST IN CASE one breaks down. If you're not paying for a second car, you're going to have more money in your budget -- so you can keep the one car in good repair. And if you need to occasionally rent a car, that's really quite inexpensive.

Similar topic: I love both the size and the economy of my small car. When we bought it, we agreed that it'd be worthwhile to get this small car for everyday, and with what we didn't spend on a more expensive car/don't spend weekly on gas, we could use to rent a nice van when we travel. It's a great financial choice.

5. Someone else said it requires communication and planning -- that's true. You plan to take your lunch because running out to get a burger isn't an option. You and your spouse agree that you'll do grocery shopping on the way home on Tuesday, but you hurry home on Wednesdays because that's your circle meeting at church. You do give up some ability to be spontaneous.

6. Gotta say it again: The money that you save by giving up a second car is more than you expect it is going to be. It is worth some inconvenience. The main thing is getting over the idea that all adults in America have private cars.


And finally, you can test this easily enough: Right now you HAVE two cars. Park one and see how much it impacts your life. Of course, you won't be able to test the savings, but you can estimate it.

Thanks so much, MrsPete! All of that makes so much sense.

Our work schedules are fairly flexible, so I don't see that being a huge issue. And I agree with you and many others who've pointed out that when a true emergency arises, there are ambulances, neighbors, taxis, etc.

You definitely piqued my interest by pointing out how much money it saves, and I agree that the main hurdle for most is getting over the stigma that everyone "needs" his or her own car.

DH is the one who actually suggested the idea, so really now he (and you all) just have to convince me. And you're doing a great job!

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I commend all the posters who are/were one car families. I am sure it does save a bundle of money. Unfortunately during the summer we have 5 working people (3 kids in college) and we can barely make it with 4 cars. I will be happy to just get down to 2 in a few year

 

[clori]

I've been married for 12 years. The first 5 years we didn't have a car at all. We lived in a Boston area neighborhood (Brookline - Coolidge Corner) that we could easily walk to the T (bus and subway) that we took to/from work etc. We eventually moved further out to buy a house and dh's job moved to an area away from public transportation.

Now we just have 1 car which dh uses for work. My kids walk to/from school which is just 1/2 mile away with sidewalks and a crossing guard (though I walk with them still). I walk to places such as convenience stores, family dollar, a few sub shops, restaurants, bank, etc within 1/2 mile in different directions. Within a mile is a grocery store. I can also take the bus which is about a 4 minute walk less then 2 miles to get to a grocery store, post office, library, drs, subway to Boston etc.

 

[abcboys]

It would never work for us. DH works 20 miles away and all 3 boys go to 3 different schools but we live less than 1 1/2 miles from 2 of them so they are ineligible to ride the bus. I work only about a mile 1/2 away but it would be so inconvenient as there is no public transportation here and DH works long hours. Sure it COULD be done but I would have to rely on too many different people to help get the kids to school/picked up/gone to practices etc. that it would not be worth any savings to me.

 

[bartleby1]

I am shocked, as well, at how many people think it's an impossible situation! Wow!

We are a 1 car family - have been for all our time together (17 years). We have a mini van. DH and I carpool to work - he works about 3 miles from me. He drops me off (he gets free parking...), and then picks me up after work.

Our boys are very involved in activities....scouts, swimming, bowling, baseball, basketball, etc. One of us drops one parent/child off at one activity, and the other 2 go to the other activity.

Grocery shopping gets done after work, or on the weekends. Appointments are the same (our clinic is open until 630). Like stated above - an emergency? Call 911. An emergency like a kid is sick...well, go get the kids. Why is that so hard?

Tomorrow I have a Mother's Day Tea with YDS at his school. Since DH has the car, he will come get me on his break, bring me to the school, then after it, DS and I will walk home, and DH will come pick me up on his lunch. Not a big deal!

I agree...if you WANT it to work...it will. My parents didn't have more than 1 car for the first 12 or so years of my life. My dad worked 30 miles south and my mom worked 10 miles west of home. He left at 6a with the car and my mom walked to the bus stop....and we survived! We walked a lot to/from daycare (mom would get off the bus by our sitters), or we waited until dad was done with work.

Saves a ton of money, better for the environment, etc. I think we will stay this way until my kids are driving age...then they can share a car!

While I think that it is GREAT that one car works for your family, the statement I bolded above makes it sound like those who can't make it work with one car just aren't trying hard enough. I'm certain there are many families that could not make it work regardless of how much money it would save.

Many people, including myself, do not live in an area with public transportation. I do not have a local bus, train, or taxi cabs in the area. We also are not in walking distance to much. My DH does not work in an office. He services photocopiers and sets up the computer networks for them at companies throughout the area. He MUST have his car. He's also on 24 hour call for 2 weeks out of the month, including weekends, during which time he can, and often does, get called back to work after he arrives home. While I am a SAHM to 3 children, if I didn't have a car, my children would not be able to do ANY activities outside of school since my DH doesn't get home until after 7:00pm many nights. My kids activities all begin before that time. There would be no sports, no scouts, no music lessons, no activities offered through the schools after the bus left, no playdates, no dentist appointments, no orthodontist appointments, no doctor appointments, etc.

So, to just make a statement that "if you WANT it to work...it will", really isn't fair. For some it will work, for others it won't. No one can make that decision for someone else's situation.

 

[bumbershoot]

T...and I agree that the main hurdle for most is getting over the stigma that everyone "needs" his or her own car.

It's definitely been a point of contention for some friends and relatives! My sis in law is SO bothered that we only have one car that she's offered to help me finance one. She just doesn't get that *I* am the one that has the car every day.

They are two people, and my brother works from home most days, and they have 3 cars. (with a house and a condo just 30 minutes drive away from each other; the condo being a block away from sis in law's work, so she can sleep in just a bit longer when she has early meetings)

We are quite different from them with very different needs and situations, obviously.


I, too, don't think it works for everyone due to area, schools, etc. But it's definitely worth *thinking* about, IMO!

 

[Tanooki]

Actually, we NEVER had more than one car
When we lived in the city and we were both working full-time, we managed with subway/bus and the car. When we moved to the suburb, we expected having to buy a 2nd car, eventhough I was becoming a sahm, but Dh started taking the train to go to work and we found that it worked very well for us.
I don't think I'd be able to stay at home without a car though. Since dh has to rely on public tranportation schedules (the only real downside if you ask me), I have to be able to move around for the appointments, errands and everything else that I need to juggle with 4 kids
I just don't want to imagine having to pay for and maintain a second car

 

[dawnball]

In my DH's opinion an ambulance isn't fast enough. And we live, like, a half mile from the hospital.

While I think that it is GREAT that one car works for your family, the statement I bolded above makes it sound like those who can't make it work with one car just aren't trying hard enough. I'm certain there are many families that could not make it work regardless of how much money it would save.

I've bundled these two because my answers are so similar. Sometimes people have non-rational or non-"normal" reasons for the choices they make, and that's ok.

In my case, I don't anticipate that not having a car will actually save us very much (or any) money. Train fare, rental cars, zipcar, etc. I'll be shopping at closer grocery stores instead of buying in bulk at the warehouse club, etc. But I'm happier and more productive on days when I walk a few miles than I am when I don't. Not having a car forces me to walk 4 miles (to and from school, twice) plus errands every day, and that's worth a little more total out of pocket to me.

But I do think that families who -want- to have only one car will make it work, regardless of their situation, and those who don't will find reasons it doesn't work. But "making it work" might involve changing jobs, changing schools, changing where you live, or just changing the dynamic and pattern of your day. It's like tithing, or not drive on Shabbat, or only eating organic food, or running every morning. If it matters to you - you'll do it, but there are only so many things in life that can be your first priority.

The fact that it -could- be done doesn't mean it makes sense, or that you should do it if you don't want to. Financial savings from only one car are flexible, and a winning setup can turn into a losing one, just like it could with two or more cars. Right now, we have a rental car because our life isn't set up for one car and a rental car is cheaper than the extra mileage involved in having one car. It's not a good deal for us until we move.

And if going down to one car makes you feel unsafe - makes you live a more stressful life, worrying about all the things that could be going wrong and how you can't fix them. Or would require you to change your life in unpalatable ways - there's nothing wrong with saying "nope, not for us!"

 

[dawnball]

I've talked with a towtruck owner who said that AAA barely pays them anything, and that roadside service from *insurance companies* is far better, from the operator's point of view. I guess many tow/service people aren't part of AAA's network, but ARE part of insurance company networks, because they are treated better.

Had this convo with a guy not involved with AAA, when I had AAA but they were estimating 2 or more hours until they could help me, and they gave me this guy's phone number. (I paid him and was reimbursed by AAA later b/c they couldn't help me and I wasn't safe waiting where I was until they could)

Yes. I was at Windsor Hills with a dead battery (and I knew it was a dead battery, because I'd had the alternator replaced the day before, and said "shouldn't we replace the battery while we're at it?"...) they projected an hour and a half before someone could come and get me. I had someone from the Disney Car Care center there in fifteen minutes. My policy is to call the manufacturer's roadside assistance, the one on my insurance, and whatever tow trucks I can find via my smartphone. Whoever can get me first, gets my car.

 

[disykat]

I don't get all the people who are so offended by the "if you want it to work, it will" statement.

When we first househunted, we almost chose a place that was walking distance to my workplace. We ended up choosing a place in the town where my dh worked - that had bus service. We tweeked our schedules a bit and worked it out.

It definitely would not work where we live and work now, but if we really wanted it to work we could move and make the necessary sacrifices. We don't want to.

At this point, it wouldn't be practical or save money (selling our house would be difficult and I'd probably have to stop working,) nor would it be convenient, but again, if we really wanted to, we could.

 

[taaren]

You're a brave soul for contemplating this. We have been a one car family for the last week and probably for about 3 weeks more unwillingly since my car needs a part that is nowhere to be found within 3000 miles apparently.
Its rough having to wake up earlier so I can drop off DH at work then DS at preschooll, then head to my work. Then repeat the process in the afternoon. Fortunately our jobs/preschool/home are all in about a 3 or 4 mi radius or we might have gone rental last week. Gas savings are great though.
Its workable, but a lot of hassle. Are you in an area where you could consider Zipcar for your 'other' vehicle or something similar?