Going from 2 cars to 1

[Funk#49]

My wife was hit by a girl last month that ran a red light. The girl was driving on a suspended license and no insurance. Our insurance only had Liability on our car so if we got it repaired, it's out of our pocket. The most fortunate thing was that my wife was not injured........spent a night at UK ER just to make sure she was in one piece and have a paper trail if anything neck/back related pops up in the future.

We're thinking about just sticking to one car. Commuting to my job takes me past the University of KY where she works. She will have to adjust her schedule somewhat but only by having to leave in the evening by around 30 minutes later each day. We were leaving home for work roughly at the same time each morning before this happened (within 10 minutes).

We'll save on her parking pass fee on campus which was $480 annually, plus gas, maintenance, insurance, etc. All totaled, I figured we'd save around $2,000 in 2018 by keeping to the one car.

Has anyone done this long term? We don't have kids....just the two of us.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

I'm a huge fan of public transpo and I've encouraged a number of friends in ATL and LA to give up their cars entirely but this instance strikes me as penny wise, pound foolish.

 

[Funk#49]

I'm a huge fan of public transpo and I've encouraged a number of friends in ATL and LA to give up their cars entirely but this instance strikes me as penny wise, pound foolish.

Why would you say that? Our car was a 2005 Honda Accord with 118,000 miles on it (if you were saying we were foolish for not having full coverage on it). Blue book trade in value was around $4,200-4,400 prior to the accident.

 

[TennNole17]

Been a one car family for about 6-8 months now. It can be hectic, sometimes, but if everything is relatively close, Lyft/Uber is a solid backup.

Some days I have to get a Lyft to work, but it’s min fare of like 6 bucks.

 

[NDallasRuss]

I hope that you're taking your "pound of flesh" from the girl that hit her.

 

[seminoledq]

My wife and I work in the same office so we have been down to one car for a little over 2 years now. We can always use on of the kids' cars if our schedules don't match up or I am traveling for work. They both live at home so it's easy. Would be a little tougher to work around if we didn't have that option readily available.

 

[MIKE_G]

We're planning on doing this in April when the lease expires on our Nissan Leaf. We live a few blocks from a MARTA train station, and both my wife and I work in downtown Atlanta near stops. Just one of us will give up our work parking (me) in favor of a subsidized MARTA pass. I did it a couple years ago even when we had two cars. Then my kids got home earlier from school and I had to pick them up, so I went back to driving. There are inconveniences, but it's a good excuse to get exercise and save some dough every month on a car payment/insurance, etc.

 

[ReliableOstrich]

Why would you say that? Our car was a 2005 Honda Accord with 118,000 miles on it (if you were saying we were foolish for not having full coverage on it). Blue book trade in value was around $4,200-4,400 prior to the accident.

My comment was related to the decision to switch to one car -- nothing to do with the insurance coverage.

 

[Nole Lou]

We did it for financial reasons when we were young and a baby. It was pretty brutal, but doable, but involved a lot of driving each other to work, etc.

We're moving to a more walkable area in May, and I would think hard about it if either my wife or I worked at home or if I was on a public transportation stop.

 

[OrlandNole]

We did it for financial reasons when we were young and a baby.

Same here. We shared a car. My wife got to drive it, and I got to clean and maintain it.

We lived in the College Park neighborhood in Orlando at the time. It was a relatively easy bike ride into downtown. There are also several bus routes that ran by my house down to my office.

I a lot of ways, I miss those days...

 

[Nolomite]

I recently went from 1 car to 0, voluntarily - Uber is cheap enough and very prompt, parking is horrible in my new city, and the hills would burn out 2 clutches a year if I kept my car. So I gave my car away to a good home. Uber for the normal commuting, and I grab a rental when I need one.

You've got more dedicated activities that benefit from having a car, but you can set up schedules so that your car is available for grocery shopping trips, etc. when you need it. In a month's time you will likely be fully adjusted, Funk.

 

[cmanole]

You still driving that Crown Vic Interceptor Funk?

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

I hope that you're taking your "pound of flesh" from the girl that hit her.

Good luck with that!

 

[funksouljon]

Good luck with it. I fully understand the reasons behind it but I would feel like a part of my body was missing if I didn't have my own transportation.

 

[Banditking]

Several of my friends bike to work and like it, though they still have cars.

I did it with my girlfriend (now wife) after her car stopped working (about a year). But, that was in Chicago and we lived by the elevated train and she worked downtown.

It would be hard to do now. Our work schedules are too disparate and we have children.

 

[skramer100]

Have a friend that is going all in Uber/Service. He is getting rid of all cars and only using Uber/Lyft. Does not shop anymore, only uses delivery services. Gets meats from local grass fed cattle places delivered. Odd but it works for his family. I could never do it. I do think that my 3 year old will never drive a car however.