Do you "need" your car?

I couldn't survive without my car. Given a 45 mile round trip each day to work, I'd spend more on public transport. Throw in the 50 mile trips to see my mates (£14 return plus bus fares either end) and it is more economically viable to use a car instead.

However, what I have done is made sure that what I drive is the most economical option. IE 15k mile a year, so diesel, very reliable, etc. £250 per year insurance (for a group 5 - was £650 last year on my old car), now £20 per week in fuel to get to work (was £35 a week before). So I save about £800 a year on my old car (servicing and tax are slightly more).

My OH and I have 1 car which we share. We are lucky that we work at the same place and so can go in together and don't have more than a 10 minute walk at the other end (depending on whose building we park next to).

But there's also some compromise too - OH can work from home/work really flexible hours (he does research) and so where we lived before he could go in late/leave early whereas now he has to follow my '9-5' or stay at home all day and at weekends we can't go different places at once easily.

However saying that when we moved (and bought our 1st house) although we moved 15 miles away from where we work (as opposed to 1 mile - couldn't afford house prices there) we knew we'd have to share the car and we deliberately considered transport links and are less than 20 minutes walk from the local train and bus stations and if need be we could get a bus to within 15 minutes walk of work.

We have considered getting another car - or about me applying for a couple of jobs miles away that would require another car - but ecomonically and environmentally we've decided it isn't a good plan and we intend to try and be a 1 car family for as long as possible.

To OH I think that selling your 2nd car is a good idea (but I think you've already worked that out).