Moving from 2 cars to 1 - anyone got insights?

Erinnire

If you do find it a struggle, it could be worth looking at you or the OH getting a bike license. They are so much cheaper to run and maintain, my bf has a little 125 that he uses to get to uni and back. However I won't let him ride it in bad conditions so we car share then but it just means during the better weather we are both pretty free to do as we please. Now I am going to uni as well we will car share more except where our lectures are incompatible, on those days in the winter there is a bus for one of us depending on who will be picking up my kids.

Going down to one car wasn't too bad for us but its nice to know that there is a spare mode of transport about if we need it. It cost about £1500 to get everything, that includes the test, bike, riding gear and helmet, tax and insurance, locks etc...

fionajbanana

My parents are retired and still have 2 cars. I can see in a few years time that they will get a Ford Focus sized car between them. They have a Corsa and a Mondeo. There has been only one or two days in the past 15 months when they moved that they used both cars at the same time. The bus stop that serves them to town is 5 mins walk and the shops are 10 mins walk.

The only problem will be when the take their car to be MOT'd as they take it to mechanics 6 miles away and no public transport serves there. They need to book it for a day when I am not working.

leftieM

Treevo wrote: »

Do your savings take into account the cost of public transport and taxis? As well as the increased fuel you'll use on your other car. Have you also considered your time? Public transport can take a lot longer than driving yourself - you lose a lot more than just a car if you do start to share one.

Yes, we have factored in public transport/ fuel. Time wise, it will take longer to get to and from work for the person on public transport. I can work on the bus so can gain time that way. My OH and kids would take time walking but that may be of benefit. The bus should be faster as there's a bus lane along one part of the route.

joansgirl

We went down to 1 car years ago. I was using a pushbike all the time but when I needed a car occasionally DH would pull faces and sulk if I took his. It was all ok really until DD got to the age where she wanted to go on sleepovers. DH worked nights and as it was his car we kept I would have to borrow it and then run him to and pick him up from work. Fortunately my Mum gave me her 3 wheeler when my Dad bought her a new car and I ran around in that for a couple of years. It was brilliant, low insurance, motorbike tax, low fuel costs but when it snowed and then froze the damn thing wouldn't turn left at the traffic lights and got stuck in other peoples wheel ruts. I felt unsafe transporting DD in it so got rid and got a "proper" car. You need to make sure that your OH will be happy to car share as mine wasn't. It's not that he was mean or anything but up until then we'd always had our own cars and it was my idea to sell mine (we needed the money to buy a new cooker, money was tight) which he was never happy about. He said he didn't want me to lose my independence but in reality he didn't want me to drive his car. His car was his baby. Doing a trial period sounds like an excellent idea. And get a pushbike for emergencies!

maman

I'd definitely agree have a trial period.

DH and I had two cars but drove both of them as I had the longer commute so we did it to even out the mileage on them.

When we gave up work (:D) we talked about it and said we'd give it 6 months (when tax and insurance were next due on older car) and review it. At our house the cars were parked behind each other in our narrow driveway so we always took the one at the back. In 6 months, the (older) car at the front went out 3 times. That didn't seem cost effective for the tax, insurance, maintenance it was going to cost so we sold it. There's always the option to buy a second one should circumstances change.

I still do voluntary work and we go out with friends both together and separately. We keep a joint calendar/diary and try to work around each other's coomitments. We use the bus regularly and the train occasionally. It's also made us very conscious of not using the car for short trips where you could walk (post office/paper shop).

You're situation is different OP but I'd suggest you 'suck it and see'.:)

Goldiegirl

maman wrote: »

I'd definitely agree have a trial period.

DH and I had two cars but drove both of them as I had the longer commute so we did it to even out the mileage on them.

When we gave up work (:D) we talked about it and said we'd give it 6 months (when tax and insurance were next due on older car) and review it. At our house the cars were parked behind each other in our narrow driveway so we always took the one at the back. In 6 months, the (older) car at the front went out 3 times. That didn't seem cost effective for the tax, insurance, maintenance it was going to cost so we sold it. There's always the option to buy a second one should circumstances change.

I still do voluntary work and we go out with friends both together and separately. We keep a joint calendar/diary and try to work around each other's coomitments. We use the bus regularly and the train occasionally. It's also made us very conscious of not using the car for short trips where you could walk (post office/paper shop).

You're situation is different OP but I'd suggest you 'suck it and see'.:)

That sounds like what we are planning to do when we stop work.

We'll go down to one car at that point,as we feel that we'd either go out together, or separately, but it would be quite unusual for us to both go out separately at the same time.

dizziblonde

We did and we regret it immensely. Figured when I stopped working to have the children that I could walk everywhere and get the bus - good local bus route ran near the house which I often would use to get back from places having walked the outward leg of the trip (we live up a ridiculously bad hill).

Local bus company went bust and there was no substitute route introduced from other operators (I'm cross about this - every single other route that company ran was replaced - ours wasn't) and my pelvis never recovered from the second pregnancy leaving me in pain for days if I do any extended period of walking. Previously I'd be able to drop hubby off at work and pick him up if I needed the car during the day - he moved work sites so this is no longer a goer either. We're muddling through with hubby having work from home arrangements wherever possible so I can have the car to get the kids out - but essentially a large part of the time I'm housebound.

Looks like promotion may be in the air for hubby and if so we're going back up to two cars again pronto.

dreamdreamer

Yup. I sold my car when I was debt busting. Never bought another one.

During the day (I work shifts, OH is 9-5) I cycle everywhere now and if it's something I need a car for (like grocery shopping) I wait for OH to come with his car.

I do think as and when we start a family we will rethink and get a little runaround though, not so easy to cycle 10 miles with a baby in tow! At your kids ages though there's no reason cycling can't be a realistic option.

pollypenny

We have the same dilemma. Both retired now and neither car getting a great deal of use, really.

OH sold the Astra to our neighbour who had written off his car, leaving us with just my 07 Corsa, two door.

We have just ordered a new Astra and would like to sell the Corsa. However, it's only done 21,000 miles and the trade in was ridiculous.

It doesn't cost us much, so unless we get a good offer we will keep it.

Prothet_of_Doom

We have 3 cars, and I'd quite like a 4th. I've seen an Mx5 with a Turbo, that is a cracking bit of kit, and I'd like to build one myself, but can't justify it.

Silly thing is our third car, is an Mx5, and did 1500 miles in the last year, but it's my wife's and she'd kill me if it wasn't standard.

But funnily enough I'm trying to reduce my dependence on the car, and frequently get my bike out for short trips.

We could live with only one car. It's a question of planning. I'm traveling 110 miles to work on a Monday Morning, and renting a place 8 miles from work mid week, but I could go on the train, and rent closer.