Mini update in posts. Temp switch to one car household

[aspentosh]

@@ mentions

H started a new job that is 100% remote right now with plans for it to stay that way for awhile. There is the possibility that he will need to go into work 1-2x a week in the future, but it's up in the air. I SAH and DD is in school full-time again. The only activity she does is TKD, although it's 5x a week, but it's in the evenings and on the weekend.

I brought up the idea of selling his vehicle because he never wants to drive it. Outside of his previous commute to work, in the last ~6 months he's driven it is when he's gone to game day with friends (at most 1x a month) and if I was out with my mom for the day. Not very much. Things like grocery store, vet, some restaurants are pretty walkable (<.5 mile) if push came to shove. 

His next vehicle will be a truck and he has his heart set on the F-150 lightning, but because of the chip shortage they aren't making that many of them next year. So it would likely be 2024 before he could get it. He's not against a hybrid truck (the original plan before Ford came out with an electric truck) but they are so expensive right now. 

Anyway, lots of rambling. But if you've gone to a single car household, what were things that you thought about and planned for? I know there is Uber/Lyft and that is a possibility if it were an emergency. My mom and sister also live close and would gladly let us borrow their vehicles if push REALLY came to shove. We've always been a two car household and I know this is ultimately temporary, but it feels like a big step and I really want to think it through.

[just]

We were 1 car for about 8 years when we first married because I didn't have a license anyway. Now I'm resistant to going back to 1 car because of the dogs. We've had a couple of emergency situations where I was home on my own and the idea of trying to find an Uber/Lyft that would have let me get the dogs to the vet gives me anxiety. But we don't live close to either our vet - 5 miles away, or the emergency vet - 25 miles away.

[niq]

Well, msniq doesn't drive so we are sort of already a one car household... We have a long tail e-bike for taking the kids places and grocery trips, and she takes the bus or uses Uber/Lyft.

If you don't need the second car to be long range, you can get a used Nissan LEAF for pretty cheap, and have that be the family's second car. The maintenance and fuel costs are a lot lower. 2015 model years and earlier are the cheapest b/c the range started getting a lot better after that.

There are definitely days I wish she had her license (she promises she'll take lessons this school year!), especially back when offices were open. But it's mostly fine.

[macmars45]

H and I were a one car family for 5 years in the Seattle area from 2009-2014. We carpooled and shared. Then we went down to one car again March 2020-Feb 2021. H now WFH FT but eventually will need to go to Seattle for work a few times a year for 1-5 days at a time (we live 2.5 hours away now). His company is in no rush to require that.

We've definitely kicked around selling our second car but our current city isn't walkable, the bus system is archaic and uber/lift aren't really a thing here so we haven't done it. Our second car has been used maybe 10x since Feb 2021. We've thought about renting a car for the times H will be OOT which is an option.

[boiler717]

We are in the process of transition to one car. I WFH full-time. My husband works at a clinic 2-3 days a week that is 20 min away. He also has to go teach at campus, which is 1.5 miles away and bike/walkable. Our son goes to K and we almost always walk to school, it’s 4 blocks from our house. We also have a grocery store, pharmacy, coffee shop, etc within 0.5 miles. We’ve been tracking the number of times we are both using a car at the same time, and it’s been less than 5 in 6 months.
Our plan is to up the budget for delivery / Uber / subscription. We also know that we may be renting a truck on occasion or a car for vacation (we are getting rid of our Atlas and will only have a Camry for 2 years because that’s my company car). The other thing we are going to do is get a Rad electric bike so that we can get to some quick errands or my husband can bike to campus easier (less sweaty, faster). There may be times that I drive him to clinic and then he ubers home or vice versa. Just a little more communication than we currently do.
Also, in the end, if it doesn’t work will just get another car. It’s not an irreversible decision but we are pretty confident after tracking for awhile that we can do it.

[tacokick]

I don’t think much would change in your case because you basically have been a one car family for months. If he has to go into work could he do public transport or could you drop him off/pick him up if you don’t want to be without a car? For one or two days a week that wouldn’t be bad. Besides that, car shares/car pooling would work.

As long as your car is in good shape I don’t see any reason to rush into getting another car. If he has to go away for a weekend or something he could rent a car.


We are in the same boat, my husband is home now and only drives very rarely—once or twice a month. He needs a repair done but has been waiting since June for the part. It’s drivable but we’ve been using my car. My car is old and I’d like to have it a long time so I’m hesitant to put too many miles on it. I love my car and it is roomy enough to haul large furniture and it’s no longer being made.

Ideally we will just repair his car (also older) and he can drive that once a week when that starts up. After that, my husband does want to get a very basic commuter car because eventually he will most likely have to go back to work more (possibly full time) and his parents live three hours away and are elderly. Right now he’s been renting a car to go see them while I’m home with the dogs and my car. Which is fine but does add up! I’d be fine with only having one car, honestly, especially if my car wasn’t so old but he is always worried about emergencies when I’m home alone with the dogs.

Growing up we only had one car and it wasn’t a big deal at all. The only real issues were when it was in the shop.

[aspentosh]

My car is newer (2018 CR-V) and is the "family" car. We use it for all our travel, but that is almost always together. His car is older (2013 Ford Focus) and in good shape for age and stuff, but it's definitely a tight fit now that DD is older. If we were to only need one car, it's mine. His was a commuter car when he bought it and it served that purpose well.

I guess I just don't want to jump into things and then buy another car before we're ready for the truck. But like some of you, it's barely being used. We do have public transportation nearby that I could drive him to, so that's a really good point.

[juliej]

We've been a one-car household for... *does math* fourteen years. We carpooled for the beginning of that, and then for the last two-thirds of that one of us has been remote and other has either also been remote or able to commute via mass transit or bike. So... the car gets crazy-low mileage. We had a Honda Fit; we traded it in for a CR-V last year because we wanted something that did a little better in the mountains and snow and had a bit more cargo capacity (although the Fit could hold an huge amount for its size). We'll probably never get anything bigger because we have no need. But we've also purposely structured our living situation around walkability and transit, and our homes have been strategically located. A <.5m walk to amenities is way more than doable (@@ we're walking our son to his school bus stop that's 1.5 miles round trip twice a day). For convenience, we get most groceries delivered (a habit from pre-COVID that has persisted), but we have a small market that's walkable.


@@@
Oh, and we have one kid. Most of our driving is getting him to school or activities, honestly.

[goldengirlz]

I think this is one of those things that depends a lot on where you live. In NYC, having even one car was a luxury and I felt spoiled for having it. In CA, we do use both cars most days because public transportation here isn’t as reliable and the nearest retail is a 30-minute walk. However, I’d be more inclined to try it here than some other places I’ve lived.

[imojoebunny]

I only put 2700 miles on my car last year, but you will pry it out of my cold, dead hands. My DH put 14,000 on his car, many of those trips with the 4 of us, and we put another 3K on a rental car. My kids walk to school, and most of their activities. My driving is pretty much only to do things I want or need to do, but public transport isn't a thing here, even though we live a 1/2 mile from a train station, and an Uber would cost more, than keeping my 9 year old, paid for car. I would be super pissed to miss out on the things that I do with my car. If money were tight, I would be more inclined to give it up, and coordinate better with DH, but I mostly use my car, when he is gone. Our DD is starting to drive, and we will not get her a car, she will drive mine, but I seldom need it when she is out of school, so it will be an easy share.

[jordylee]

We are a one car household hand have been for almost 10 years, but we live in a big city with easy transit access and most things are walkable. With COVID, we have gotten away from using transit and started using our bikes more. I guess my question is what do you get out of downsizing to one car when you already have 2, and how does it help you achieve your goals? If it materially moves the needle for you, it could be worth it. But if all the savings would be eaten up by Uber/Lyft, it may not be worth the inconvenience.

[simpsongal]

It would be an adjustment but it sounds like you could do it pretty seamlessly. The resale value of even old used cars is insane right now. Cash in

[aspentosh]

Our thinking is basically this:

We barely use his car so it's sitting. Like, last year his tires got flat spots because it wasn't driven for months on end.
We wouldn't have to pay for car insurance, or personal property taxes, or annual emissions or safety inspections and then no maintenance upkeep. That alone would save about $1000/yr. His car has been paid off for about six years and it's, right now, in good shape. So if we sold it we could realistically get $6000+ and then save an extra $1000 next year while we wait on his electric vehicle. All of that could be funneled to savings for his likely very $$$$ truck.

We will need a bigger vehicle because I make him do a lot of home improvement projects. It's not pressing and we have the ability to wait.

We are in a suburb of DC, so public transit is an option worth considering- we are 10-15 min drive from a metro stop. But really, both cars have been used at the same time MAYBE twice in the last year? And that's because they could be. So it seems like it could really be doable for us. Uber and Lyft are like our emergency backups if we *had* to do something at the same time. Looking at the last month of my life, I've taken DD to TaeKwonDo 5x a week, gotten groceries 1x a week, gone apple picking, and gone to an aquarium (only time I left H at home and he was working).

One of my 2020 (and ongoing) goals was minimizing waste and excess and I feel like this car is excess right now. That's a big driving factor I think.

I appreciate all the input and help thinking this through!

[minzy]

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We shared one car for five years pre-kids, and it was fine. This was before Uber/Lyft but I had ways to access the Metro, so I wasn’t ever stuck. It was like a little challenge to make it work some times, but I like challenges, and I never felt like it was a problem.

How good is your daughter on a bike? Once my younger one built up some stamina, that was a bit of a game changer in terms of range.

Hopefully charging infrastructure continues to grow while you wait for this truck, but if you were buying today I’d say that sharpening your problem solving skills (like you’d do figuring out logistics of using one car) is good practice if you’re going full electric. I’ve had to be prepared, creative, and flexible while charging my car on road trips. But I will say both being a single car household and driving full electric are totally doable! 🙂

[ssmjlm]

I think it's possible, assuming that he really won't need it for work before the new truck is ready.

I can't imagine just having a car sit. Is there a reason you don't use it on weekends or for errands just to make sure it starts and everything runs?

[wildrice]

I would 100% go down to 1 car in your situation. It just takes a little coordination sometimes, but I think having 1 car is no big deal for many households. We were actually a 1 car household for about 5 years. My H almost never drives anywhere other than work, and there were a few years when we worked at or near the same place so we'd just carpool. We could be a 1 car household again right now with my H working from home, but that may not last forever so we're waiting to see what happens before selling the 2nd one. Right now our spare car gets driven 2-4 times a month just to make sure it keeps running, but is completely unnecessary. I am hoping his next job will be WFH except for maybe an occasional day here and there, and that I'll be able to WFH on those days so we can just coordinate using the car and get rid of the 2nd one.

I think the biggest thing is just going into it thinking you will both have to be flexible. It may occasionally happen that you have to wait around to pick him up from somewhere or vice versa. There were some days when I went into work early or stayed late because his schedule was doing something different from mine, but I just reminded myself how much money and hassle we were saving and found things to do (read a book, chat on the phone, catch up on something at work, etc). We never had to do this, but I think having a Google calendar that is shared to make sure you don't make doctor appointments or other unusual commitments on the same day at the same time, so you don't have to be in 2 different places at once.

Other than that, I can't even think of any advice because it was really a non-issue.

[janegold]

We've always been a one car family but I think we are ready to get a second.

Until 2020, we lived in downtown in a major city, so even having one car felt like a luxury. Now we live in the suburbs and having just one car is definitely an anomaly. We moved right before the pandemic, and for the first year or so, when we weren't going anywhere, it felt fine. Now it feels a bit harder. Neither one of us commutes in every day, but we both work FT and both want/need to make the most of our downtime - so it is limiting to have to coordinate activities, errands, etc. on the weekends. We both agree that it is about time for a second car, although we are hoping that we can wait it out until the market is a bit calmer.

In our case, we have two young kids in carseats so ride shares are not easy, and public transportation is not super close/convenient. And while some things would be walkable in a pinch, they're not SUPER convenient (business district is a 25 min walk). We do have ILs nearby but they also only have one (drivable) car, so borrowing from them is not easy either. Sounds like you have a better situation in all of those regards, so it might work out well for you!

[tacokick]

Sept 28, 2021 7:50:22 GMT -5 aspentosh said:

Our thinking is basically this:

We barely use his car so it's sitting. Like, last year his tires got flat spots because it wasn't driven for months on end.
We wouldn't have to pay for car insurance, or personal property taxes, or annual emissions or safety inspections and then no maintenance upkeep. That alone would save about $1000/yr. His car has been paid off for about six years and it's, right now, in good shape. So if we sold it we could realistically get $6000+ and then save an extra $1000 next year while we wait on his electric vehicle. All of that could be funneled to savings for his likely very $$$$ truck.

We will need a bigger vehicle because I make him do a lot of home improvement projects. It's not pressing and we have the ability to wait.

We are in a suburb of DC, so public transit is an option worth considering- we are 10-15 min drive from a metro stop. But really, both cars have been used at the same time MAYBE twice in the last year? And that's because they could be. So it seems like it could really be doable for us. Uber and Lyft are like our emergency backups if we *had* to do something at the same time. Looking at the last month of my life, I've taken DD to TaeKwonDo 5x a week, gotten groceries 1x a week, gone apple picking, and gone to an aquarium (only time I left H at home and he was working).

One of my 2020 (and ongoing) goals was minimizing waste and excess and I feel like this car is excess right now. That's a big driving factor I think.

I appreciate all the input and help thinking this through!

It really sounds like you already are an one car family you just haven’t sold the car yet.

[aspentosh]

Sept 28, 2021 10:14:15 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

I think it's possible, assuming that he really won't need it for work before the new truck is ready.

I can't imagine just having a car sit. Is there a reason you don't use it on weekends or for errands just to make sure it starts and everything runs?

We learned our lesson for this reason, lol. His car is small and a tight fit for the three of us now. We're hauling TKD gear and a dog a lot of the time, and we all just fit better in my CR-V. His plan is to drive it 1-2x a month for something quick, just to keep it going. But his making that comment made me really start thinking that maybe selling it is the better move. 

[Susie]

We tried it short term a bunch of years back.  We didn't have kids yet, so the entire kid/car seat issue was not yet in play.  We carpooled to work anyway (we both worked downtown at the time and only I had paid parking).  I had a commuter bike, and we lived like 2 miles from a park & ride.  It seemed very doable on paper.  We only lasted a month though.  We tried the grand experiment in Dec-Jan, and my bike was not very useful in the snowy climate.  Nobody wanted to walk or bike 2-3 miles to the park & ride to get a bus anywhere.  I was surprised to find that it felt like every time I wanted to go somewhere on the weekend (the gym, grocery shopping, whatever), he had the car, and he probably felt the same.  

These days, since he WFH, I workout at home to avoid gyms during covid, etc., that would in theory make it easier.  The car seats/kids thing would make it harder.  That one taste was enough though, I don't need an ideal car but I do need a car to get where I want to go when I'm free to do it.  I work crazy hours, and can't be spending my limited free time waiting for him to bring the car back.

[madringal]

What is the benefit of selling the car? A payment you would no longer have to make? A good chunk of money to be made off selling it to go towards a project or savings goal?

Unless it was going to help us financially to sell it, I would hang on to it. Used cards are hard to come by right now and if he did need to get a car again soon, it might be more difficult and more expensive than just keeping the one you have right now.

[mich1]

There was a period that we were a one car household. We don't have kids, but we are also not near any place that is walkable. DH was taking my car to work (and putting about 80 miles/day on it) while his engine was being rebuilt - so not a short time. I think he drove my car exclusively for about 3-4 months.

We DID make it work. I did grocery shopping online and he picked up my grocery orders on his way home from work. I bought as much as I could online. On the days where we both needed to be someplace (we had an elderly dog that had regular vet appointments) we rented a vehicle for the day. Even renting a vehicle one day a week only ran about $100/mo, and I planned other things on those days too to make use of the car while I had it.

I have to laugh now as we now have 3 cars. The Beast (the car that has the rebuilt), his Miata (which he bought in a fit of pique at his mechanic when his car engine wound up getting rebuilt a second time), and my car (which still gets driven the most).

[brooklyn]

We went from a zero car household in NYC to a one car household in the suburbs (and I’m a SAHM who can’t drive yet).

It’s definitely been fine while my H wfh. We picked a walkable town, and H is able to handle school pickup and drop off for my oldest. We run errands with the car on weekends, but I can also walk to the dr, Starbucks, playgrounds, downtown, etc. I Uber the few times we’ve had a conflict.

I’m working on getting my license now, and H plans on taking public transportation if/when he goes back to work in person, so I don’t see us ever needing more than one car. (Until our kids start driving at least!)

[Gato]

We were a one-car household for the 5 years we lived in New Jersey (we were a zero car household in Chicago).  At first we had one, and then two kids.  H worked in an office, and took his car to work, but would always give it up and take the bus when I needed it, which was often.  

It wasn't any trouble at all.  I think with good communication and planning, it's easier, actually.  You save so much money, that you have plenty to spend on Lyfts, or car rentals, or ride shares.  Now, since H doesn't have to go to an office anymore, we've talked about going back to one car.

[sadlebred]

I have been a one car household for several years. I'd think of buying something like a small used truck if I ever had the money.

[sillygoosegirl]

We shared a car for about 10 years, and it was not a big deal. We have 2 very old cars now, but rarely use either of them, let alone both at once. But we both hate driving and genuinely like walking, bicycling, and using public transportation. I would suggest trying to get yourself places you like to go for a week without using a car, and see how you like it. It will of course generally take longer, but if you enjoy the time it takes to get where you are going, that doesn't have to be a negative.

[dochas]

With the info you added, particularly about the tires going flat because it sat so long, I would sell it. For me, I would never give up my car or share 1 car unless there was absolutely no alternative. If he really doesn't care it makes sense to sell it.

[scm1011]

Sept 29, 2021 7:33:34 GMT -5 sillygoosegirl said:

We shared a car for about 10 years, and it was not a big deal. We have 2 very old cars now, but rarely use either of them, let alone both at once. But we both hate driving and genuinely like walking, bicycling, and using public transportation. I would suggest trying to get yourself places you like to go for a week without using a car, and see how you like it. It will of course generally take longer, but if you enjoy the time it takes to get where you are going, that doesn't have to be a negative.

I think this is a key consideration. DH and I are the same. We would both much rather walk the 2 mile roundtrip to daycare than drive it, even in the cold or rain. We have always been a one car household (no car when we lived in NYC) and even now the car sees little use other than for lugging stuff (big grocery shop, home depot runs, etc). 

[waverly]

We were 0 car, and lived in NYC. Then we moved to a college town, where we were a 1 car family for 2 years. The reason it worked is because we lived closed enough to school/ work that is was less than .3 miles away, and we could walk to everything. In that 2 years, there was only 1 time we had a conflict. DH needed the car for a study group, and I was invited to a friends house and couldn't go.

It sounds like being a 1 car household for 3 years might be a bit much, but certainly you can try it out for a while and see how it goes.

[aspentosh]

We're not close enough to walk and the path for biking isn't ideal to the things we have to do regularly. Mainly TKD for my DD. Grocery shopping we walk sometimes, drive to Lidl other times (2 miles each way so it's bikeable if push came to shove, but again it's a main road so not great).

H is now looking at the Rivian which comes out early next year as an option, so our timeline may be moved up a bunch. But then we started the new conversation about making the electric vehicle our only vehicle and committing to the one-vehicle household life. So much to talk about.