One car, two people?

[MsSassyBaskets]

I'm wondering if anyone has advice on how to make one car work for two people. FH's car is having transmission problems (we'll know more next week) and may not be worth the repairs. We don't live in a place with good public transport, but fortunately I work from a home office, so most days I don't have to go anywhere during the day. So on the surface of things, it seems like it might not be too hard. The one hitch I can think of is that occasionally I need to travel for work (like 3-4x per year), and I fly out of an airport about 2 hours away, usually at times when FH would be in class. Is there anything else I need to consider?

I'm thinking of going single car instead of buying another simply because we shouldn't spend the money. We're in the final stages of paying for a wedding, we both have a little left to pay off in undergrad loans, and we already have a monthly payment on my car... when he was about to start school we had 2 older cars and decided to trade one in while it was still worth something so we would have one reliable car. My income manages to pay all our bills and groceries (though not much extra), and his loans pay tuition (private med school), but we have also taken out some extra loans for living expenses, simply because when FH filled out the FAFSA for year 1 we'd never lived on one income before and hadn't even combined our accounts yet, and didn't know how it would work. Obviously we're trying to cut out the living loans from now on if at all possible.

So. That all said, I think we might go 1-car instead of paying for enormous repairs or a "new" car. Have any of you made this work? Any advice?

[MsSassyBaskets]

Oh, and P.S. - NEVER buy a VW.

[Deebs]

Just a couple of thoughts and things for you to think about:

If the big concern is only 3-4 times a year, can you rent a car where you live, drive to the airport, and return the car (as in a 1-way rental)? Is there a taxi you can take to the airport? Can he drive you to the airport?
During those few times, can your SO get a ride to class for a few days?
In theory, it sounds totally doable, but only you really know your situation. We've never been in a place where we could share a car, but it would be a great way to cut down on costs.

[poky]

There are usually all sorts of transport options for getting to an airport a few times a year that are a lot cheaper than owning a car, if that's the main reason you could see needing one. It's usually a LOT easier to live without a car in a bigger city, but worst case if you have an appointment mid-day or something, you could take FH in so you could have the car that day, right?

[MsSassyBaskets]

I'm betting FH can get a ride to class on the few days I need to travel. I could also drop him off on days I need the car. I'm thinking when he is doing rotations we might need a second car again, but there's a year until that happens, and I could save some $$ in that time.

[oceanchild]

It sounds like for your situation it would work fine. Do you have a bicycle? That might help too!

We went one year with no car and three with one car, but for all four of those years we lived in the middle of DC, where public transportation options were ample and many things were within walking distance. I think we could do one car here, too, but I know we'd need to rely on buses and bikes.

[Pollyanna]

Sounds like it would work out great. Dh and I only had one car for the first two years of our marriage and lived where public transportation is non exsistent. You just need to be flexible and creative and it's totally doable

[MsSassyBaskets]

We do both have bikes, although it's not a very bike-friendly area. I'm actually kind of excited at the opportunity to downsize and save some $$...

[alison]

We have one car, but live in a part of town where dh can walk 10 minutes to work or bike there in 3. I only need the car to get to one of dd's classes, but otherwise i can take care of all our errands in our neighborhood (bank, post office, library, grocery store) are all within a 4 block radius of us. I can get to the flagship Nordstrom store in 15 minutes, so I'm good to go. This summer, I will be within walking distance of the downtown Target store. We're getting a City Target!!!

I think cars are the biggest waste of money, so I'm biased.

[alison]

Oh and as far as advice is concerned--if one of us needs the car, we arrange our schedule around the other's. Dentist appointments happen on spouse's day off or when we are willing to tag along. We go to a lot of dh's stuff (like when he goes mountain biking, he drops us off at a nearby Barnes and Noble, and picks us up when he's done).

[diggitydot]

We were a one car family (with three kids) for 6 years. It's totally doable, especially if you only need a ride a handful of times a year. There are usually airport shuttles that will pick you up and drop you off.

[bobk]

We did one car for our first ten years of marriage/training, but we've always been close to public transit. We finally got a second car when DW had to be in between 5-6am (before train runs) and I increasingly needed a car for kids activities.

It really wasn't bad with just the one car. We saved a lot of money that way. The biggest PITA is when the one car needs service, especially when you can't wait for it and have to leave it overnight.

[alison]

What Bob mentions was a huge impetus for us to spring for an Acura. Free loaner for the duration of your repairs if you use the dealership...

[Vanquisher]

We used one car for three of us during undergrad and most of med school. We only got another vehicle when DS started going to school, and I needed something for emergencies. It coincided with dh's clinical rotations.

[Thirteen]

We have lived in 2 different, extremely large metro areas with poor public transit, and huge commutes.
Cars are necessity for us. Plus, we can have wicked weather changes very quickly, so there's that.


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