At one point, I thought having an extra car might be worth the money. To this day, I have no clue what I was thinking …
(Updated 11/4/2017.)
Back in 2007, my wife and I had three cars between us.
Two of the cars had more than 160k miles each: a 1997 Oldsmobile Achieva and a 1997 Chrysler Town and Country.
The third one was a 2004 Toyota Corolla that we had just bought because the Achieva was starting to let us down a bit. (In November 2017, I still had this car, and it's running strong.)
We had about $1,000 in exhaust repairs on the Achieva that needed to get done because we hadn't bought the Corolla at that point.
All three cars were running fine; my wife used the van and I commuted with the Corolla.
One very rare time that having an extra car is good
My wife got into a minor fender bender. (No one was hurt, and as far as we know it wasn't even her fault.)
But the fender bender did knock the van out of alignment, so we took it into the garage to have it checked out and fixed.
It sure was nice to have that third vehicle ready to go in this circumstance. No need to borrow another vehicle, or “suffer” with just one vehicle between us, or rent a vehicle.
Why having an extra car really wasn't that smart in retrospect
Carrying that extra car, though, was pretty expensive in retrospect. I'm not really sure why I thought it was a good idea at the time, except perhaps that we were still in the cheap-car mindset and expected them to let us down.
Here's a list of reasons why it was a bad idea:
- The carrying costs were expensive. Insurance was the biggest expense. We raised our deductibles and took collision off of the Achieva, but it's still about $50/month extra for the added vehicle, which wasn't chump change then or now. Add on registration, inspection, and other maintenance, and it's starting to cost some real money.
- You have to drive the car regularly to keep it in shape. A car just sitting around will deteriorate like anything else. And as much as I intended to keep the third car active, I didn't, and we had to have someone buy the car as a junk vehicle (i.e., cheap). That cost us a few hundred dollars right there.
- We could have gotten a loaner from our mechanic. We had given our mechanic a lot of business. A couple of times he let us borrow one of his vehicles if he had to keep our car more than one day. That was an option to take care of our one-car “problem” that didn't require us to have another car waiting in the wings.
- An accident is a fairly rare occurrence. The rareness of the occurrence is why insurance companies make so much money. If things were serious enough, we would have been covered for a vehicle rental. Carrying that extra car was unnecessary for 99% of the time.
- The extra car wasn't a toy. The one way that having an extra car might be justifiable is if it were a convertible or an otherwise collectible antique car. If that were the case, it would be garaged, protected, and loved. Not so with our third car. It was nothing more than insurance, and old, and smelly, and not even that pretty.
Smart alternatives to carrying an extra car
- See the writing on the wall and sell. We tend to absolutely, ruthlessly drive our cars into the ground. Like a person in their final months, a car on its last legs — er, wheels — costs a lot of money, mainly in repairs of big pieces like alternators, starters, transmissions, and engines. Once we get a good ride out of a vehicle, we should sell it while it still has some use to someone else as a vehicle.
- Reduce the absolute need for a second vehicle. This is a longer, bigger change, but a few years later we moved closer to where I work. My wife could drop me off at work and get back home in about ten minutes. That's not terribly inconvenient if we're without a second vehicle for a bit. We were a bit farther away from my work when we had three vehicles.
- Get more reliable cars. We started to do this with my Corolla (which I still own) and later with a Toyota Sienna. Hate to say it, but not holding your breath every time you start up a vehicle is a nice feeling and reduces the feeling of needing a backup vehicle.
I wouldn't keep a third car in your case if one person can stand driving a minivan as an every-day driver. Get rid of the Achieva. The new corollas are great. Mid nineties oldses, not so much.
The next 1,000 dollar repair you might want to grt rid of the Achieva but if you really want three cars that's your choice.
It's not like it's three pricey cars with heavy payments.
We also have 3 cars (only 1 paid off), and it's great to have the third car when another is in the shop for whatever reason, or to reduce the mileage on your other vehicles. However, I agree it's an added expense that you need to justify with usage.
With our third car (a 10 year old grand am), we drive it maybe 4-6k miles per year, but it only costs us about $400 per year in maintenance and repairs and $30 a month in insurance.
Right now, I'm looking into selling my Ridgeline since it's $25,000 in debt we can dump easily. I can go buy a $10,000 truck if I need one and get one with low mileage and decent options.
For me it is worth it. I commute by motorcycle and my wife and I have 2 other vehicles. But when one of our vehicles breaks down we have the spare; no worries about getting a rental, and I can keep the broken vehicle in the garage for a week while I look for cheap parts. This allows me the time to find great deals, as well as the time to fix it at my leisure.
A spare vehicle can also be classified by your insurance company as a pleasure vehicle, which gives you a discount. If you don't drive it often (you should drive it on an errand twice a month to keep it running well), oil changes become minimal – I personally feel the 'monthly interval' oil changes are silly…oil doesn't lose its viscosity or get any dirtier just sitting there (imagine how long it sat on the shelf or in a warehouse before making it into your engine).
It doesn't work for everyone, but I find it a great convenience and money saver.
Good question. We have an extra vehicle too, and keep changing our minds about what to do about it. One of our three is "newer" ('02), while the other two cars are old ('93 and '94). Having a spare comes in handy, but we keep thinking we should get rid of one of the older pair. The problems is that each has its plusses and problems, so it's not clear which one should go… And so we don't do anything 🙂
It's funny, my husband and I were just discussing a movement in the opposite direction – that when our second car dies, we might not replace it. We've been carpooling to work most days, and while it's more convenient to have 2 cars, it might be worth the extra hassle to bring our costs down further. I am concerned about what we would do if the car needed repairs, however.
Based on your wife's driving history, maybe she should be driving a tank (ask her about the left turn out of the parking lot in Francis) instead of a mini-van. 😉
Thanks for the comments!
More people than I thought would keep the extra car. I do agree that the car is an added expense that has to be justified. I think I'd have a tough time convincing the insurance company that my beater is a pleasure vehicle, though.
Anitra: That's quite a step. That would really be tough for us given our driving habits and schedules, but it can be a big money-saver if you can work it out.
VirginiaGal: Ahhhh … you were in that little episode. BTW the mini-van is Kate, my new car is Cori, the Achieva is Will, and our other vehicles (no longer with us) were my Accord, Art, and our Nissan Quest, Bob. And a comment from my wife 😛
My wife and I only have one car. I don't know how we could pull off having another. We're barely getting by with just the one. Sharing a car not only has helped us save money, but it has also given us time to talk to each other as my wife drives me to and from school. So, it's been a boon to our relationship.
My wife and I also have three vehicles. They are all high mileage vehicles and are all paid off.
92 Isuzu Pickup truck – 175k miles
97 Maxima 140k miles
95 Camry V6 – 169k miles
The Isuzu is only worth about $1000 so we have dropped full coverage on it. The other two have full coverage, but $1000 deductibles.
There are times when the pickup comes in handy for hauling large items, towing bulldozers, moving furniture, picking up a pallet of sod, etc.. The list goes on. In addition, if one of the other vehicles breaks down, I can park it in the garage and take my time fixing it. If we only had two vehicles, it would be a hassle to take it to the repair shop.
I would keep the third vehicle as long as it isn't costing a lot in maintenance. Just make sure you drive it every once in a while. Old cars or trucks that sit in the driveway eventually start to have problems unless they are driven every once in a while.
If you have another large repair with the van or Achieva, I would sell it and buy an older model Toyota or Honda that are have less maintenance problems as they age.
I’m a single guy and I own two vehicles. I do my own repair work, so having two has treated me well.
I also live in Ohio where the weather can be anything from day to day and the salty roads in the winter make having a “nice car” problematic.
One is an ’03 Mustang Mach 1 and the other is a ’92 Ranger custom. They are on a rotating maintenance schedule. They are both prepared for their respective seasons. One is for dirty work and winter, the other is for everything else.
Both being from the same manufacturer helps because they share a common vernacular of design. With the help of the factory maintenance manuals and having time on my side, I can wait and hunt for parts or do larger jobs without pressure. The Mach is a little on the rare side, but the Ranger’s parts are cheep and readily available. The Mach isn’t the workhorse.
The additional cost of insurance, storage, parts, registration, and tools can add up quickly. Two cars= two times the problems. The advantage comes with the longevity of properly maintained vehicles and I get to have fun working on the cars myself. I save on labor big time. Far less than the cost of buying new cars all the time. This is not a good idea for super busy people. Having a family and a fleet of cars isn’t wise.
I simply like my cars. I’d like to keep them on the road for a long time.
Thanks Shawn for your comment!
Nothing at all wrong with enjoying your cars; it sounds like you do!
When I had the extra car, it was simply a barely functional backup and nothing special at all. A bit different story than yours, of course.
Best to you!
I have two cars (17 Highlander/17 CRV), both run well but it’s difficult finding a good used car. It took me 6 months to fined the CRV and it ended up having issues but covered under warranty. My daughter will need a car in two years when she graduates from college. She gets the CRV, 56k miles now, but really want to keep the miles low so she can not worry about it once she gets it. My insurance agent has said they have clients that had accidents and it’s taken months to get body parts and rental cars cost a lot. So look at 2010 Lexus RX350. They are built like tanks and one of the safest cars made. 116k miles, 5900 dollars which is fairly priced. Mechanic looking at it. My thought is to limit crv use to very little and drive the Lexus. Wife drives the Highlander. So buy the Lexus and park Honda? Or just wait another year to look for car? Insurance is 1000 per year on Lexus from Progressive. State Farm wanted 4k per year.