Is having an extra car worth it?
May 5th, 2007 | by mbhunter |Right now my wife and I have three cars between us. Two of them have more than 160k miles each — a 1997 Oldsmobile Achieva and a 1997 Chrysler Town and Country. The other one is a 2004 Toyota Corolla that we just bought because the Achieva was starting to let me down a bit. 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 are running all right. My wife uses the van and I commute with the Corolla now.
This week, my wife got into a very minor fender bender. (No one was hurt, and as far as we know it wasn’t even her fault.) But it 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.
Obviously, if we keep this extra vehicle for any length of time, it’s going to cost us:
- Insurance. This is 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.
- Registration. Neighborhood of $25/year.
- Maintenance. Oil changes, fluids, etc.
Since my wife’s primary vehicle is getting up there in miles, the mean time between failures is going to get shorter, which increases the convenience value of having an extra vehicle around. If her car were as new as the Corolla it’s less likely we’d be stranded by our vehicles, and it probably would make more sense to sell the car.
Do you have any experience with having extra vehicles? Pros/cons?
10 Responses to “Is having an extra car worth it?”
By kurt on May 5, 2007 | Reply
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.
By iportion on May 5, 2007 | Reply
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.
By Clever Dude on May 6, 2007 | Reply
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.
By Chris on May 6, 2007 | Reply
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.
By Alison on May 7, 2007 | Reply
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
By Anitra on May 7, 2007 | Reply
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.
By VirginiaGal on May 7, 2007 | Reply
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.
By mbhunter on May 8, 2007 | Reply
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
By Brett McKay on May 10, 2007 | Reply
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.
By Mark on May 11, 2007 | Reply
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.