This just may be the reason it's so very, very important to have two vehicles when both husband and wife are working and no kids, family or friends to help out: We have two. A 2005 Dodge Durango SLT, that we bought used in 2005, and a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500, that we bought used in 2003. Before buying the Ram, we had a Toyota 4-Runner and that was our only vehicle. If I needed it for an interview, doctors appointment or whatever, I'd have to take her to work and go and get her after work. That was sort of a hassle, especially in the winter months in Colorado. So, that's why we ended up buying the Ram. Good thing, I wound up getting a job in downtown Denver which was 18 miles from the apartment we had at the time. So, I'd drive the Ram to work and she'd drive the 4-Runner. Today, our main vehicle for driving is the Durango, but if that is in the shop for repair, my wife takes the Ram 1500 to work. If she has the Durango at work, I will use the Ram 1500 if I need to go somewhere. Now, the problem with having two vehicles is the repair expense and insurance. Just recently we've had get new tires for the Ram and a complete brake job (rotors, pads, calipers and shoes, plus a master cylinder). Then, a new battery and a new starter. Thing is, if we didn't have the Ram 1500, and the Durango would need work at a shop for something, how would my wife get to work and home. Renting a car is fairly expensive. So, we've had to "bite the dust" and put out some bucks (more than we really wanted to), for the Ram 1500 repairs. However, we do plan on selling the Ram next year.
In the winter, for the past couple of years, we've been getting by with one, mostly because my Tracker is too light to do well in ice and snow. Even with studded tires, it can get stuck in an icy driveway. I suppose we could get by with one car but I prefer having two. I use my Tracker to go up north, where the roads are bad even where there are roads, and my wife and I don't always go to the same places. In the summer, I will often go up north to work on the land while she stays here, and she likes to visit her sister in Connecticut a few times a year, and I prefer to stay here; but I don't want to have to walk to the store and such. @Cody Fousnaugh, if one of you is working, that's a good reason to have a couple of cars, but I can appreciate the expense.
@Cody Fousnaugh we too have two vehicles. I have an old Dodge Ram 1500 (1994) for farm chores, dump runs and building material hauling, as well as a spare vehicle for when things get rough--snow, water, etc. Our other vehicle is a 2012 Toyota Camry that I bought for my wife when she started working regularly. We use the Toyota for most trips, but you cannot fit 6 sheets of plywood or sheetrock into the Toyota, no matter how hard I try. The car is front-wheel drive and does well for most things, but if we get a foot or more of snow, or if the road floods, the 4-wheel, high clearance truck will go anywhere I want to go, or at least anywhere I NEED to go.
The 4-Runner got us thru our first winter, when we lived in Colorado. After we bought the Ram, which had a 4-wheel drive floor shift on it, we started noticing the 4-Runner floor automatic shift was becoming more and more loose. That's when we decided to trade it in for the Durango. The Durango has All-Wheel and Two Wheel Drive on it. Both the Ram and the Durango worked out really, really good in Colorado snowstorms and blizzards, while drivers in small non-3-wheel drive vehicles and no snow tires, didn't fare as good. I'd pass them going to work, where they had slid off into snow off of the freeway. We had snow tires on both, but now the Ram only has regular truck tires on it since it won't see snow again. Will sell it here, before we leave. Repairs can be costly, but, until we leave here, having both vehicles is simply a must. We just hope the Durango holds up going back to it's home in Colorado where we bought it used, but was sold new there.
We have always had two vehicles. Currently a 2009 Ford Expedition which I bought a few months ago and a 2000 Ford Ranger. My wife doesn't drive anymore but we still need two autos.
Up until we bought our Kia Soul two years ago...we had two vehicles also. But with my husband's Advanced Macular Degeneration causing his vision to be to poor to drive anymore it just would not make sense to have more than one vehicle now. We have a fairly new vehicle with very low mileage so if it would breakdown of need to be in the shop for a few days our Kia Dealership would give us a loaner car to use. If both spouses are still working or need separate vehicles because their lives go off in very different directions on most days, and they can afford the extra expense of a second vehicle then that's a good thing. At this time in our lives we don't need more than one vehicle and I certainly wouldn't want the extra expense of a second one anymore either. We also have lots of family here who in a pinch could take us places if we would need this.
That is one of the great things about living around family. But, as I tell most everyone, "not all families get along".
Yes, owning two vehicles can be expensive, just like owning any kind of recreational vehicle, as in boat or RV. But, when it's a necessity, it's definitely a necessity.
And, the income to provide for all three...….right? If your boat just sits, you don't have any engine or drive repair costs. On ours, we do.
Our boats is moored most of the year Cody...remember it's a houseboat so it only goes out maybe twice a year.. so we have mooring costs as well as all the maintenance costs. Remember our weather is not floridian weather, so it take a real battering, and every 5 years we have to get it craned out into Dry dock and the Hull repainted with epoxy paint to keep it watertight and rustproof..... it costs a lot with everything else.. here's an idea of the constant maintenance of a narrow-boat.... https://www.abnb.co.uk/submenupages/maintenance.html
Boats costs, that's for sure. Last Oct we paid some $6k for repair of our outdrive and had to have part of our stern re-fiberglass. The "brackish" water here (combined salt and fresh) hasn't done a thing good for our boat. Be glad to get it back into freshwater.
To take your house or apartment key and mailbox key (Post Office or apartment mailbox) off of the keyring you are giving to the buyer! We had two sets of truck keys, but the one set, the one we used, had our apartment key and mailbox key on it. When we gave both sets to the buyer, my wife thought that there were a lot of keys on the one set. As for me, I never gave it a thought that our apartment key and mailbox key were still on the one set. It wasn't until yesterday AM, when I went to put something in our front porch storage room, that I realized that I didn't have the key for it. Our front door apartment key also unlocks our back patio door and the front porch storage door. At that time I knew we had left both keys (apartment/mailbox) on the keyring we gave him. Luckily I was able to find his phone number he gave me in Private Messaging on my FB Marketplace ad. He is now sending us the keys. Now...…..other thing we forgot, but isn't that important, the small metal Security Box, with two magnets, that holds two keys, that I attached to the main frame of the vehicle behind the front bumper. There's an ignition key and apartment key in that. I called and told him where the box was and to toss the apartment key. We had a buyer for the truck, that we weren't sure we'd get, and wanted to sell it ASAP.
Well, got the apartment and mailbox keys back, but the buyer also sent us the keys to the steering wheel Club. Actually, he sent us three Club keys and we only had two for the Club we had. Have no idea where the third Club key came from. Guess perhaps he doesn't use the Club and may have had one himself and his wife sent us the key to that one. I called him, and left a message, telling him "thanks" for returning the apartment and mailbox keys and mentioned the Club keys we also got. He never called back. Guess, his idea is...…..the truck is now his and registered in his name, our keys are back to us...…...that's it. No more communication needed.