Cars?

Carla

For most of my adult life I had access to one car. DH and I shared a family car that was usually an SUV type due to living in a very snowy and remote northern Ontario community. The community was small enough that one could get around with relative ease on foot or bicycle. There was okay urban transit (bus) as well. Additionally, DH and I worked at offices that were minutes from each other - so commuting together was never a problem.

12 years ago (at 53 yo) I ended up with a car of my own. DH was starting work in the place where we would eventually relocate, and did not want to leave me without transportation for the several months before our relocation. I’m not a car person, so asked for ‘something cheap with good mileage.’ That is how I became the owner of ‘Beautiful’ (license plate BTFL ###) a Ford Focus.

BTFL is getting old, but hasn’t cost much to repair. She did get some recent body work on one side, and needs the same on the other. We’re going to keep her going for as long as possible since we are a multigenerational household, and DS#1 uses my vehicle from time to time. She is almost indispensable now, since my Mom (88 yo) moved to the community where I live. Mom has mobility issues, so I drive her to her (many) medical appointments, grocery shopping, church, etc.

DH uses ‘The People Carrier’ - an SUV which I hardly touch these days. We bought it to replace our last family vehicle (with very high mileage) after we retired 8 years ago. Mileage where we now live doesn’t get racked up like it did when we lived ‘up north’, and since we retired there’s no commute to work. We used to trade in the family vehicle after 6-8 years! Not even considering it now. SUV in great shape.

DH and I have been talking, thinking ahead, and wondering if we should replace BTFL, give her up when she is no longer dependable keep or trade in the ‘People Carrier’, etc, etc. We are 65 and 68 yo and still NEED at least one vehicle.

What are your car stories and if you are in your later years, what are your thoughts on car ownership? Do you share your vehicle? Do you use alternate transportation? Do you fancy/love your car? Electric, gas, hybrid? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

1 day ago

Off Topic

14 replies

Latest reply was from Dee

MsMary

Veteran

My husband and I still have our own cars even though we are retired and could get along with one car fairly easily. (We live in So Cal and there aren't really any options other than driving so at least one car is a necessity.) He is a "car guy" and drives a snazzy two-seater, and I drive a small SUV. They are both gas powered for a variety of reasons (batteries run on electricity that is still generated by fossil fuels, we don't want to support Elon Musk, the batteries are environmental hazards when used up, we don't want to be at the mercy of looking for a charging station, etc.). Both are in good shape, fairly low mileage, and I am hoping they will see us through to the finish line (he's 79, I'm 68).

1 day ago

JAileen

Veteran

We have two SUVs. Our town gets snow and if we want to drive over the mountain pass to visit family, we need AWD. Although we’re both retired, we are often out doing different things, at the same time, and the nearest bus line is almost a mile from our house. So we have a Subaru Outback and a Toyota RAV4 hybrid. The RAV is old but has low mileage. The Subaru has been our road car, and may need replacing in the next few years.

We’ve talked about what we’ll do WRT cars. In the future, we’ll probably make the RAV our road car and get a tiny EV for our in town trips, and just make it work. I have a friend with a Tesla and she loves it, but like MsMary, I don’t want to give Musk any of my money. Interesting note: there is a Tesla battery plant in the area, and a Tesla engineer lives across the street, and another one lives right behind us.

1 day ago

LJP

Veteran

My biggest regret is selling one of our cars when DH (temporarily ) retired . It was my idea and I thought we were being all responsible and eco friendly / never mind saving a lot of money on insurance , maintenance , gas etc . Guess who doesn’t have a car anymore ??! He drives it to work ( drops me off en route ) to work and back every day and I take transit home . had my own car since I was 18 . I feel like I’ve lost my independence and it’s a f-ing pain in the neck to always have to check first if the car is available . There, I said . Lol. If I win the lottery , the first thing I’m doing is buying myself a car .

ETA : the increase in the price of cars since we sold 5 yrs ago has prohibited us from buying a second car again . The car we sold has probably tripled in value . Crazy times .

1 day ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I drive a very small SUV, and hubs drives a very old two-sweater sports car. We own both cars, do not lease them, and drive our cars for many, many years. They have extremely low mileage. We don't drive much!

1 day ago

SarahD8

Veteran

We have a Kia EV as our main car and I really like it. Until recently we had a Prius hybrid as well but sold it and bought a used Honda pickup. I actually never thought we would own a gasoline car again but so far my husband (the truck is his vehicle, let’s be honest) mainly uses it to haul lumber to build me cedar planter boxes and I got to retire from moving the Prius every 72 hours (city street parking- only 1 vehicle fits in the driveway) so, huzzah! No complaints. We both work at home so that simplifies negotiations for driving the EV.

1 day ago

kkards

Veteran

I had a bad, like really bad, experience with a used car in my 20s and swore not to do that again. But you know the motto around here, never say never. In 2019 when I had to replace my VW diesel, I bought a certified used SUV. Best decision. Got a car that had been leased, low mileage and certified by the car manufacturer-so if there was an issue they would cover it, as well as they included the original warranty.

A couple of tips for what worked for me. I used the brands website, put in what I was looking for, and kept extending the search zone. I did everything via email and text. Yup never even talked with a car salesman ! Ended up buying for a dealer almost 200 miles away from me, had them deliver the car to my doorstep. The dealer took care of all the paperwork. It was the best experience I’ve ever had buying a car.
I have a hybrid, and for the size, the mileage is great. If I was replacing it today, I’d get the same make/model but I’d look for a plug in hybrid

1 day ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

We have one Toyota Camry Hybrid, bought new (our first ever new car!) in 2015. It looks a bit dinged up now (due to, ahem, some parking lot encounters on DH's part) but works just fine.

Neither of us are car people. When we lived in Kingston, we both walked almost everywhere -- the car was for occasional trips to Toronto or Montreal and some of our larger grocery runs, also for ferrying the kid to lessons, for my trips to see aging parents, and so on.

Now we live in a suburb that makes the use of a car more necessary, but we still get by with just the one vehicle.

Mr. Suz is now retired for the most part. I work outside the home a couple of days a week. He gets the car most days because he is our main grocery shopper. I take it to work, or sometimes he drops me off and I take transit home. I bike (on my e-bike) or take transit almost everywhere else. (I rarely bike to work because the route is rather unsafe.) This arrangement works for us in this climate.

We now have 3 drivers in the family because our kid has their learners' and will soon be fully licenced. We expect to give this car to them eventually, and get something else for ourselves. But we will stick to one vehicle. Mr. Suz is older and probably won't be driving for too many more years. As it is, neither of us likes to drive at night. When the kid moves out, we hope to move to a more central location where driving will not be as necessary -- we'll use transit, Ubers, maybe ride shares, and so on. And for me, my bike, as long as I am able to ride it.

1 day ago

Kate

Veteran

I can't speak to this, since we haven't had a car in 25 years, but I'm interested in the answers, since we might be needing one in the next year. I'm thinking small electric SUV.

17 hours ago

Debbie

Veteran

We have 2. A Nissan Rouge which is mine. An a Toyota Tundra. My husband should not drive at all so the. Toyota is an issue. He will not sign the title for me to sell it so it’s here. I do not want an electric car for the reasons listed above.
We could definitely do with one car and basically do. It is extremely hard to get a man to give up his car.

16 hours ago

Indigoprint

Veteran

Woop -de -doo for my Subaru. My Fav uncle influenced me to buy my first car, a Subaru. Drove it until it got hit by an errant tire crashing into my windshield while driving on the highway to a visit for work. I did not know at the time how lucky I was.
Next Subaru lasted over 100 thousand miles in WI. We were living a ferry boat away from home and the Ferry guys heard my ticking carburetor and knew I was on my way.
As a family of 6 we had a nice van that did not survive a tornado.
We replaced it with another van but once the kiddos were gone we went back to our trusted Subaru.

15 hours ago

Sal

Veteran

We are in our 50s (mid to late) and own two cars (at our house). We also have a work van but that never really comes home except for rare occasions when we buy something random.

I drive a 2019 Subaru Outback - it was a work car but I have purchased it off work due to the Fringe Benefit Tax. It is practical for carrying our bikes, towing a trailer, and at times lending to others.

Jon drives a 2023 Tesla Model Y. In NZ most of our electricity is hydropower and our gas is very expensive $3 per litre. NZ does not drill for oil. I wish it wasn't a Tesla in many ways because of the ownership but it is a lovely car to drive. I drive it regularly.

We have been a one car family in the past but right now whilst we car pool and sometimes bike to work/work from home, I would struggle without my own vehicle.

15 hours ago

Irina

Veteran

I’m 60 and I have never had my own car. My office life was downtown, I used to walk or take a streetcar for that. I’m retired now and definitely don’t need/want it. We live in the center of the large city, in a walkable neighborhood. My DH is 62 and his work was until recently always in suburbs. He buys a new car once every 7-8 years. His current car is old and he will be replacing it this or next year. He wants to buy a hybrid vehicle, something small. He still works and needs a car to get to the office. Also, our kids are going to buy a house in a rural area, we are planning to visit frequently.

15 hours ago

Suntiger

Veteran

Having 2 cars is absolutely essential for Casa ST! We live several miles from the nearest (small) town, and there's very limited public transport, plus we travel extensively for work and medical appointments.
I swear by Toyotas. I drive a Prius, which I Love It's going strong at nearly 300k miles, and I've heard of them getting to 400!
Our "people mover" is a Subaru. It fits us, our parents, and their wheelchair/ rollator with no issue. DH loves it, but it's much newer and overcomplicated, so more that can (and does) go wrong.

5 hours ago

Dee

Veteran

We are both retired and have 2 vehicles. A 2012 Honda civic and 2019 Toyota Rav4. Both have been reliable gems. We could probably get by with just 1 vehicle except that my husband golfs in the summer and these golf courses aren't nearby so he is often away for at least 6 hours at a time. Going down to one vehicle will probably be a more serious consideration once he no longer golfs.

48 minutes ago

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