We've been a two car family for as long as we have been a family (myself, wife, 2 year old, and one on the way). But over the last couple of years our lives have changed to the point where we really don't use two cars at the same time very much. I work from home and my wife works 2 days per week at a location 4 miles away. We only need child care two days per week and are lucky to have my parents providing this since they live close by.
I've been pitching the idea to my wife of selling our second vehicle ("her car") and using the equity (no loan and a KBB value of about $8000) to either pay off some student loans or invest in a rental unit. She has always objected to the idea. We don't know any couples (let alone any families) that only have one car, so the idea always felt like a bad one to her.
However, just a few days ago she hopped in her car to head to work and discovered that a spider had moved in and established a fairly extensive web. She came home that night, had a good laugh about it, and says she is starting to think I am right. This morning she even asked when we are going to sell her car.
So now I'm entering my usual big decision, over analytical, have-we-really-considered-everything stage. I've run through the numbers and figure we will save anywhere from $750-$1000 per year over the next 5 years by selling the vehicle (including expected depreciation but not including any potential investment gains by using the money elsewhere). My questions for the group are as follows:
Among those who have dropped your second vehicle, how often do you run into a situation where you regretted not having two cars?
Are there any specific situations that regularly pop up where you think, "damn, I wish we had another vehicle"?
Anyone out there drop the second car, change their mind, and end up with two cars again?
I'm interested in all opinions, but am hoping for some opinions from those families out there with 2+ young children. Our biggest concern is that in 9 months we will have two growing kids, a new found desire for two vehicles, and will end up back in the car buying market (albeit with $1000 extra in our pocket).
Thanks in advance.