Hi everyone! I figured I'd ask about something that's been bothering me for my first post.
We are a three-person, two-car family. My husband's car (96 Civic) gets regular use going to and from his job, but I drive my car, on average, twice a month (to go to Costco), except for occasional trips to local waterways to kayak in the warmer months. I am a stay-at-home mom, and everywhere I regularly go except Costco is within biking or walking distance. I already do all of our grocery shopping, library trips, etc. on bike or on foot, I walk my son to school every day, and I don't really feel like I need a car. I could go to Costco - and kayaking - on weekends or weeknights when my husband's car is not in use, or I could carpool with a friend and give her gas money.
However, my husband argues that we should hold onto my car (99 VW Bug) because 1) we need it as a backup vehicle for when his car is being repaired and 2) it costs us so little money on average that it isn't hurting us financially to keep it. I feel that we would save money by getting rid of my car (thus no repairs - which are infrequent but expensive - and no car insurance or registration fees; gas money is negligible since I fill up about once every 2-3 months) and simply renting a car when his car is in the shop. I have done a few minor repairs on his car, and plan on learning how to do more as need arises, so hopefully it won't be in the shop very often. I should probably mention that if we get rid of my car, we will donate it to our local public radio station, so we lack that financial incentive for letting it go. Further details: our insurance runs us $77/month, and registration fees are around $60.00.
So...are my husband's arguments sound? Should we indeed keep our "backup car"?
