To think it’s not *that* weird to only have one car?

[OnlyTheLangOfTheTitberg]

At lunchtime today I was chatting to a colleague who asked if I was going to an (optional) event in the office on Wednesday. For context, we’re currently hybrid working, 2 office days/3 WFH days each week and as one of the managers (albeit not too high up the seniority tree) I get to manage which days are which myself, with sensitivity to the needs of the business of course.

I said I would have quite liked to have been there but my car is booked in for a repair on Wednesday so I’ve had to make it a WFH day. She immediately said “can you not just use your husband’s car that day?” I said we only have one car and she said “oh” and looked quite nonplussed, as if I’d suddenly started speaking in tongues, and there was a long pause where it looked like she genuinely didn’t know how to respond to my shocking revelation I asked her if she was going and the conversation moved on, so I thought. But then as she was about to go back to her desk she hesitated, and then said “so what does your husband do if he needs to go somewhere while you’re at work?” so it was obviously playing on her mind. I just said, we manage (as it happens he’s disabled so no longer drives but she doesn’t need to know the ins and outs of his medical history, and even if he were still driving we couldn’t afford to run two cars) but it got me thinking…is it so unusual to only have one car between a couple these days?

We have one car but live in a city. Public transport is good, and I like walking. Not keen on cycling in the city though!

We only have one car (DH doesn't drive so no point having two!) and I've had some very odd comments over the years. The garage not bothering to ring to let me know the car needed to stay in overnight meaning it wasn't available for me to do the schoolrun in it - they were astounded I didn't have access to a second car to use instead!
Several people asking if my DH can't just learn to drive so I don't have to ferry him around. He has a driving licence but doesn't drive for medical reasons. We chose to live somewhere with good public transport.

Some of it is outright sexism - assuming our small old car is the wife's little run around car (cheap to run!) rather than our actual family car!

I think it depends on location and lifestyle - when we lived in a big town we managed with one and it was fine. He could get public transport to work in his office and I could walk most places when he needed to be on site. Now we live in a village with all our after school activities being in different villages that don’t have direct transport links and my husband works 2 hours drive away and frequently on site nether of which have public transport access from where we live for the time he needs to be there.

We have one car and both our neighbours have one car. I don't know about the rest of the street as it's not something I take much notice of (having said that "the doctors" who live two doors down have two cars now you mention (she has a nice mini that I slightly covet 😊).

We don't need two cars, we manage perfectly well with one and cars are very expensive to run so we'd need to have a really good reason to have two. Plus it's twice the washing and maintenance. Can't be doing with the extra chores more than anything, we can't keep up with the ones we have!

We only have one. If DH ever needed to start driving to work we'd probably need a second, but he takes the train and walks to the station, so it's currently fine.

We have 2 cars but I know plenty of families with just 1, and it's usually because there's only 1 driver! People just automatically assume that everyone drives, which is definitely not the case!!

My husband's nephew asked me if we are poor as we only have one car. We live in the city and both work within walking distance of home. Nephew's family live in the suburbs and he thinks everyone in the world has to drive to work, the supermarket, everything really.

I have two cars, just mine, no DP. People seem to find this weird.

It's a weird question because everyone is different. We have 2 cars, we need 2 cars. We couldn't live our lives with one car. But that's just us, everyone's setup is different.

I had to be in work at 7am today, and I work 40 miles away and live in a town with no train station. DH started work at 2pm, he will finish at 11pm. He also works about 40 miles away but in a different location. (Both emergency services). I needed to pick the DC up from school, and DD had an activity. We really couldn't manage with just one car. It was fine when we lived in a town that was walking distance (30 minutes) to a train station but no use now.

So much to do with car ownership seems to be anchored in conveying an image of some sort. The 'right' car. Not older than, say, 4 years. I know people who take on so much debt they can't afford, thus depriving themselves of experiences that could enhance their lives. For a car - a means of getting from A to B!!

Obviously there are places where a car is virtually mandatory. Which is why we have one car. Which is 20 years old.... I fear one or two of our neighbours consider it a bit of a blot on the neighbourhood........ But do I care?

This must be very location and income dependent! I am struggling to think of any families I know that live by us in similar circumstances who have 2 cars. Can think of plenty with none even where they could afford it but use car club instead. Yet im sure people living in suburbs or rurally would likely have 2 if they could.

We've got one car. My husband started his own business from home and the first year he did 1000 miles, most of which were done just to run his car for the sake of it. He had a BMW which was quite expensive to just keep as a lawn ornament.

Two weeks later, someone crashed into the other car and wrote it off, but apart from that, it's not been an issue!

some people regard car ownership as some kind of personal statement of freedom or whatever!.its a mindset thing, also as public transport isn't always great in so many areas.

we have 2 but could possibly consider going down to one
I'd miss spontaneous trips on my day off though.
rubbish public transport where I live. so expensive.

We have one car. We had two, but when we took the second for it’s MOT last year and realised it had only done 350 miles in a year we sold it.
Now on the odd occasions it’s a problem one of us gets a taxi. Still cheaper over the course of a year.

Definitely think it’s location dependent.

I’ve always lived in cities and have never had a car in my life. People found it a bit weird in my childhood but as an adult I still don’t have one and neither do half my friends.

I personally wouldn't want to share only 1car with my DH but there are plenty of people who do so YANBU

We have one car, and try to use it as less as possible for environmental reasons. We are lucky in that we can both bike to work and the kids walk up a school. In this era of climate change, I thinks it’s everyone’s responsibility use their cars as least as they possibly can. Most of my friends are also one car families.

No cars here. London, though, so no need.

@FlowerArranger

So much to do with car ownership seems to be anchored in conveying an image of some sort. The 'right' car. Not older than, say, 4 years. I know people who take on so much debt they can't afford, thus depriving themselves of experiences that could enhance their lives. For a car - a means of getting from A to B!!

Obviously there are places where a car is virtually mandatory. Which is why we have one car. Which is 20 years old.... I fear one or two of our neighbours consider it a bit of a blot on the neighbourhood........ But do I care?

I do think this is true. I wonder how many people who cite terrible public transport would consider a certain level of inconvenience as acceptable. I visited dsis in Edinburgh recently by train and met up with quite a lot of people on various bits if the city who kept offering to drive to meet me or get me insured on their car. It's a city, it has buses and trains and I had my bike with me too. But I was made to feel a bit weird for being reliant on public transport, even for a week.

It's bizarre that your colleague couldn't fathom using a taxi/ public transport/ walk or bike somewhere.

I guess it depends where you live and what the public transport/cycling options are, as well as jobs and kids. My parents and all my siblings only have one car per family, but we all live in London so never use them for work anyway. When I lived more rurally it was a pain because dh and I would have to drive in to work together and hang around for each other to finish.

I know of few of our friends with 2 cars. Often there is one car and the other uses public transport (if in a couple). I like to think concern for the environment plays a part, I also think with the people I know it is a generation thing (older generation more likely to have more than one in a couple).

We only have one car, have done for years. DH cycles to work on days when I'm using the car. Its very rarely ever a problem, and certainly not enough for the expense of a second car. Thinking about it, several of our neighbours only have one car as well, so not uncommon here (reasonable public transport though, and a small town that can be cycled around easily).