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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask if you have successfully become a one car family

117 replies

TheSecondMrsTanqueray · 14/02/2025 07:43

DH gets the train to work. I mostly wfh now. DD uses my car when she's home from uni but, although, we live rurally there is public transport and we could put her on DH's insurance.

Anyone given up a car? How did it go and were the savings worth it?

OP posts:

RadStag · 14/02/2025 07:44

We never have been able to afford another car. You just get on with it.

RadStag · 14/02/2025 07:45

It all depends on your life style.

If you and DH have to be in two different places at the same time. Someone has to drop early etc. or if you're ferrying kids around.

Only you know if it will work or not, even if it's quite inconvenient.

festivemouse · 14/02/2025 07:46

We tried and couldn't do it! Even if it was infrequent, the times we needed to be in different places (or more frequently wanted to be in different places!) made it too hard.

Lentilweaver · 14/02/2025 07:47

We have become a no car family but we live in London and the kids are grown.
Best thing we ever did

Bjorkdidit · 14/02/2025 07:48

It depends on your lifestyle and what's available locally - public transport or taxis.

It will work for many but for others will be anywhere from a moderate inconvenience to massively detrimental to employment opportunities, available time and leisure opportunities.

MathsAndStatisticsCampus · 14/02/2025 07:48

We did and it is great. One saves money and hassle. It meant that we walked and cycled more which made us feel better. Actually, we use the car less and less.

chocomoccalocca · 14/02/2025 07:49

We did it about 4 months ago and it's fine. I have primary aged children and we can walk them to school, both work from home and when DH does go to office it's by train which he can walk to. It is a pain at times but we walk more and don't do as many little trips to the shop etc. I think when the kids are older we will need a second car again but it works for now.

FedUpandEatingChocolate · 14/02/2025 07:49

We do it, sometimes it's really annoying and a cause of arguments. You just need to accept that spending on taxis is still cheaper than running a second car.

WhichOneIsPosher · 14/02/2025 07:50

I'd love to get rid of a car! My 11 year old car is coming to end of its life and we're debating struggling on with it or getting a newer one. We work at opposite ends of the city, DH does 12 hour shifts starting at 7am and we have school age kids who go to breakfast club and afterschool twice a week. Wouldn't work for us atm.

SapphireOpal · 14/02/2025 07:50

It totally depends on your lifestyle. How often do you need to be in two places at once, neither of which could have been accessed by public transport?

For us it's about once a year as neither of us drive to work - so we dropped the second car!

FurryGiraffe · 14/02/2025 07:50

We're a one car family. We both WFH most of the time and if DH's office is in London so he commutes by train. It's mildly inconvenient sometimes in terms of ferrying the children about, and they certainly walk more than most of their friends, but that's not necessarily a bad thing!

ZippyPeer · 14/02/2025 07:51

You could try it for a year, see how much you spend on taxis when you would have used the car? As in don't stop doing stuff, just tot up the cost.

Bet it'll still be cheaper

NevergonnagiveHughup · 14/02/2025 07:52

We did and we managed to make it work. I was the sceptic.

We both have e-bikes and used if the car was being used (where we would have taken the 2nd car if we had it). Kids bike to their activities and we have managed to get lifts for them if car 1 was elsewhere.

we signed up to a car-sharing scheme for emergencies and only used it once in 18 months.

it was a bit of an eye-opener, actually. Unfortunately DS 1 is learning to drive so we needed to get a small 2nd car again.

Dearg · 14/02/2025 07:54

We did for a bit after DH changed jobs and had to hand back his co car. We lived rurally, about 25 miles from my work.

In reality it was very inconvenient, especially for me. DH basically assumed rights to my car and would trot out 100 reasons why he needed to drop me at work and take the car. He also had a needy mother who placed additional demands on his time/ use of a car.

Both our jobs required flexibility around timing, and I quickly resented the hell out of him commandeering the car I was paying for.

That was several years ago. We learned to each have our own car , and I am guarding mine carefully as he nears retirement.

Londonrach1 · 14/02/2025 07:55

We have one car at the moment but it's impossible as I can't work for example today as dh needs to get to work. He and I have been juggling and doing things different but it's impossible. He is the main wage earner and today needs to be in the office. We've had to do a lot of juggling which tbh has been hell and we only been without the second car for a week. Picking up second car tomorrow. It literally depends on your job, location of where you live...

MermaidMummy06 · 14/02/2025 07:56

It works for SIL & BIL who mostly WFH or catch the train, and don't seem to go far on weekends. It doesn't work for DH & I as we're in the office 5 days & are always going in different directions in the evening or weekends for DC or errands.

DH suggested that when we retire we go to one car. I laughed and said hell no. My parents dropped to one car & it's been hell. Mostly because DF goes out as he pleases DM sometimes misses out on her hobbies.

RatedDoingMagic · 14/02/2025 07:56

We've always been a one-car family.

Everyone has a bike, we have numerous panniers so that smaller errands can be run by bike. In the very rare circumstances where more than one simultaneous car journey is needed and there's no public transport option, someone gets a taxi. That happens about 3 times a year so the cost is way lower than the cost of running a 2nd car.

PurpleThistle7 · 14/02/2025 07:59

We had no car for a few years and now one car. Two kids with lots of activities but we both walk / bus to work and live in a city. It's slightly inconvenient at times as there are nights both kids have to be in different places but we just schedule carefully, carpool when we can and make it work. We've never seriously considered a second car but we did move to a house specifically with good transport links instead of the cheaper and bigger options outside of town.

MrsMariaReynolds · 14/02/2025 08:01

We've been a 0 car family for 14 years. But it's taken some compromises and lifestyle choices to make it work--living relatively close to city centre, only having 1 child, I can walk to work, DS can walk to school, living on a bus route to H's workplace.

Choosing to live out in the country? I can't see how you could possibly live with minimal car options, but like our choices, that one is yours.

BitOutOfPractice · 14/02/2025 08:01

We are about to go to one car. One of the many joys of city living. We both walk to work. DP’s car hasn’t moved for months (mine hadn’t moved since last weekend) so we are getting rid of it. He might get a motorbike but that will be for fun not necessity.

Havingaswimmoose · 14/02/2025 08:03

Scooter? Motorbike? In addition to the one car. You can fit loads of stuff in the panniers/top box.

WoahThreeAces · 14/02/2025 08:03

We can't even afford one car at the moment, we had to give it up so we are a no car family. Both working full time but hybrid WFH and commuting using public transport.
We didn't have any choice. You do what you gotta do.

Didimum · 14/02/2025 08:04

We’ve never had two cars. DH drives everywhere and I bus/train/walk everywhere. Two kids, live semi-rural.

RatedDoingMagic · 14/02/2025 08:04

Reading through other replies it occurs to me that this a situation where the choice isn't so much about how many cars you need as a family but about the choices you have already made which will dictate what cars you need. We have chosen where we live and work in the context of being a one-car family. We live close to both bus and train routes and a good cycle lane network. We don't have jobs that require us to have exclusive use of a vehicle each. If as a two car family you chose to live somewhere with minimal public transport and jobs that cannot be WFH in opposite directions then you have locked yourselves into multiple car ownership, but that was a choice no one forced you into.

Enko · 14/02/2025 08:05

Apart from a period of 3 years we were a 1 car family raising the children and still now. We lived in a village with a train station and you just get on with it. Communicate and ensure everyone is sorted.

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