I got this email from a reader yesterday:
“My parents are driving me insane. They want me to buy a new car. Or, if I won’t, they will buy one for me. It’s getting ridiculous. My car is fine. It’s paid off. It’s a subaru with 185,000 miles. But with a subaru, it could seriously last another 100k. Their argument is safety. Mine is frugality. I’m paying off debt, I have no intention of getting a car loan. And absolutely don’t want to be in the situation where I owe my parents, or where they give me such an expensive gift. (and I’m 36) Plus, I think it’s ‘greener’ to continue to use my current car. I could be wrong, but it gets decent gas milage. It isn’t low emissions or anything, but if I don’t buy one, in my mind, it’s one less car on the planet. Anyways, I don’t feel particularly unsafe, although there is only one airbag. I’m just wondering about your thoughts on all of this and would be interested in reading a post about it. You say you drive used cars, did you buy them used? Obviously one day I’ll have to purchase a car, what would you recommend (as far as new v. used v. ‘green’ etc).”
I’ve written a lot about my car. It’s a 1991 Civic wagon that my husband and I bought in 2003 for $2300 cash. It has about 214,000 miles on it. (my husband drives a 1990 Audi with 110,000 miles on it). Both of our cars are still going strong. I am on a mission to drive as little as possible. I walk or bike anywhere within five miles of our home. My yoga class and the bank are both four miles from our house, and I bike to each of them every week. The grocery store, post office, thrift store, and library are all about a mile away, and I would never dream of driving to any of them. Since we both work at home, we often go several days without taking either car out of the garage.
Here’s our long-term plan: We’ll keep both of our cars until one of them dies and/or needs very expensive repairs (we’ll do things like spark plug wires and brake pads, but not an engine overhaul). At that point, we’ll get rid of the dead car and keep the other one. We’ll keep that car until it no longer drives either, at which point we’ll go looking for a new-to-us car. We will never buy a new car, under any circumstances. In fact, I can’t see us ever buying a car less than five years old. We’re currently saving $200/month in an online savings account earmarked for a new car. We just started this summer, so we only have $600 in the account right now. But it should take a good long while before both of our cars bite the dust, and by then we should have enough money for a decent used car. (It’s a myth that you have to spend a fortune to get a good used car. We only paid $2300 for my car, and it’s already lasted us more than five years). So our plan is to eventually be a one car family. But for now, with cars that are 17 and 18 years old, it doesn’t make sense to get rid of one, since we don’t know which one will end up lasting longer – we could get rid of one and then the other one could die next week. It only costs us about $350/year to register/emission test/insure each vehicle, so we’ll keep them both around until they don’t drive anymore.
I also agree that it’s greener to keep your current car than to go buy a new one – but it depends on your circumstances. For me, since I drive so little, it’s a no brainer that keeping my current car is the greener choice. And it helps that my Civic gets nearly 30 miles to the gallon. It would be a different story if you drive a truck that gets 12 mpg and you put 20,000 miles on it every year.
But what about the safety issue? Breaking down is a possibility with any car, regardless of how old it is. Back in the bad old days, I worked at a car rental company. All of our cars were less than three years old, and the majority of our fleet was always less than a year old. And there were plenty of breakdowns. A new car is no guarantee that you won’t be left stranded on the side of the road. But most of us have cell phones these days, and that’s what they’re there for.
Speaking of cell phones, let’s look at the other safety issue – accidents. It’s true that newer cars have better built-in safety technology, and that is the only argument I would ever make in favor of a new car (and possibly the warranty, if you go with a company that offers 100,000 mile warranties). If cars were free, I would drive one that had a great safety rating and great fuel efficiency. But cars aren’t free. So I choose to continue driving my Civic (which doesn’t have any airbags at all). But I wonder how many of the people I see on the interstate driving 80 mph, talking on the phone, 15 feet behind the car in front of them, bought their new car because of the safety features? I’m guessing a lot of them would give that as a reason, but their behavior indicates that they really aren’t that concerned about safety at all. A safe car isn’t going to keep you from being in an accident – it’ll just help protect you once the accident occurs. In the winter, when our mountain highways are covered in ice and snow, I invariably see SUVs flying past everyone in the fast lane – no doubt counting on their four wheel drive to let them drive 55 mph on ice. So instead of going into debt (to the bank or to your parents) to buy a fancy new car, here are my ideas for enhancing our safety on the road, which I think work a lot better than having 25 airbags in the car:
- Driving is not a multi-tasking sport. Don’t talk on your phone (and people who text while they’re driving shouldn’t have licenses), don’t eat, don’t shave, don’t put on make up, don’t put in a new cd, etc. Just drive. With both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road.
- Drive 65 mph on the interstate. You’ll save gas, and you’ll be able to just stay in the right hand lane most of the time (frequently changing lanes increases your chances of an accident)
- stay far back from the car in front of you. If someone ducks into the space in front of you, slow down. You’ll get fewer rocks in your windshield, and reduce your chances of an accident.
- Who cares if someone cuts you off, doesn’t let you in, doesn’t use their blinker, honks at you, etc. Just chill out. we’ll all get there eventually.
I honestly think that these things (combined with driving as little as possible) matter more than the safety features in a car.
That’s my two cents on cars. We’ll have to wait and see how much money we have in our car fund by the time both of our vehicles go to car heaven. That will determine what we end up with as our next car. The number one issue for us will be fuel economy, but we’ll also be looking at safety, maintenance issues, and cargo space. I’m hoping that we won’t be car shopping for several more years though, and we’re careful about staying on top of routine maintenance to keep our cars going as long as possible.
Kelly says
Where do you live where you have to pay for emissions? In Illinois we don’t have to pay to have them checked. Also, I was wondering how you grocery shop by walking. I also wonder this about people who live in the city without cars. We grocery shop weekly and still have 3-4 bags, so I would literally need a wagon to haul them home. Also, what about when you buy refridgerated goods or frozen goods. I am thinking milk. Even walking quickly, it seems to me that the milk would be warm by the time I got home on a summer day. Even just walking a mile. Okay, just wondering. I have thought about walking, as the grocery store isn’t too far from my house, especially if I just needed to grab a couple things, but then, a couple things usually includes milk or some meat for dinner.
FrugalBabe says
@Kelly, our city charges $25 for emissions testing, and older cars have to have it done every two years. I’m not sure what the cut off is for “older” but I know that both of our vehicles require emissions testing in order to renew our registration.
I have a basket on my bike, and I’m able to fit two canvas grocery bags in it. I can make the trip to the grocery store in about 5 minutes on my bike, so I don’t worry about anything spoiling on my way home. I’m a vegetarian, and almost all of what I buy is produce, so it doesn’t matter anyway. We drink rice milk, which comes in shelf-stable boxes, so it doesn’t matter how long it takes us to get that home. My husband eats meat, but we only buy organic, free range, grass fed meat (so he doesn’t get it very often, because that stuff’s expensive!). He gets it at a health food store, which is unfortunately about 15 miles from here. Trips to that store do involve the car, but only happen once a month or so. Happily, we’re going to be getting a big health food store within a mile of our house by the end of the year. I’m drooling just thinking about it… Then we’ll be able to bike or walk to do all of our grocery shopping. Except Costco, which is about 10 miles from here and tends to fill up our whole car every time we go :) (I don’t see Costco being feasible on a bike, even with a wagon).
Also, you can get insulated shopping bags. My MIL gave us one – I think it came from Trader Joes – and we use it when we go to Costco and buy a ton of frozen stuff. It’s a regular canvas bag, but the liner is waterproof and it’s insulated. You could get one of those and use it to carry milk, meat, frozen stuff, etc. on warm days.
FrugalBabe says
@Trixie – my husband and I share a cell phone too :)
Jackie says
You made some really great points in this post. I was wondering if you could go into a little more detail about biking as a form of transportation. As silly as it might sound, I have never lived anywhere that I have seen people biking as transportion, it is usually as a form of exercise. I live in a small town about 15 miles from a city of about 100,000. The small town I live in is about 2,000 people but there are about 15,000 in the county and all of the schools are in the town limits, so there actually a lot of vehicle traffic and not a lot of sidewalks. I would love to start riding my bike (with my twins in the bike trailer) but I’m not sure how feasable it would be for me. So I wondered about the areas you ride your bike, i.e. sidewalks, bike trails, is your town bike friendly? This is something I would like to do, but not something I am really familiar with, as crazy as it might sound. Thanks!
FrugalBabe says
@Jackie – We live in a town of about 50,000, but it’s a suburb in a metro area that has more than a million people. We do have a great urban trail about a mile south of our house. It goes for about 25 miles, and my husband and I ride on it several times a week, pulling our son in the bike trailer. But that’s just for fun. When we use our bikes for transportation, we typically ride at the edge of the street, or on the sidewalk if it’s a wide sidewalk on a busy street (if you ride on the sidewalk, always remember that pedestrians have the right of way, and in some places you’re not allowed to ride on the sidewalk at all – the ones I ride on are more like trails that go alongside the road).
For quick trips to the store, one of us goes and the other stays home with our son. That’s a lot easier than loading him into the bike trailer for a five minute run to the store. I often put him in his sling and walk to the store carrying him, but I can only carry home as much as I can fit in my backpack and two bags if I’m walking.
Kelly says
I had heard, and I didn’t really do my research on this, that babies under 6 months weren’t supposed to be in bike trailers. I wish I had looked into this more. My daughter is 6 months now, but it seems silly to get a bike trailer at this point this year, as soon winter will be here and I won’t be riding with her then. My husband and I really missed riding this summer because we thought we couldn’t have a bike trailer. Now I am really bummed we didn’t look into it further!
Trixie says
Hello,
You make some very good points. Thanks for bringing this up.
My husband and I often are hounded by people that just cannot stand the fact we are not materially obsessed. Our newest vehicle is 10 years old and I still think of it as new.
Just the other day I was laughed at. I mean seriousl cackling here because I didn’t have a cell phone. It was just absurd that we only had one phone to share between us. (I still think 1 cell is a luxury)This person also could not believe they might have to wait until I got home so they could call me. Oh my, the inconvenience!
Take Care,
Trixie
FrugalBabe says
@Kelly – we got a two seater bike trailer as a hand me down. The car seat we use for our son is one that clips into a base in the car, so the seat is portable. When we go for bike rides, we strap him into his car seat, and then buckle the seat into the bike trailer using the harness straps in the trailer. The car seat goes in sideways, and fits perfectly. I’m sure that there are people who wouldn’t approve, but the car seat doesn’t budge once we have it strapped in. The whole thing could flip over and the baby wouldn’t move at all. So we feel very safe with it. I’m not officially advocating this method of putting a baby in a bike trailer, since I’m sure some people wouldn’t like it. But it works for us (and for the people who gave us the trailer, since that’s where we got the idea).
Kelly says
Sold! I am going to look into getting a bike trailer and insulated bag. There should be enough warm days left…heck it is still 80 here. Thanks for the tip about the bike trailer and infant seat. We have one of those kind too, although our daughter is probably big enough now. She sits up and is over 18 pounds, so I think she can ride without the infant seat. And we would definitely get a two seater since we are planning on more babies!
Green Me says
We’ve been biking and walking more and more…with son in the trailer or stroller.
When it comes to food getting warm, I do use an insulated bag on days over 80, but most food is fine for up to 2 hours out of the fridge, so a 5 or 10 minute walk or bike shouldn’t hurt it.
We usually take our son, so we use extra space in the trailer or stroller for a few bags and sometimes one of us carries extras (if any). I’ve also seen people using those rolling baskets, such as this one:
http://www.spacesavers.com/routca.html
Which might be an option w/o kids!
Chloe says
I completely agree with this post – I currently have a 2005 ford focus, try to drive it as little as possible, stay on top of maintenance checks, and plan on keeping it for as long as possible. My boyfriend and I will share the car because we have easy access to stores and our work places. Do you have any how-to posts on replacing spark plugs or changing the oil youself? Great post!
Frugal Trenches says
GREAT post. I have never in my life had car payments and I’ve never in my life had a new car. I buy safe cars with good track records and make them last – honda’s are brilliant for that. I also try to use my car only when necessary. I walk, bus and train it places where it makes more sense money wise or green wise to do so. I currently am not using a car and notice less strain on my finances.
There is far too much obsession with cars in the western world, perhaps a reason so many people are in debt!
MITBeta @ Don't Feed The Alligators says
@ Kelly:
You heard right about babies and bikes. The main reason for this being the fact that nobody makes helmets for children under 1. Though I suppose that if you put a car seat in a trailer it’s an interesting compromise…
As to the post, I agree with the author and add only that just last week Autoweek ran another in a series of stories about young driver’s and highlighted the fact that many parents pour tons of money into car safety features, but not into advanced driver training, which is statistically more likely to keep ANY driver safer.
Francois Viljoen says
Hi Frugal Babe
I only read this post now, that’s why the late reply.
The whole thing of “safer to drive a new car” is a bit of a myth if you ask me.
People are very bad assessors of risk. The problem is that people don’t factor the effect of time into the equation.
If you drive an older car, the money you save will allow you to retire earlier. Thus, you will be removed from the risk of driving to work and back earlier.
I wrote a post about it a few months ago…
http://liberta.co.za/blog/safer-to-drive-an-old-fiat-than-a-new-bmw/
Hope you’re well.
God bless,
Francois
Beeb Ashcroft says
I just stumbled upon your blog, and I’ve been having fun reading it. I love this post – especially the point about people in expensive cars with all the “safety features”, paying no attention to the road while they text.
I’m all for used cars – my daily driver is a 1960 Comet, so your ’91 Civic seems brand new to me. :)
Pete says
Hi there, Great article! My grandpa always said that people won’t be safe drivers untill they take seatbelts out of cars and replace airbags with giant spikes that deploy in an accident! I know I’d be safer…
When I was at teacher’s college in the UK I rode my trusty Brodie about 15kms each way to my school placements because the ‘tube’ was too expensive. Now that I’m back in Canada it’s hard to get around without the car. I’m supply teaching and have to drive 40 or 50 kms some days. I’m really looking forward to a contract position that I can ride to again.
On the Bike trailer topic – I’ve worked in the bike industry for about 15 years. There are several brands that convert from trailer to stroller so you can ride to the park and then go for a ‘stroll’. Also, the child can ride in there as soon as they are strong enough to hold their head up while wearing a helmet. Yes folks – Your child NEEDS a helmet inside a trailer. Look for one with a flat back on it rather than the big ‘lightbulb’ shaped ones.
And while I’m here I’d like to also say – Never use a Baby seat on a bike. They just aren’t safe. There is too much weight up high, the plastic can fatigue over time and snap off, and the little guy/gal is pretty high up there if there ever was a tumble. So stick with trailers, use the dorky safety flag and have a good time!
deepali says
I sold my car in March and haven’t missed it. If you live within 10 miles of everything you need, you really don’t need one. The only time I need a car is when I’m leaving town or need to carry something heavy like furniture. In that case, I have carsharing, so I just rent a car for an hour or day. Easy.
a.b. says
I think car safety is relative. I’ve been driving newer cars for the past six years, including trucks and SUVs and a Cadillac I borrowed while my car was in the shop. But I’ve never felt as safe as I did in my 92 Jetta GL. Most of the parts were crank instead of power so hardly anything ever broke; I would still be driving it but I fought a brand new Cadillac and lost. Even though it was a serious accident with a virtual tank, my car was totaled but I walked away with hardly a scratch. Airbags, shmairbags, that’s what I call safe.
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