buying a second vehicle to save money?

[seeing_stars]

We are a 1 car family right now. DH works nights and sleeps days so it usually works well, but the big problem is the gas money that we are spending. Our van gets ok gas mileage, but with DH working 50 miles away, we are spending about $650/month on gas. DH wants to buy a motorcycle as a commuter vehicle to save money and so that we no longer have to share a vehicle. His payment on a bike would be 75-$100/month, plus insurance and gas, I think the total would be less than $300/month but we would save $400-$450 in gas alone. This would make sense right? We put so many miles on the van right now I feel like it is being devalued very quickly and I also have to get the oil changed every month for $40.

I hesitate to go into more debt, but this seems like a good way to reduce costs and make our lives easier. Thoughts?

Aside: we cannot move closer to the job- we do not want to live next to the prison. We have some credit card debt that will be paid off this year, our payments are very doable.

[mbhf]

Is driving a motorcycle practical for your area for most of the year? Have you looked at the actual MPG of the motorcycle you are wanting to buy? I was very surprised that the gas mileage is not that great, generally somewhere between 25mpg and 45mpg. You might be better off with a Civic, costs and gas mileage could be similar and there's no worrying about driving home in the rain and it would be useful in the winter months.

[seeing_stars]

Originally Posted by mbhf

Is driving a motorcycle practical for your area for most of the year? Have you looked at the actual MPG of the motorcycle you are wanting to buy? I was very surprised that the gas mileage is not that great, generally somewhere between 25mpg and 45mpg. You might be better off with a Civic, costs and gas mileage could be similar and there's no worrying about driving home in the rain and it would be useful in the winter months.

We live in AZ, so rain and winter are not huge concerns. We actually had a Civic before we had our van and the mileage was around 28mpg. We could buy a bike for between 3k-6k and I don't know that we could get a reliable little car for that much.

[sanguine_speed]

We just bought a second car and should have done it sooner from a financial perspective.

With all the backtracking we had to do with 3 kids and 3 jobs and school between the adults, we not only spent a ton on gas, but we also put so many miles on the car that we shortened its life by years and really drove its value down. In fact, at just 4 years old we had 170,000kms on the first car and the engine needed to be replaced. With all the wear and tear we also needed a lot of other maintenance and repairs (though I am completely cheesed that we had to replace the engine at 170,000km--that was ridiculous).
But if we'd have had a second vehicle all that time we'd have less than halved our total mileage between the cars (no backtracking) and with the difference in wear and tear and depreciation we'd have been better off financially.
Ah well, live and learn (and now we have a second car and it's better).

[Geist]

Originally Posted by seeing_stars

We live in AZ, so rain and winter are not huge concerns. We actually had a Civic before we had our van and the mileage was around 28mpg. We could buy a bike for between 3k-6k and I don't know that we could get a reliable little car for that much.

You might be surprised. I bought a '95 Honda Civic 5 years ago for $2700 and we're still driving it. We get almost 50mpg and have only had a few problems with it that have needed repairing. So, take a look around, you might get lucky!

[ambersrose]

My husband drives a motorcycle during the spring/summer/fall and the mileage is very good. I would be very worried if he was driving in the dark everyday due to working nights like your husband does. Morotcycles are often overlooked by drivers and adding darkness or worse dusk/dawn to that mix whould make me nervous. That being said, I know a man with the want for a motorcycle in his heart is seldom diswayed

[mnnice]

Just a couple of random thoughts. Directionally I think a motorcycle could be a good idea, but I would do lots of research first.

Does your partner currently have the endorsement to drive a motercycle? In some states it can be hard too get and you have to take a formal class. If he hasn't riden before he might be better off with a smaller (cheaper too) bike because they are easier to learn to ride. Second, if your DH is going to ride 100 miles round trip every day he is going need a helmet, good raingear, and most likely some storage (spare clothes, lunch, etc). I would also budget for new tires at least yearly. DH has a couple of stories he wouldn't get to tell at all if he hadn't had quality tires on his bike. Anyway, bikes have some associated costs that cars don't have. Bike mechanics get more per hour than car mechanics.

[Carson]

Originally Posted by ambersrose

That being said, I know a man with the want for a motorcycle in his heart is seldom diswayed

LOLOL. I kind of 'fell' into this trap too. I will be honest, the motorcycle staved us off of the inevetable second vehicle for awhile, but it wasn't the dream solution I got on the initial sell. i wouldn't say it was a waste of money, but it really wasn't the perfect solution.

mnnice's post is dead on to what I have been dealing with. 100 miles round trip is a long way on a bike and it will get old after awhile. Even having raingear, it's not always comfortable to ride in the rain. i would also be concerned about him riding in the dark and when he is tired after getting off shift.

[bobandjess99]

Ithink a cheap car with good mileage is a better bet. How many kids do you have? The thing is, you could actually go places as a family inthe car...or like if dh is off work, you could use the car to run up to the grocery store byyourself or with a couple kids, and still be saving gas money..you could get to the point where the van was used very little, and really save even more money. PLUS, it becomes and "emeergency" vehicle if the van breaks down or something, which sounds like a concern as it gets older, etc.

[seeing_stars]

We have 3 kids in carseats so a small commuter car won't work for family outings. DH is pretty dead set on getting a bike, though I've discouraged the idea for a year or so now because of safety concerns. He's got a CDL and motorcycle license from his bachelor days so that won't be a concern either. My ex has exactly what DH wants just sitting unused in his garage that I guess we will go look at tomorrow.

[sanguine_speed]

I think you might be surprised how many cars can fit 3 car seats. We did go for a few years with 5 passengers with 5 seat seat belts including 3 car seats.
Check out the Family Safety forum.