Oh, i can totally understand! When my car bit the dust it took me a month car shopping around before I could get DH to go with me. It was rough because I have a difficult time driving his big truck. I didn't have anyone but myself to worry about but from now on I'm not waiting on him. :)

I can't even imagine how difficult that is. When my older daughter was a baby, we only had one car which my husband used to get to work. I had to find some creative solutions. Thank goodness for your mother-in-law.

I hope you can get your car replaced soon, especially since you have others depending on you for transport!

My car has been down for a few weeks (it is repairable, but a pita for my husband). I work from home and can schedule my errands for a time that I can use my hubby's truck, so not such a hardship for me.

That is a hard one and I know it’s not easy, but how nice that you have a MIL who is able and willing to help. When I was still raising my daughter, I wasn’t so lukki. One time my car, a little ford pinto died in the middle of the 5 fwy during rush hour. After that, my daughter and I had to be on a bus by 430 am so I could get her to daycare and still arrive at work on time and of course I’d have to bus it back to pick her up in the evening. Oh the memories. :c).

That is inconvenient. That is why we went to 3 cars when our kids were in school. In winter, the best vehicle and family vacation hauler was kept in the garage while the two very much used ones were exposed to the winter slush and corrosion. If one of these vehicles failed, the the "good" car could be pressed into service until the situation was remedied. The chance of getting into a "fender bender" is much higher here in winter than at other times.

ugh...I feel restless without a car even when it's just in for maintenance for a few hours!! So used to having my car to jump and go at any time.

Just went through this myself - not fun at all!! And I live by myself in a rather rural location so walking anywhere not really an option. And I need to drive a lot (and often some distance) for my business so being car-less required all sorts of inconvenient schedule changes.

Fortunately, I was able to find a good replacement fairly quickly so everything back to normal!

ps. my old car did not die in a 'puff of smoke' but just stopped going in reverse.....which one needs more than you think :-)) And the cost of a new (rebuilt) tranny was prohibitive!!

I hear you!

Similar to Gardengirl48 I live in a rural area so when my truck was out of commission for over a month I was rather stuck. From the time I could drive I have had the use of, or my own vehicle. So being without one was a loss of independence that really sucked. Just knowing I couldn't drive anywhere made me feel uneasy. I was lucky though I found a ride to car pool with to get to work. But was at the mercy/generosity of my family and friends for rides to run errands. Hated having to ask for folks for rides I don't like putting folks out of their way. I did a happy dance when I got the truck back.

Sorry your car died. I am like alwaysonestepbehind. A running vehicle is my security blanket.

Are you shopping for a replacement or getting it repaired?

I sympathise. Last year my car tried to kill itself (the hood latch failed and the hood flew up and smashed the windshield while I was doing 70mph on my way home) and it rook nearly two months to get it assessed and repaired. We live in a small country town with no public transport or taxis and I had no other car.

I had been working when the car broke but was planning to quit so with no way of getting to work (it was in the next town 25 miles away) it did give me the impetus to quit straight away. I had to rely on lifts from friends when I absolutely needed one but otherwise was limited to places I could walk to. It wasn't fun.

I hear you! During the time that we lost both vehicles and were not able to get any type of transportation it was dreadful. I am so happy we have replaced both vehicles. I would much prefer to have our original ones instead of course but at least we have dependable transportation now. I don't know how mom's do it! Good luck!

Nobody here rents cars to get to work and school during the interim?

"Nobody here rents cars to get to work and school during the interim?"

Not if I have to pay out of pocket!! Insurance may cover a rental if your car is wrecked but I don't know of any insurance companies that will provide a rental vehicle for any mechanical failures. And bad enough to fork out the dough for repairs or a replacement vehicle.......my budget won't support paying for a rental as well.

And the closest rental agency is a good 20 miles away.

"Nobody here rents cars to get to work and school during the interim?"

+1

This isn't a problem lacking alternatives to choose from. Buy another car, rent a car in the interim, mooch rides or stay home. I think that covers it.

A long term car rental (like for a month, though I don't know why that would be necessary) isn't expensive.

We don't have anywhere in town to rent cars (it's a really tiny country town) and the next town over has a few to rent at $100/day. I wasn't getting paid that much, and my insurance didn't cover a rental, so no way was I going to pay out more than my wages to get to a job I had come to hate.

A cheaper rental would involve travelling 60 miles so I'd still need to get there to pick it up, and then get a lift back from dropping it off.

Unlike when I was a youngster, today a car seems to be a necessity. My grandmother never drove in her lifetime and they had one car. My mother drove, though we weren't driven everywhere like kids are today. I would feel lost without my car even if some days it just sits there.

"A long term car rental (like for a month, though I don't know why that would be necessary) isn't expensive."

It may not be for some but on a more or less fixed income, it is an added expense I simply can't afford.

Sure, a car rental cost can be a strain on a limited budget but the same is true of the costs of car ownership and operation in general. Think of a rental fee as a cost (sometimes higher, I know) in lieu of a month's car payment to put it into context.

You said you need the transportation for work so to lose a day's work because you can't get there must surely be more money than the cost of a rental car.

I pay cash for my cars........no car payments. Car payments do not fit into budget either :-)) And since I am self employed, I don't exactly miss a day's work - I just reschedule any appointments for a more convenient time.

You need to understand that a limted income/budget means just that.....limited. There is no room for extras....and a rental car is most definitely an extra!!

Well I thought the post was about Bobbi. We don't know what her lifestyle is. If it's suburban with school age children a car is not a luxury, but a need. Her kids need to get to school and her DH works an hour away. So she might find renting a car well worth it. Since they have a vehicle, presumably insured, that her DH and she drive they most likely wouldn't need to buy additional coverage. Plus many credit cards have the built in benefit of providing additional insurance if you pay for the rental with the card. Time is also money. A double commute to get DH to work also may mean meals out. Again time is money. The cost of the double commute and not being able to run her household in a reasonable time frame could eat up the perceived "savings" of not renting a car for a week or two. Plus moms are definitely worth it.

Everyone has their own approach to personal finances and that's fine but to my thinking if you have enough money to buy a car, you also enough for car payments or a short term rental.

"to my thinking if you have enough money to buy a car, you also enough for car payments or a short term rental."

You are making assumptions based on your experience and situation. That they will not apply to everyone is pretty much a given. Why do you think that purchasing an older used car for cash is the equivalent of being able to make monthly car payments??

"Why do you think that ......."

Having had a long and successful career as a CPA, I think I have reason to believe that my understanding of basic finance concepts is more than adequate and greater than most people not in my profession may have.

I'm not talking about his case, but it's not unusual for people to make personal-attitude influenced financial choices even when such decisions in the bigger picture of things are not ideal or even ill-advised. As I said, everyone has their personal preferences.

"Why do you think that purchasing an older used car for cash is the equivalent of being able to make monthly car payments?"

Paying cash for a large purchase versus the alternative of borrowing money at a reasonable interest rate (as are prevailing now) will cost about the same overall, whether you understand that or not. You're welcome to doubt what you know yourself as well as doubting what I know. I myself know what I do and don't understand and we can leave it at that.

Thanks for sharing your "car less" stories. From a financial standpoint, ideally the car would have lasted a minimum of two more years. Regardless, whatever we decide, the budget takes a hit as we are still making substantial payments on the car. At this point repairs don't seem feasible.

Watchme, the double commute is very time consuming and tiring. I have been taking MIL to her physio appointments 3 days each week. Hopefully, next week is the last and I will not be driving DH to work in order to have the car any longer. Yesterday, during her appointment, I did some grocery shopping and spent today making casseroles and other dishes to save time and energy.

Tonight DH will pick his mom up and she will spend the night so the kids can sleep in during tomorrow's commute. Once they are off to school, I will drive MIL to her appointment.

In some cases there are no cars available for rental as in the flood situation. We would have paid the price to have a vehicle but there were none available anywhere in the area. Some people were driving out of state to find a rental. Thankfully my husband's employer provided a vehicle finally when they could get it to us. I don't know what we would have done otherwise. So many car dealerships and rental dealerships lost all of their inventory as well which greatly affected the situation. Just zero inventory available.

My elderly neighbors on tight budgets who had lost everything they owned definitely did not have the funds to go pay for rentals. There are so many varying scenarios people find themselves in that it is certainly not possible to make general assumptions. Especially when you have never been in their situation! Those never finding themselves in a tragedy situation should just thank their lucky stars.

I can relate to cars breaking down at the most inconvenient time ....not that anytime is convenient.