Does it make sense to own more than one car: Advantages & disadvantages

People even buy their dream Porsche or a Ferrari and would still like to have something as practical as an Innova in the same garage.

BHPian Omkar recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

If one is good, two is better. In most cases, this logic applies, but is it the same with cars? No doubt cars have become an integral part of our lives and those of our families. They offer us the flexibility of mobility for daily commutes or weekend getaways with family. But what’s the magic number? With most people, one car makes a lot of sense, but it can also be significantly beneficial to add another one to the garage. Let’s explore some of the advantages of owning multiple cars in a household.

Convenience

In cases where multiple members of the family work at different locations, having multiple cars is very convenient for office commutes. A small hatchback for driving around in the city and commuting and a bigger car with a spacious boot for weekend trips is another combination that we see quite often. A bigger family will obviously have multiple cars for everyone to travel comfortably. Having a beater car in a house is also a common practice. Something affordable, easy to maintain, frugal and reliable makes for a good beater car.

Emergencies

I believe this is a major deciding factor when people get a second car in a household. With cars, there’s always a chance of something going wrong at the wrong time. So having a spare car so that you’re not left stranded in case of an emergency is a boon.

Practicality

While some may argue that taking a cab is just easier and convenient, it’s not always practical. Sometimes the waiting time is way too long, then you have random cancellations, and overall it can be of major inconvenience in time of need. The same goes for hiring a second car for long trips with a bigger family. It is feasible, but practically, you might face issues like the unavailability of, let’s say, a 7-seater at the last minute and you might have to settle for a smaller car.

Versatility

Practical cars in the garage make a lot of sense, but there’s more to life than just practicality. We have so many fun cars on sale, so why not have a second car that’s primarily for keeping the enthusiast in you alive? It can be an off-roader for your weekend off-roading events with friends or it can be a project car where you get to experiment with tuning. The possibilities are endless. People even buy their dream Porsche or a Ferrari and would still like to have something as practical as an Innova in the same garage.

Varied Requirements

Different types of vehicle combinations would be helpful in different situations. For instance, you can have an affordable automatic for your office commutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic and a manual for weekend fun drives. Having an AWD car in your garage would be preferable over a FWD car during the monsoon season.

Understanding cars better

No matter how many kilometres you have under your belt, every time you get on the road, you learn something new. Different types of cars teach you different ways of driving them. For instance, you wouldn't drive a powerful rear-wheel drive car the same way you drive a front-wheel drive budget hatch. With multiple cars, you learn new things about driving and the cars themselves. You’ll always be adding to your knowledge pool about cars and as enthusiasts, we’re always hungry for more.

Balanced mileage

With multiple cars in the household, you can balance the number of kilometres on all your cars. This will be helpful for you when you want to sell one of the cars as the mileage won’t be very high.

Longer life

In continuation to the previous point, with balanced running, no one car will be subjected to excessive wear and tear. Your consumable items like brake pads, clutch, tyres, mounts, bearings etc. will last longer. And without excessive load on your engine, its life would also increase.

Status symbol

For some families, having multiple cars is associated with their status in society.

Now that we’ve seen the good side, let’s flip the coin and look at some of the disadvantages of owning multiple vehicles.

Increased costs

The most obvious disadvantage would be the additional costs involved. Apart from the initial cost of purchasing a new vehicle, there are recurring costs that you need to consider such as insurance, routine maintenance, repairs and even fuel.

Parking problems

This is relevant in cities where parking space is limited. You have to purchase additional parking space which further adds to your overall cost. You always have the option of parking on the road, but that comes with its own set of problems.

Left unused if mileage drops

With multiple cars in the garage, it’s crucial that you take care of them regularly. You need to monitor their health and keep them running. If not, this would lead to one or more cars being overused or left unused, both of which would defeat the purpose of owning multiple vehicles.

Cabs are becoming more accessible

With an increasing amount of startups and fleet operators entering the space, cabs, including EVs, are becoming more affordable and accessible. In some cases, this might make more financial sense than owning a vehicle.

Conclusion

It’s evident that owning multiple cars obviously has more advantages than disadvantages. In the end, it all comes down to the feasibility and requirements of a particular household. If it fits the budget and there’s a requirement in the household, no point in sitting on the fence. There’s also the option of leasing a car if you’re looking at short-term ownership of a particular vehicle. You can have multiple permutations and combinations based on your requirements and find the cars that tick the right boxes.

However, do keep in mind that you need to look after them or you will be giving up on all the advantages of owning multiple cars. The easiest way would be to keep a log of all the maintenance and repair work on each car and set prompt reminders for scheduled services and insurance renewals. Maintaining multiple cars in a household is not an easy task, and a whole different topic of discussion altogether. For now, do share your thoughts on owning multiple vehicles and how many vehicles would you like to have in your garage.

Here's what BHPian SmartCat had to say about the matter:

The biggest advantage of a 2-car garage is back up! In case of a road accident (even at city speeds), your car will end up at the service center for a month. More if it is a major accident.

That's because a road accident might cause damage to plastic/metal parts inside the engine bay. And the dealership has to source the smallest nuts and bolts too, or else he cannot fix the bigger components. It does not make sense for the body shop to keep an inventory of these slow-moving parts and has to order them. And that usually takes time.

Here's what BHPian fiat_tarun had to say about the matter:

My family has maintained a 2 car garage for as long as I can remember as both parents had to head in different directions and at different times for work, etc.

The same has carried over to me as well where I converted to a 2 car garage after marriage. Both, my wife and I are not 2W people and hence the convenience and safety of a car were very important. Cabs / Auto / public transport, unfortunately, is not good enough to replace a car for daily travel.

While my second car was till recently a purely 'functional' Alto AMT, the opportunity came recently to swap it for a more fun car with character to keep company to my Ecosport.

Here's what BHPian Eddy had to say about the matter:

Use cases specific to Delhi:

• Odd Even - Always helpful if you have an odd and an even-numbered car.
• GRAP Norms - My S-Cross (BS 4 diesel) is grounded. Thankfully a 2012 Brio (BS4 Petrol) is usable.

Although these are temporary restrictions, the situation still gets on my nerves.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.