Your Second Choice

Ben Nussbaum and his wife, Margaret Malandruccolo, need a second car.

Like many people who dwell in New York City, Nussbaum and Malandruccolo mostly relied on a combination of public transportation and taxis for everything from their daily commutes to grocery shopping to visiting friends. But after moving to autocentric Los Angeles in January, sharing their 2007 Volkswagen Jetta became untenable. And with the arrival of their first child, due in May, it will soon be impossible.

I like the idea of sharing [a car], says Malandruccolo, a freelance photographer, but it certainly takes a bit of organizational work and going out of our way in a city like L.A.

Many households across the country need two cars sometimes more. In Nussbaum and Malandruccolos case, their Jetta is a perfectly good car, and would be a fine family truckster (a vehicle with lots of cargo space, enough passenger room for a baby seat, etc.) to cart the kid and all his or her stuff around, as well as complete everyday tasks such as going to the hardware or grocery store. But, in a city without an extensive and convenient public transportation system, how will Nussbaum or Malandruccolo get to the grocery store or the bank or do any other everyday task when the other is using the Jetta to get to work?

There are many sources for choosing the right vehicle to fit your needs in the current economic climate, but few that actually address the needs of a second household vehicle. Does that vehicle need to meet the same set of criteria that your primary motivator does?

Why Are We Still Driving BIG?

Given the 2008 gas price explosion and the current economic crisis, it seems the right time for Americans to finally shrug off the SUV-loving, economy-and-environment-be-damned stereotype and consider their transportation options in terms of fuel-efficiency, realistic utilization of cargo space, maintenance and insurance costs, etc. at least in terms of the other car in the driveway.

We'd expect the purchase decision in this current economic climate to be more thoughtful, with challenged finances at a household level. There's the longstanding need for some households to have an economy vehicle for practical needs or for kids just coming of driving age, says Lonnie Miller, director of industry analysis at R.L. Polk & Co. You have to really ask yourself what the functional use for the vehicle will be and whether the received value on it is worth the cost.

We may not yet have arrived at that moment, however.

Although sales of SUVs have dropped almost 40 percent between January 2008 and January 2009, according to Alldata, they still accounted for almost one out of every four cars sold last year. This is even more surprising when you consider the most recent census numbers show the average American family is composed of a mere 3.19 people.

Data tracking for secondary vehicles and family usage is scarce, but anecdotal evidence of this is hard to argue. My own family in suburban Massachusetts, for example, counts four Jeeps three Grand Cherokees and one Cherokee 4X4 among my two parents and two brothers. The lone non-Jeep driver, my sister, drives a Volvo station wagon. In every case, the vehicle is used primarily to transport one or two people at a time. Chances are you could name a few similar examples from your own circle of friends and family. Fact is, my family does not need four SUVs.

Bigger Not Necessarily Better

In many of our conversations with people in multicar households, the safety and passenger capacity of larger vehicles was cited as rationale for ownership, even for secondary vehicles.

Discuss:
Is size an important criterion when purchasing a second family vehicle?

Amy and Paul Lyons of Daniel Island, S.C., recently replaced their Toyota Sienna minivan originally bought for their young daughter, Katie, and often used to accommodate out-of-town guests with a new Toyota Highlander. However, do they really need a larger vehicle? Paul Lyons, a self-employed real-estate developer, drives a Lexus RX 300 crossover, which means that between the two cars, the family has 12 available seats, all for three people. And while Amy Lyons says she would feel safe driving a smaller car in their quiet suburb of Charleston, she says, If we lived somewhere like Florida or even [where we used to live in] Texas, where much of our driving was on an interstate, I would not be comfortable in a very small car for safety's sake.