People usually buy car expecting it to be around for several years, say 5-7. I am also betting that price of gas will not stay at $4 per gallon. If I were making these calculations - I would start with the assumption that over the life span of the car average cost of gas will be closer to $8 per gallon. (think $4 today and $12 - 7 years from now and - Yes, I know, I am a pessimist).
Whether it makes sense or not to buy a second car depends on many factors, for example how many miles you drive on average, how old is your current vehicle and what your driving needs are. For instance - if you have a 6 year-old truck - you can continue driving it every day until it dies couple years later. Then you will buy a small car and it will become your only car. Or you can buy another small car now, drive it daily and use the truck for family events and lumber shopping. This way your truck may serve you a lot longer and will cost you little in maintenance. As for insurance cost - relationship between insurance cost and how many vehicles you have is not straightforward. Not long ago my minivan died. I told it to my insurance agent and was very surprised at her advice to keep minivan on insurance papers because it makes my overall bill smaller. Reason - I have 3 drivers in a family (wife and college student son). With the minivan we have 3 cars and we can assign one car to one driver. Without minivan we have less cars than drivers and insurance instantly assumes that everybody drives all cars. If you have one car that has expensive issurance (new or sports) and a young driver in the family - it backfires. I ended up keeping minivan on the insurance form for almost a year after it was already gone.
Whether it makes sense or not to buy a second car depends on many factors, for example how many miles you drive on average, how old is your current vehicle and what your driving needs are. For instance - if you have a 6 year-old truck - you can continue driving it every day until it dies couple years later. Then you will buy a small car and it will become your only car. Or you can buy another small car now, drive it daily and use the truck for family events and lumber shopping. This way your truck may serve you a lot longer and will cost you little in maintenance. As for insurance cost - relationship between insurance cost and how many vehicles you have is not straightforward. Not long ago my minivan died. I told it to my insurance agent and was very surprised at her advice to keep minivan on insurance papers because it makes my overall bill smaller. Reason - I have 3 drivers in a family (wife and college student son). With the minivan we have 3 cars and we can assign one car to one driver. Without minivan we have less cars than drivers and insurance instantly assumes that everybody drives all cars. If you have one car that has expensive issurance (new or sports) and a young driver in the family - it backfires. I ended up keeping minivan on the insurance form for almost a year after it was already gone.
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