S/O….from flooring and windows to why many rural families have more vehicles

[Kassia]

2 hours ago, SKL said:

The counties that have to do it, per google, are Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit.  Which is interesting, because it does not include some of our biggest cities, while including some with relatively sparse populations.  Not sure why.

Yes, all in NE Ohio.  

[Ottakee]

Michigan does not have vehicle inspections.

[Innisfree]

My mind is boggled. I thought every state had annual vehicle inspections.

[fairfarmhand]

I think in the city they have annual emissions inspections, but not out here in the sticks.

[kbutton]

9 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Do the different states have roadworthiness checks on vehicles? Here it's every year by law once a vehicle is three years old. It's often hard and expensive to keep older vehicles on the road.

PA has yearly inspections.

[Emba]

We have four licensed drivers and four street legal vehicles, plus one farm pickup that is for in-the-field use only.  Even so, recently DD had a breakdown and we had to borrow a relative’s vehicle so everyone could get to work.  We all work in separate locations in different directions, though in a pinch maybe DH could have driven her a 1 hour round trip to work and someone else could have picked her up after work, since he’s self-employed, and another day coincided with DS’s off day so she borrowed his vehicle.
 

Before my older kids got licensed we had two drivers and three street legal vehicles - one 4-wheel drive pickup that could hold everyone, one car for me, and one smaller 4-wheel drive pickup that my DH used for farm work to avoid  and tear on the larger, nicer pickup.

 Before kids, DH and I had one vehicle per person, with one always being a 4-wheel drive. That’s the least we can have, I think. Even staying home, if something happens, I need the ability to leave.  And not being able to leave unless DH was there to take me somewhere would be unbearably isolating.  
 

I’ve known poorer rural families who get by with just one car, but if it breaks down, everything goes south quick, especially if that is combined with bad rains and muddy roads. The adults can’t get to work without leaving hard on friends or family (“pick me up for work” is a hard ask when it requires a person going 5-10 miles out of their way and a couple of it down a muddy road, then back the way they came) and the kids can’t get to school because the buses run pavement-only in muddy conditions, and someone has to be able to take the kids to the pavement. At my house it’s easily walkable, though it wouldn’t be fun. If you’re further off the highway it just wouldn’t happen.

[SKL]

Scroll down after clicking the link for an unofficial list of US state non-commercial vehicle inspection requirements.

The short version:  most states have no periodic inspection requirement.  Many states have periodic emissions test requirements, but except for some geographically small states & New York, these are limited to selected populous areas, and are usually biannual.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection_in_the_United_States

Edited July 19 by SKL

[KungFuPanda]

In MD you get an inspection when you register your vehicle. After that it’s just emissions testing every two years. 

[Halftime Hope]

On 7/18/2024 at 1:56 PM, Faith-manor said:

Michigan has the highest insurance rates in the nation. No Fault is the dumbest insurance ever. As a result, people pay through the nose. Car insurance on an OLD vehicle costing $400-600 a month in areas of heavy traffic is normal. Registration and plates is not a flat rate either. The fee is based on a percentage of what your vehicle is worth according to the state which is nearly always more than the Kelly Blue Book value of you were to try to sell the vehicle. $250 per renewal per vehicle is not uncommon.

I won't be moving to MI any time soon. 😞 

[Halftime Hope]

We, too, although suburban, keep and drive an old car since our commutes have never been less than 20 minutes. If you have a car in the shop, you're outta luck without a spare. We've been glad to have an extra when our nicer car goes offline. The bonus is that the spare has hauling capacity.

The oldest car in the family driven by one of the younger gen is an inherited 1991 Japanese-made mini-pickup. We often get drivebys of landscapers wanting to know if we'd sell it. Ha! No!

[happypamama]

We're technically rural, though I joke that we cosplay as rural. . . no grocery store or library within 15 minutes but all major shopping, medical, etc. within 45 minutes. But our road has large lots, few people, no sidewalks, and really nothing within walking distance. No pizza delivery, limited grocery delivery. No public transportation. We are very car-dependent, and there's no way for my husband to carpool to work. We've always had multiple vehicles, sometimes more vehicles than drivers. We've needed several of the following at the same time: fuel-efficient commuter for DH's daily 90 minute round trip, comfortable and inexpensive car for our young adult who still lives at home while working, something that can haul firewood as well as construction materials, tool trailer, and kayaks, something reliable and safe for four to six kids (and sometimes a dog and suitcases) at once, something I can use to take a kid or kids to appointments or things when both DH and DS are working (in opposite directions and not close enough for anyone to drop off or carpool). Oh, and something that new drivers can learn on (not a 12 passenger van!). Two vehicles do not enough of those categories at once, so we've always had three. Also, when things were tight, multiple of the cars were old and could break down unexpectedly, so a spare was necessary. Now the vehicles are more reliable, but we we still do a lot of vehicle juggling -- who needs to haul, who is going the longest distance, where is DS5's carseat?

 

Edited July 20 by happypamama

[Corraleno]

On 7/18/2024 at 10:47 PM, Laura Corin said:

Do the different states have roadworthiness checks on vehicles? Here it's every year by law once a vehicle is three years old. It's often hard and expensive to keep older vehicles on the road.

There's no general "roadworthiness" test in Oregon, but a few counties in major metro areas require emission tests for cars over 4 years old. So in those areas, you have to submit proof that the car passed the emissions test before you can renew the registration every 2 years. For most cars you can just go to a Jiffy Lube type place and they can do it by plugging into your car's computer, but cars older than 2004 I think have to go to a designated smog test place and they put a sensor in the tail pipe.

[Corraleno]

On 7/18/2024 at 11:56 AM, Faith-manor said:

Michigan has the highest insurance rates in the nation. No Fault is the dumbest insurance ever. As a result, people pay through the nose. Car insurance on an OLD vehicle costing $400-600 a month in areas of heavy traffic is normal. 

Wow, those rates are crazy! I pay $280/month for full coverage on a 2019 Forrester and a 2016 Prius (DD's car), plus liability on a 2005 Odyssey — and that's after our rates went up when DD rear-ended someone. That's also for 3 drivers, although DS mostly lives in another state and rarely drives even when he's home. Plus I live in a city with heavy traffic!

[Brittany1116]

4 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

We, too, although suburban, keep and drive an old car since our commutes have never been less than 20 minutes. If you have a car in the shop, you're outta luck without a spare. We've been glad to have an extra when our nicer car goes offline. The bonus is that the spare has hauling capacity.

The oldest car in the family driven by one of the younger gen is an inherited 1991 Japanese-made mini-pickup. We often get drivebys of landscapers wanting to know if we'd sell it. Ha! No!

I'm going to take a guess it's the same type hardbody we inherited and everyone wants. 

[TechWife]

I’m throwing in the tow truck factor. When there’s one tow truck covering an entire county or more and it is over an hour away from you, the wait can be a day or more when you need one. They will pick up people stranded on the roadside and car accidents as priority over a vehicle stranded at home or left on the side of the road unattended. 

[Eos]

I haven't read any other replies but we recently got rid of 3 dead cars and currently have 1 parked that needs work to get running, two that are my options, one truck for dh, one somewhat precarious car for dd. I've recently moved into ds' former car and he got a truck, but he and I might switch this fall if he gets a job that will require a lot of driving to save him gas money.

Two of the current cars were given to us for free. We keep them because the running cars don't always run, there is no public transportation, and it's too far to walk to town.

[Eos]

On 7/19/2024 at 1:06 PM, SKL said:

Scroll down after clicking the link for an unofficial list of US state non-commercial vehicle inspection requirements.

The short version:  most states have no periodic inspection requirement.  Many states have periodic emissions test requirements, but except for some geographically small states & New York, these are limited to selected populous areas, and are usually biannual.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection_in_the_United_States

We have yearly inspection unless the car is 25 years or older, then it can be registered as an antique auto and skip inspection. You're not supposed to use it as your primary transportation. No emissions testing here.

[Faith-manor]

20 hours ago, Corraleno said:

Wow, those rates are crazy! I pay $280/month for full coverage on a 2019 Forrester and a 2016 Prius (DD's car), plus liability on a 2005 Odyssey — and that's after our rates went up when DD rear-ended someone. That's also for 3 drivers, although DS mostly lives in another state and rarely drives even when he's home. Plus I live in a city with heavy traffic!

It is rough. On the other hand, in most areas of Michigan, housing is much lower cost than other parts of the country, especially the coasts and rapidly growing cities like Huntsville, and groceries are actually about 30% lower than when our kids lived in the Albany region of NY and now in Alabama. Building and home maintenance supplies are cheaper as well. The same door in Huntsville and in Mid-Michigan at Home Depot are a startling difference in price. 35% more in Huntsville. So there are definitely trade offs. I doubt it costs anyone more to live in Michigan because of car insurance rates than many many other place due to other costs. Our homeowner's insurance is super reasonably priced. But much of the coastal states are just in an awful state keeping homeowner insurance, and the rates are ungodly. I think it probably evens out.

[Ali in OR]

DH took one of our 3 cars to CA and must have driven over something on the way back as when I drove it this week I first got a low tire pressure warning and then the next day a tire was obviously flat. Dh decided it was time to replace all 4 tires and started to make arrangements to get that done at Costco. He had to order the tires (out of stock) and the first appointment time available after the tires come in is next Sunday. So it's a good thing we have a third car, as that will about 12 days we're not driving that car (we have the dinky spare tire on it now, so we could drive it in a pinch but we won't because we don't need to). So it's not like we can't survive without 3 cars but it does make situations like this easier.

[SKL]

Yeah, I'm suburban these days, but I can relate to the need for an extra car.  My car was in the shop for  3 months last fall.  Our household of 5 drivers was down to 1 car + the business van.  But if I didn't have housemates & co-own a business, I would have had zero wheels for 3 months.  The nearest bus stop is 1.5 miles away, and the nearest business or community establishment is farther.  You might think I have lots of carpooling / borrowing options since I'm not in the sticks; but other than my housemates, nobody nearby is [socially] close enough to want to lend me their car or drive me somewhere, except for an actual emergency.  I would have to rent a car, or hire a driver who has an extra car ... so how is that better than having an extra car in my own driveway?  😛 

[frogger]

14 hours ago, Eos said:

We have yearly inspection unless the car is 25 years or older, then it can be registered as an antique auto and skip inspection. You're not supposed to use it as your primary transportation. No emissions testing here.

Just gasping that they are counting a late 90's car is an antique. 😳

Carry on