How do you afford to keep mtiple cars street legal?
Posted by Causification@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 215 comments
The system seems designed to stop people from having project cars or backup vehicles. I have an old truck I only need a few times a year, but it seems that no matter how I cut it, I could rent a truck half a dozen times for less money than it takes just to keep mine insured at around $500 per year. It's easy to add vehicles to insurance on the spot, but you can't have active vehicle registration without insurance and it can take days for insurance status to be updated with the registration databases. Has anybody found a way to square this circle, or do you just resign yourself the fact some cars are going to cost you ten bucks a mile to operate?
cat_morgue@reddit
I have two cars, one is 37 years old and one is 32 years old. My combined insurance on them is $60/month and registration fees were cheap because of how old they are. My state also doesn’t have inspections anymore.
Eastern_Conflict1865@reddit
i work on all my cars. all 4 of my cars are over 40 yrs old and any 5 yr old can fix them.No computers any where on them.All carburetors.I talked to my insurance agent who helped me get the cars labeled as classics.This got my insurance down to $1600 per year for all 4 cars.I got classic license plates for my cars which means I only pay $55.00 a year for each car in taxes and have no state inspections.You have to do your research and ask lots of questions
CicadaClear@reddit
My insurance company bases your yearly cost off of mileage. I live three miles from work, so my annual expected mileage was something like 6k miles. Brought my cost down a few hundred after i convinced underwriting that i wasn't full if shit. Emailed them a screenshot of my daily commute route and they approved it the next day.
Maybe your insurance would work something like this out with you? You would just need to be careful to not use your "back up" vehicle too often, because they will see how much you drove it when you take pictures of your odometer for their records.
ApprehensiveWash7969@reddit
There is no short cut to this. If you want multiple cars you will have to pay for its ownership and upkeep. Period. I have a commuter, a house truck for moving stuff when needed, and a modified sports cars. I have to pay for insurance and registration for all of them. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford them all. But I do have one short cut: I have no car payments.
Package_Objective@reddit
Buy cars in cash and I do it on sub 40k Take home income. (Taxes gape my asshole)
FrankCastillo95@reddit
The second one won't make much difference in insurance. You may even save a bit of money from just the first by adding the second. If this isn't true of your insurance policy, go shopping.
In addition to or instead of that, many "classic" vehicles can be insured at greatly discounted rates in exchange for having mileage limitations. That's probably more ideal for that 3rd+ vehicle that you don't really need to have.
DetectiveNarrow@reddit
Fix em yourself. Make money. Leave the least driven one without insurance, “forget” to renew the registration each year.
Opening_Cake5246@reddit
Crazy your insurance is that much. I unsure 3 for whet you pay on one.
JCDU@reddit
My fleet of cars cost less in total to buy than most of the other cars owned by people on my street. I'm not dropping 50k or paying 399/mo to finance a new BMW just to impress people so my costs are low and there's barely any depreciation. I bought the thing, I own it, I owe nothing.
Here, cars over a certain age don't owe any road tax and don't need inspection so that saves an annual cost. We can also declare a car "off the road" to save the tax and then re-tax it for a month as long as it has a valid inspection & insurance.
Insurance companies know you can only drive 1 of them at a time, and most classic / specialist policies are limited mileage anyway (typically <5k).
digitalkobra@reddit
My spare jeep is a whole $175/y for insurance and 100/y for registration. To be honest it comes down to what sate your in and what vehicles your trying to keep. Or be like some dumbasses I know and just ride dirty and accept the fine if get caught. (I am NOT recommending this just stating how some people do it)
SmoothSlavperator@reddit
Get an actual insurance agent and see if they can't cut you a deal.
Liability insurance should only be a few hundred bucks a year for a second vehicle. You can get "low milage" insurance policies.
Mundane-Director-681@reddit
If it is significantly cheaper to just rent a truck on the few occasions you need one, I would just... Sell your truck for whatever it's worth and do exactly that.
mydniteq@reddit
If you’re paying $500 for minimum liability insurance then you are either 16 or need a new insurance company
Select-Government-69@reddit
No, you can’t do what you’re trying to do.
Hussar1241@reddit
You can keep the state minimum in a bank acct certify that youve done that with the state and permanently go uninsured only insuring when needed
TheDiplomat82@reddit
6 months of insurance on an old beater that you drive less than 3000 miles for pleasure is around $100. Where you guys getting quotes for these high insurance? Take everything off the insurance other than minimum liability.
JayVig@reddit
Well it’s simple. I have more money than it costs.
JizzyMcKnobGobbler@reddit
Yeah, these questions come up on basically every subreddit. How are you guys affording houses here? How can you guys afford to eat out? How can anybody afford air travel anymore? How can people afford RVs? How can people afford boats? How can people afford the latest cell phones?
Like, guy...we don't all make the same amount of money and we don't all start in the same financial spot. It's not rocket science.
jules083@reddit
rocket surgery
Fixed it for you.
Once you get a handful of cars the cost for another one is almost irrelevant. Insurance starts offering that sweet multi vehicle discount, ends up being like $6 per month to add another one.
I'm at 6 now and need to watch. I want another one but my wife says that's stupid. She's right and I hate her for it. Lmao
False_Mushroom_8962@reddit
I had 2 hot rod projects and was paying about $45 every 6 months if I remember correctly. Getting old helps too.
imissher4ever@reddit
Yeah, one of my old cars is $122/year and another is a bit over $200. It’s relatively cheap to insure classic cars.
jasonh300@reddit
In what state, and how many cars? That’s how it used to be here in Louisiana. When I had 5 registered cars in the 90s, each one was like $98 a year. Now, just for the minimum required liability, you can just keep adding another $400 every 6 months for each car. Multi-car discount keeps it from being $800. And I have a clean driving record for over 25 years.
jules083@reddit
88 Jeep Wrangler, 99 K2500 Chevy, 03 Ford Ranger, 11 Ford Fiesta, 11 Crown Victoria, 17 Miata, 17 Focus.
I live in Ohio. Most of them aren't worth much so they're almost not worth selling. The Fiesta and the Ranger are pretty well wore out, but the Fiesta is worth like $800 and the Ranger has been on marketplace for $3000 for about 2 months now with no bites so I'll end up driving both of them until the end apparently.
If I could get the Ranger sold I want to go south and get a rust free 99-06 Chevy 1500 for a daily driver. Right now the wife drives the focus and I swap between the fiesta and ranger.
I need to do something soon. Work in construction, just got laid off last Friday, and the job I'm probably taking is 160 mile round trip. The fiesta has 243k miles and the Ranger has 180k. Fiesta runs fine still, kind of, lots of nagging problems. Ranger feels like it might be due for a transmission someday in the near future. If it doesn't sell and the trans goes I might end up just swapping in a manual if I can find a doner truck.
Killer here is the salt. I really hate rust. My K2500, Miata, and Crown Vic came from down south and I put them away every winter so they've never seen salt. I really hate the thought of making the Crown Vic my daily, as much as it would otherwise make sense. I really love that car and don't want to kill it on commuting.
The smartest thing would be to buy my wife a newer car, she wants either a Mazda 3 or a Prius, and taking her Focus as my driver. The cheaper option, and the one I prefer, is to buy a cheap-ish 1500 Silverado with a manual trans and a 4.3 from outside of the rust belt and getting a decade or so out of it.
dmv1985@reddit
I have 4 cars and my wife has her car. 3 of mine are classics 1973, 1962, 1953. I drive the 62 almost daily. even more so now with gas prices... my "daily" is a '25 raptor and premium is outrageous... the 62 gets same mpg but only needs regular
Hot-Country-8060@reddit
OP asked for a tip to keep the ownership cost low. You’re being purposely obtuse here.
JizzyMcKnobGobbler@reddit
lol, now go back and read it before the edit, Einstein.
JayVig@reddit
Humanity has lost almost all self sufficiency
Fun_Mastodon3230@reddit
This is true, but It is a good thing. I can buy products at the store for far far cheaper than i could were I to make many of them myself. Specislized abd talented shoemakers, mechanics, chefs, carpenters, make better products than I could ever make and at a faster rate and lower price.
JayVig@reddit
Way to miss 100% of the point. Nobody is saying we shouldn’t rely on experts or merchants or creators. The point is that people can’t think for themselves or reason through issues without crowdsourcing. They can’t even look something up using search engines and resources without pleading for help from internet strangers to untangle life’s simplest questions. And, apparently, reading comprehension and context are lost arts, as evidenced by your comment
Hosedragger5@reddit
100%
Somebody posted yesterday in the homeowners subreddit that a landscaper left a garden hose on for 2 days, and they didn’t know what to do. Blew my mind.
fastbeemer@reddit
Politicians benefit from it so they push that the system should take care and protect you. Nobody should want for anything or even be cognizant of safety.
Reddit wants a class war, it is controlled extensively by anti-western disinformation campaigns. China and Hamas are big into Astro-turfing this place with propaganda.
JayVig@reddit
Politician benefit from people forgetting how to google stuff so they need to ask strangers to solve the simplest questions? Are you really saying the government wants us to crowdsource information? Do you buy tin foil hats in bulk?
MortadellaKing@reddit
Yup. I learned early on if you're gonna have many cars, gotta work on them yourself.
JayVig@reddit
Or at a minimum the ability to google information that OP asked the world to solve
Inflatable90sChair@reddit
And it highly depends on where you live and what it is. I have liabiloty only on a 25 year old truck, its like 254 bucks a year to insure lol
Less-General-9578@reddit
yes this. on a seldom used old truck, liability is your ticket. makes a great backup vehicle.
that simple, easy peasy.
Fun_Mastodon3230@reddit
Yea and some of these things are genuine luxuries (RV, boat). but others are things that aren’t “that” expensive.
How can we afford airplane travel? well, a one way ticket from New York to Austin for late June is 240 dollars. In 2026, this is cheap.
Google says a one way ticket NY to Austin was 136 dollars in 1975. adjusted for inflation that’s 800 dollars. so, the same plane ticket today is 1/3 the cost as in 1975
The issue shouldn’t be “how can we afford plane tickets” but rather “what happened to make plane tickets go from a luxury item to affordable to the middle class”
a middle class person will be able to afford this ticket….and if money is tight this month, the average credit card limit is 29k, according to a google search!
There has been a lot of inflation in the last 5 years and many prices have increased. clearly many Americans are struggling. I am in no way putting them down or minimizing their struggles and as a society we need to do better by them.
but overall people can afford far more goods and services than they could decades ago
Manderthal13@reddit
Another point: don't wish for things you can't afford. You already know if you can't afford a boat or RV so coming to reddit with questions of 'how do you afford...' are self-defeatist. Now someone tell me how to afford a Lear jet and if my 14 y/o Tacoma will tow a quad engined cigarette boat
Front-Mall9891@reddit
I’ve got nothing on the Lear jet, but the towing the boat I can make u famous on r/idiotstowingthings
PawPawsLilStinker@reddit
But what about the mustache twisting system designer guy who has made that impossible?
JayVig@reddit
I literally have no idea what any of this means
PawPawsLilStinker@reddit
Op said that there is an entire SYSTEM designed to keep HIM from owning a project car. It's litererally a global conspiracy
ForsakenWishbone5206@reddit
Holy shit xD
The laugh this gave me. phew. Some answers are so simple yet so complex at the same time.
iHaveLotsofCats94@reddit
That's easy to do when i paid $2500 total for both of my cars (repairs and maintenance not included )
JayVig@reddit
For some it’s easy to do regardless of price. Everyone’s financial standing is different. OP can’t seem to grasp this
iHaveLotsofCats94@reddit
Yup. OP needs to realize that different people have different financial priorities as well, so some decide they can swing it while others don't at the same income level. Lots of nuance here
WaterDigDog@reddit
Underrated method.
Federal-Membership-1@reddit
This is it. We're carrying our two cars and our two kids' cars. We decided to keep a beater at our vacation home and the truck that was a daily driver for 13 years-because one needs a truck where we live. We have incrementally increased our total premiums over the last 10 years from lifestyle creep.
QLDZDR@reddit
Yes it annoys me that a car dealer has a dealer plate that he can hang on any unregistered vehicle and drive it.
Why isn't that available to everyone?
S2kKyle@reddit
You know you can ensure the fun car as a recreational vehicle right? My insurance company knows the one car only sees a few hundred miles a year so insurance is cheap even if it's insured for a lot.
Strange_Pop6376@reddit
In PA I registered my 88 Silverado as an a classic. Paid the registration one time for as long as I own it.
averagemaleuser86@reddit
Tax return at the beginning of tge year pays one 6 month premium and my mid year performance bonus pays for the other 6 month premium.
aobie4233@reddit
I have 5 vehicles including my wife’s. 3 of them are summer/nice weather only cars, and if I don’t plan on driving them for at least a month I put them under storage insurance, and it makes a significant difference in my monthly bill. In the summer time all 3 are kept off storage though, because I drove all them often.
eXo0us@reddit
My daily is a EV. It has zero repair, close to nil in maintenance and cost next to nothing to drive. Also it's the most reliable
So have more money to spend on my toy collection. Which need constant repairs, maintenance and are expensive to drive.
Elated_copper22@reddit
Unfortunately insurance is a necessity.. I have four cars currently, and I pay about $2,500 for the year (‘72 Charger, ‘78 Corvette, ‘70 Shelby, ‘66 Fairlane) but I don’t drive them as often as I’d like.
As far as vehicle maintenance, they’re either already restored, or in the process of, so three of them are very low maintenance.. the Fairlane however is gonna cost me.
In the world of “hobbies” there’s always a cost unfortunately, if the insurance is a deal breaker than you’ll have to wait until you can afford it as a luxury, because that’s all the second vehicle really is. At least it’s not horses!
EfficientAd7103@reddit
fuck vehicle taxes. it's a scam. I used to work I'm roads and what is interesting is it goes to contractors that are not local. coming from a dude that has worked on it go out far as you can it pays them not roads
SovietPatrickStar@reddit
Doing work yourself is really easy and not necessarily expensive.
You can keep a daily for less than 1000€/$ a year + fuel and then still have plenty for a second or third project or weekend car, eventually even making money off of it. Being in the car community and knowing people helps a lot.
As a mechanic, knowing a body guy that can fix dents or a painter that can paint parts for you is pure gold and you can trade that work against replacing a clutch or a timing chain or whatever. Even if you’re not a professional car guy, you gotta be able to do anything tradable and you will not pay a whole lot on your car.
nehir631@reddit
some people rotate coverage (switching insurance between cars), but it’s usually annoying and can create gaps where the car can’t be legally driven, i’d cross check rules on bing and carced.com first
currancchs@reddit
I live in a state with no inspection or insurance requirements (NH) and use an online insurer where I can switch insurance next day through the website. I also tend to buy cheap vehicles with major issues that I fix right away, so I wind up having positive equity in them immediately. I then generally get rid of them within a year or two, when they're still worth significantly more than what I have into it.
wolf_walker8@reddit
If you think this is bad wait till you figure out what you spent on a given project and what it's actually worth. The insurance and registration is a relatively minor expense man. And yes you're purpose is life is to pay money to companies and governments. The only way out of that is to not have anything and walk the earth like Caine.
YandereValkyrie@reddit
I have three cars, I can do most of the work on them myself, and I can get most of my parts cheaper since I work at a dealership and have good relationships with parts tepa at other stores lol. Full coverage on all 3 only runs me about 1800/year since im the only driver, in my 30s and never had an accident in my life. Own all 3 outright too.
I definitely couldn't afford all 3 if I didn't know how to fix them, or get my parts cheap since one's a Volvo, and the other is a Mercedes, would be broke so fast.
shortyjacobs@reddit
Why are you calculating dollars per mile on a hobby? Is having the truck worth $500/yr? Then stop right there and just accept the cost. If not, sell it and rent.
Causification@reddit (OP)
I was wondering if enthusiasts had any tricks. Like maybe there's a way to quickly add a vehicle to your insurance and activate the registration, or a way to keep registration active without insurance.
artist1292@reddit
Yeah, live in a state like mine that technically doesn’t require insurance (you just need to prove you can pay for an accident and associated costs which they never make you do).
Even still my beater project car is only $350/year in insurance so I pay that to keep everything good since I don’t want to have to pay out of pocket for anything that may happen
Causification@reddit (OP)
Nice. What state is that?
TrilliumHill@reddit
I put vehicles in a "storage" policy when not using them. Drops insurance down to $25 a year but the policy # still shows active. Not sure if all DMVs would let it slide, but it works for us.
Switching the policy around kind of sucks, have to plan a couple days in advance.
LoudBrick609@reddit
In most states doing this is illegal if you don't turn the plate and registration in.
Which isn't really worth doing in my opinion because if you need the car in a pinch now you gotta get a new registration and plate which is a pain in the ass to save basically $80 over just keeping the car insured under liability only.
mmmmmyee@reddit
Classic car insurance is surprisingly cheaper than regular insurance (for cars that apply obviously)
FLOHTX@reddit
Saved some money by removing rental coverage from the policy
Kev250R@reddit
Not sure where you are or who you insure with but my policy with State Farm will cover a newly-purchased vehicle for up to 30 days. Gives me time if I buy something on a weekend or a Holida. I register ASAP and have not had an issue.
As far as affording multiple cars (I have 9 currently). All except one of mine were bought used. I buy ones which haven’t been abuse. I do all scheduled maintenance and many of the repairs myself. Something breaks, it gets fixed right away. I also shop around for insurance and currently my cars are spread between three insurance companies (State Farm, Hagerty & Progressive).
For me cars and MC’s are a hobby. Some people take expensive vacations or eat at fancy places. Me I have pretty plain tastes so Road Trips and a Holiday day off spent making repairs to my car trailer work for me.
wolphrevolution@reddit
My truck is 25$ a month for insurance. Around the same for plate since i didnt pay for a years. The most expensive insurance most of the time is not worth it, so i get the minimum legal
Sketch2029@reddit
Some insurers will let you remove the insurance while you're not driving the car. I had a car for a few years I wasn't driving with comprehensive only coverage in case a tree fell on it. It turned out the multi-car discount made my insurance cheaper than just having my main car insured alone so I kept it until I bought another car.
Obviously if I wanted to drive it I would have had to renew it and add the insurance again, so you need to know at least a day in advance that you want to drive it if you do this.
I now live in California where you pay heavy penalties if you don't renew your registration. They do have something called PNO (planned non-operation) if you know you're not going to drive the car for a while, but that's good for a year and it wouldn't make sense to switch back and forth because you would have to pay every time.
priuspollution@reddit
The trick is to not have it insured or registered. Title jump ftw
bhalter80@reddit
My insurance is 130/month with 5 cars and 500k CSL coverage. Not sure where you live or what your rates are
Sabrina218@reddit
Hello
3daycondor@reddit
You just keep them each properly maintained. Other than insurance, it’s not so bad. I keep 3 cars.
ARepeatedFailing@reddit
You must have insurance that doesn't use new technology. Any change in your insurance is instant. $500/year is worth it for me to have a vehicle I can use without having to succumb to the whims of popularity-ie people are towing stuff when I need to tow and pay more.
This isn't a "system" issue. It's a you determining what it's worth to have a vehicle issue. $500/year is a steal where I am. You can put your truck in "garage" or "inactive mode" and when you need to use it, call and have it activated.
For me, I hate the cost of registration more than insurance. It's nearly $300 every other year just to keep 1 car on the road here. I now have 3. I'm also more open to paying because 2/3 of my cars are paid off. They're at the bottom of the depreciation curve while being enthusiast cars so I'll get more than KBB if some dumb fuck totals it.
If it bothers you that much, store your truck with antique insurance and rent a truck. Even when I total what I pay in insurance+registration, I come out very ahead of those paying a car note for several cars/those getting new cars.
MyrkrMentulaMeretrix@reddit
uhhh.. whut. You can show them your proof of insurance on your phone. You can literally add your car while you're standing at the DMV and get it done.
Dafuq are you on about?
Causification@reddit (OP)
Sadly Georgia doesn't work that way. If it isn't in the database it doesn't count. You can get a ticket for an uninsured driver even if you have the physical insurance card, if they don't have it in the database yet.
PhysicsAndFinance85@reddit
Make more than you spend. I keep 14 vehicles on the road and track ranging from 1965 to 2025. You have to be able to live within your means.
cashinyourface@reddit
Swap plates between cars and debadge everything, so a cop can't tell if your old truck/car has the right plate. Most cops aren't car guys and cant tell a 1976 Ford f100 to a 1995 Chevy 1500 without obvious badging.
ARepeatedFailing@reddit
Your plates are matched to a VIN number. They can pull you over, look at the VIN and know it's wrong.
HighInChurch@reddit
Make more money.
briman2021@reddit
Or do what I did and buy shittier cars lol
InteractionPretend70@reddit
lol yeah thats a biggie. no need for comprehensive.. and also get older without any tickets.
briman2021@reddit
I’m a shop teacher and kids ask how i afford it all. I pay cash for old cars and run minimum coverage and storage insurance in the winter when I don’t drive them. My insurance bill is less than theirs for my 5 cars vs their 1 car.
Over-Spite6024@reddit
To be fair it also depends on driving history and age, I’m 21 and here in Alberta I was paying $650 a month for minimum coverage (no tickets on my record) on my beater Crown Vic I had bought for $900 lol
rottenbox@reddit
Being young sucks for insurance. I didn't get a car until I was 24 and it was still ~1800 a year although it dropped decently when I turned 25. Clean record. I can't imagine what it would have been if I'd had a car earlier.
I do know someone that was paying 900 a month in 1998ish. Yes, he had tickets.
I pay less than that now for two cars combined.
exenos94@reddit
Cheaper to have three semi reliable cars than one new reliable one
Less-General-9578@reddit
keep them repaired too. the new ones aint gonna last as long, those days are over friends. YMMV though.
T00luser@reddit
Bingo
Necessary-Score-4270@reddit
Running antique plates comes with cheaper insurance, registration, and taxes.
Longjumping_Chard339@reddit
Most poor people drive illegally occasionally.
87eebboo1@reddit
In some states you can get a “transport” tag. Gotta fit a few criteria like having a business where you work on cars, have more than one address that you need to work on and store cars, have a higher coverage or commercial policy, and have at least one legally tagged vehicle in your name. With the transport tag, you literally have a special license plate that you can put on any vehicle (comes with a blank registration card as well) and as long as you are driving the vehicle in some way related to your business, then you are legal because you are transporting it. Now if you happen to own a restoration shop and car shows/events are a way to promote your business, you can legally drive anything as long as it has lights and a horn.
secondrat@reddit
Sell the truck and rent one when you need it.
Drive old cars. Most of mine are on classic insurance and antique plates.
T00luser@reddit
Yes u can.
I currently have 7 vehicles, 6 of which I may be driving at any time although one is basically a project car with limited use. I tend to swap daily or weekly, another one seasonally.
I can call my insurance agent and turn on/off my insurance daily if I felt like it.
I don’t, but having it off for a few weeks for repairs or for a few months is usually what I do.
Now I’m an older driver with a good record, most of my vehicles are older (= cheap regs & ins.) & I don’t get full coverage on all of them. +add a house policy etc.
Plus I do all my own maintenance and about 50% of my repairs, and I have space for them.
That’s how I’m able to make it affordable.
LOGGATO@reddit
I have 12 cars. All but 4 are antique. $17 a year per car in property tax and I have Hagerty which is less than $100/month. The other "newer" cars are still less in every way than buying a single brand new car
Living_Fig_6386@reddit
Affording things means having the money to pay for them. Cars are expensive.
As for the truck, having one sitting there only to be used a few times per year is just plain dumb. Of course you should rent a truck rather than own one under such a circumstance. Cars' don't like to be mothballed and trotted out like that and you can't insure them for just those 3 days you use it (like you can with a rental).
If you have the space, money, and time to keep a pile of cars, all the power to you. But, it takes space, money, and time.
TextJunior@reddit
You guys register your vehicles?
GeneImpressive3635@reddit
Once every few years when I finally get a ticket for it. It’s $20+registration fees. Still cheaper than year after year
lsjuanislife@reddit
Yup. I stopped registering them until I get pulled over and it's 10x cheaper. Insurance is a must tho
newtoaster@reddit
Interesting - For some reason I always thought that expired registration was like an impound kind of offense. They just write it up and let it go?
They used to require yearly inspection where I lived but your car didnt get entered into the database until the first time you got a sticker. I had a car I bought new and just never inspected. I got one $150 ticket for it over 13 years and 135k miles. Good deal.
lsjuanislife@reddit
Every state is different so best check on that. Then city too.
TheReal-Chris@reddit
Haha what? My registration was expired by less than a day and I didn’t realize it didn’t at the end of the month and I got pull over the next morning. It costs $200 to register it with inspection every year.
Ok_Bowl9351@reddit
It depends a lot on where you live and what you drive. I register my car for about $35 once every two years. We don’t have inspections.
madnippler@reddit
Yeah they're not my guns
bhalter80@reddit
Yessir
Theycallmesupa@reddit
I only keep coverage on the two dailies and just switch coverage to the extra if one breaks.
Unfortunately its the extra car thats broken right now.
PyroMedic1080@reddit
Every day the heroine addict goes out finds 40 dollars and gets his score.
Im not about to be out hustled by a junkie. My addiction is just more experience.
Race cars are stupid
ADirtFarmer@reddit
Time and a half to post on reddit? Nice.
paulnuman@reddit
Nights and weekends don’t work themselves.
Due_Prior_7962@reddit
I have 4 vehicles. One the transmission went out (say $4-$5k to replace) and that still doesnt make it worth fixing. Something is wrong with the security system that only Ford can fix ($$$$). So thats dead to me. Just need the title so I can junk it.
My two daily drivers have cost me $3400 this year. Besides normal stuff (brakes, oil changes, plugs, etc), first time either have went to the mechanic. It was either stuff I couldn't fix (no safe place to work UNDER the vehicles), or I HAD to have my car for work. Nothing ever breaks on my 9 days off in a row....
4th vehicle is my toy. She costs the most to keep going. Tires every year, oil changes ever 2k miles, yearly plugs, etc. It's an 05 SRT4 but heavily modified (just missing a built bottom end). 93 ain't cheap either.
Just get cars that aren't expensive to maintain. Yeah a Viper or Maserati are dope, but replacement parts are EXPENSIVE. A Civic? Yeah, boring, but cheap to fix.
gaymersky@reddit
Minimum liability in some states is very low.... Maybe 80 a month...
DarkLordTofer@reddit
My old cars are my hobby. I could be paying membership fees at a golf course, spending on clubs and equipment, tee fees, competition entries. Or I could be buying a season ticket at a football club and sinking a hundred quid a week on watching the team. Or any number of hobbies. Mine costs me about £100 a month in standing costs for each extra car I have. They don’t do many miles so usually an annual service is all they need and any of the little jobs you get cropping up on old cars. And when I’m working on them I’m at home in the workshop rather than out drinking. Although can spend a fair amount on car show entry fees. But that’s a day out for me and my lad.
MightyPenguin@reddit
I have 11 cars between my wife and I. We like cars. Enough so that I ended up becoming a mechanic and went on to start a shop. Literally every car we own other than my wife's mustang is 20+ years old and was purchased at a bargain so I could fix it up. Most of them are on liability only which with AAA's multicar discount means our total month bill for car insurance is only like $300. As for registration, yeah is $100-200 per year each car and that gets annoying but not enough for me to want to get rid of them. Total investment into our whole fleet is still less money than the average price of a single new car, so while it may sound like a lot to some, it's not even as much as most people are spending to own 1-2 cars.
Sour_Sal@reddit
I call my insurance agent and I am covered for every new car I buy. I just added a 3rd and it was only $30 extra every month. I pay about $140 per month now for a car and truck on comp and a newer van with full coverage.
drhman1971@reddit
Back up vehicle or project cars/trucks have become absurdly expensive to insure. Moved from having a backup pickup to just having a towable trailer for the 3-4 times a year I would have used the pickup. Is the trailer more of a pain than the pickup, yes. Is it saving me $1000/year over what it cost to register and insure the pickup every year. Yes.
Causification@reddit (OP)
Looking like that's what I'll be doing in the future.
FANTOMphoenix@reddit
I use USAA, I can put a vehicle into storage and if it goes a month without being reactivated I don’t get charge for it.
So I have 2 vehicles, but only pay for one when I don’t use the other. My insurance is still way the fuck higher than I’d like, but they are the cheapest reliable carrier for me.
Causification@reddit (OP)
How do you keep your registration from lapsing when a vehicle doesn't have liability coverage?
FANTOMphoenix@reddit
It sits as in storage.
It still needs to be registered, but you can’t drive the vehicle as you forfeit your coverage if you drive while it’s still labeled as in storage, my other vehicle is still fully insured as it’s not as “in storage”.
Terrh@reddit
Classic insurance is my enabler.
pgregston@reddit
You need to get coverage based on use. Use collector rate when possible. Also figure out the timing for your states system and plan ahead. I routinely have registered cars on non op status while in repair process. Cost is zero. It’s covered under my home owners policy if the place burns down (garaged!).
curi0us_carniv0re@reddit
What do you mean it can take days for insurance databases to update? You receive proof of insurance the moment you pay your premium and you take that proof (ID card) down to the dmv and register the car. There's no database involved. Lol
ShadowsOfTheBreeze@reddit
My insurance (USAA) allows putting a car in "storage" and you can get it out of storage with 24 hours notice. Reduces the annual rate significantly. Registration costs are the tougher one to get around.
Causification@reddit (OP)
I don't mind the registration cost so much as the fact the moment liability coverage is removed the registration is invalidated, so it's effectively impossible to get a car out of storage status and drive it in less than a few days.
ShadowsOfTheBreeze@reddit
That blows. What a racket...
gmehodler42069741LFG@reddit
I have 7 vehicles on the road. Only keep full coverage on wife's 24 rav4
Bulocoo@reddit
The "system" isn't designed to do anything. Except make more money, have more toys.
And you answered your question. Rent a truck for the few times you need one or have a vehicle that tows like 4-5,000# and buy/rent a trailer.
specialneedsdickdoc@reddit
Are you asking how math works?
WhichAd366@reddit
Do you have a driveway? In some states you can get insurance specifically for rarely driven cars. The rate will be much lower. Depending on your coverage parking the car in a private driveway or garage can reduce your rate.
Some states also have tags for rarely driven cars. Some states have better rules for “classic cars” and have cheaper plates and registration without a ton of driving restrictions.
If you drive through small towns in Montana you’ll see a lot of houses with yards full of random old cars because it is extremely cheap to do that in Montana.
Worth-Salamander-836@reddit
Registration tabs on my cars are $60/year each or $5/mo. One has full coverage at $89/mo the other has storage insurance and costs basically nothing. I'll call them to put liability on it if I need to move it or start driving it for a season
Lamesbware@reddit
What's insurance?
Various_Variety419@reddit
Job helps a lot. I have one super beater old SUV with 9 seatbelts for when the entire clan gets together we cal all ride the same. I have a tiny jelly bean gas sipper that isn’t reliable and I really should scrap. My wife’s v6 crossover grocery getter that fits her and I amd the kids still at home, and my daily sedan domestic v8. The newest of them all is now about ten years old but in great shape, and the wife’s xover is too, being that those are definitely the primary vehicles. They’re all paid off, old enough that the tags combined for all four aren’t much over 200 a year, and minimal insurance on the two that are rarely driven.
VonteHD@reddit
Make more than $500/yr
Glittering_Jicama175@reddit
You drive and maintain all the cars you can afford, I have 8 active cars and two project cars, I could afford more,but I will not let any of them stay outside overnight and that is all the garage space i have.
Most-Description4665@reddit
Overtime
El_mochilero@reddit
My daily driver is a 10 y/o Subaru that’s been paid off for several years. After I paid off the Subaru, I saved up and paid $20k cash for my C6 Corvette.
Also, I make decent money ($150k), and basically have no other debt other than my mortgage.
I pay less than $200/mo in insurance and $0/mo in car payments. Learn to make more money, and be smart with the money that you make. Limiting debt is the foundation of financial freedom.
questfornewlearning@reddit
not not sure where you live but in my area, I can put vehicles on storage insurance at a moment notice. I have four vehicles that I pull in and out of storage insurance on a regular basis depending what I wanna drive at the time.
Causification@reddit (OP)
This seems like the best solution so far. How much does that run you? So you can keep the registration active the whole time?
Ok_Today_475@reddit
Have one good reliable daily and the rest can be shitboxes, and if your luck aligns, your shitboxes run while you’re daily is down for maintenance or repairs. As far as insurance goes, you often get multi vehicle discounts. I at least do. It costs me under $300 a month with Allstate for 2 F150s and a 7th gen accord. Zero tickets is key. Be responsible and it is possible
Silent-Contract-1790@reddit
Working hard.
Temporary-Event7163@reddit
I drive shit box Hondas LOL and try to do all the work myself.
lellololes@reddit
The solution is understanding that if you need something so infrequently that it would cost you less money to rent than it is to own, that you should just rent it when you need it. Maybe it doesn't feel good that way, but there's a reason that most people don't own carpet steamers!
AlmiranteCrujido@reddit
This varies a lot by state. If you're in a state that allows liability only and you have a car that isn't worth much, make sure you're on liability only for that car, and look into insurance plans that charge based on mileage.
We put a whopping 1200 miles on our second car in the last 6 month renewal period; moving to the plan where we report the exact mileage at each renewal reduced our total insurance cost by 1/3.
Master-Thanks883@reddit
If you park on your property don't need it insured until you drive it the registration do online send same policy number and your main vehicle I have done it in NJ a few times
RealisticAd838@reddit
I have 4 cars, 1 daily driver with normal progressive insurance, the other 3 are 25+ years old and are on a collector insurance policy. Pay $400 a year for everything
Falconman21@reddit
Don’t drive without insurance, full stop. Registration has a bit more flexibility.
If it’s old and you’re using it twice a year, I’d just risk it and say you’re restoring it and just test driving it. Most places have registration exemptions for test driving a car you’re working on. Testing the alternator is a good one, that can take a while for it to fail.
You could also look into antique plates if it’s old enough. A lot of restrictions on when you can drive it, but you don’t have to renew it. I’ve never been pulled over driving on antique plates when I wasn’t supposed to.
TROGDOR_X69@reddit
its easy once they are paid off. Currently have an STi and GR86 both paid off. my insurance is like 380 for both a month. if you count gas/reg too im maybe in it for 500 month.
Easy to keep up on stuff when in total both my cars are still less then what most people are spending on 1 car payment. Not including anything on top
and I do most of my own maintenance.
osteologation@reddit
380 is that liability only? only 1 driver on policy? age? seems kinda high to me for 2 cars. but there are so many vatiables.
TROGDOR_X69@reddit
380 full coverage. im 34 and yea my policy only driver
i live in one of the highest priced areas in the country for insurance (even though i do like 5k a year)
and GR86 is terrible on insurance. like nobody seems to get under 200 so it could be worse
this is with clean record over 10 years too.
osteologation@reddit
Right I talk to mybl co workers and most pay for ay more than me and I feel like I pay too much 300 for 3 cars, 1 full, 1 with comp and 1 just liability
Horsetranqui1izer@reddit
I pay $80 a month for my 2010 Acura tsx 😆
Basic-Guy-59901@reddit
I usually have at least 6-8 running vehicles and another 4-6 project vehicles. Anything over 10 years old can be registered permanently in Montana. Liability insurance is dirt cheap.
icanfly2026@reddit
Aaa and a few other insurance companies allow you to put the vehicle in storage without having an active policy on it
ThirdSunRising@reddit
Classic car registrations are permanent in many states, greatly reducing holding costs.
Insurance is through Hagerty or another dedicated classic car insurer. You shouldn’t have to pay the full cost of street insurance for a car that’s only occasionally driven, so shop specifically for classic insurance
AnotherDrone001@reddit
I’ve never given it a whole lot of thought tbh. Growing up, my mom and stepdad had like… shit eight to ten cars at any given time. Once I was out living on my own, at one point I had five. Now I’m down to two and it feels weird. I want at least one or two more but I just don’t really have the space at the moment.
OlliHF@reddit
There's no good answer.
Either have money or live somewhere that doesn't do inspections.
I do the latter. Doesn't really matter since I start on a new one while the engine is out of the old one though.
DSM202@reddit
Lower your standards on what you consider legal. 😆
Early_Apple_4142@reddit
How are you paying that much in insurance? I had a 2008 Lexus RX350 as a third car for quite a while and with full coverage with double my state minimums in dollar value coverage with a $1000 deductible it was $12 a month. If you’re only using it a few times a year you should make sure it’s listed accordingly with your insurance company and has a low mileage limit per year.
For repairs, if it’s truly MY third vehicle I’ll likely do most of the repairs myself. Not just because it’ll save some money, but because for me, that’s why I’d have a third vehicle. I want something to occupy a little time. With the plethora of info on YouTube anymore, tinkering on stuff particularly stuff 20+ years old, isn’t difficult.
Lastly, even as a third vehicle for me, it would be daily drivable quality. I’m not buying a legitimate full blown project that will take up driveway space. I’ll drive the vehicle at least a couple days a week just to do it. Every time we’ve had a 3rd vehicle I seem to get into a habit of driving a full tank of gas out then switching to the other vehicle and doing the same thing so I usually drive them for a week or so at a time.
tnsipla@reddit
Some months I cut back on my other hobby (Warhammer) if I need to increase spend on cars (ie registration is due, insurance payment)- I generally don’t go out eating or to shows/movies (I don’t get a kick from those activities to start with).
I don’t factor my daily into the fun/hobbies expenses since it’s something I use to commute to work- so it’s a necessity for generating income.
Hansdawgg@reddit
It’s wild how much things vary from state to state. My insurance add on is like $10 a month and we don’t have emissions here so my cost per mile is almost non existent for my 2nd car.
Warm_Objective4162@reddit
OP - here’s my real answer to your question:
You annoy your insurance company. I live in a state where it’s relatively cheap to register a car (\~$70 a year for a car, $120 for a truck) and then tell my insurance it’s “garaged” - which is like $50 a month - unless I’m driving it. Wait that’s more than what you posted. Shit then I dunno, make more money?
No_Staff594@reddit
I just keep my hobbies below my income threshold and start by purchasing a vehicle that is actually street legal before i buy it
Ok_Individual960@reddit
I have looked in to getting a second vehicle to keep my truck for only when I needed truck duty (not commuting).
The numbers simply don't work. Primarily it's insurance that kills the deal.
wolphrevolution@reddit
Get a older car and buy the minimum legal, my truck is 25$ a month ( about the same as my 2007 civic ) and 27 years old. More expensive unless its worth 100k or is brand new is not worth it
Scary-Detail-3206@reddit
You just need a bigger truck to skew those fuel numbers enough to justify a commuter car.
My 2010 Titian is a pig on gas. I bought a Corolla to put around town with and it’s been great. Keeps the stop and go miles off the truck and the gas savings pay for the car.
LongOrganization7838@reddit
A lot of them have the bare minimum amount for insurance otherwise a lot of insurances have special rates for vehicles that are only driven occasionally a lot of people also just dont insure their vehicles all together
mustang-GT90210@reddit
In my state, registration is like $100/year per vehicle, and my insurance is $150/month. I've got a car, truck, and suv, as well as a motorcycle. One truck and the bike both have full coverage.
If you can't afford that, you can't afford to upkeep an extra vehicle anyway.
NeighborhoodTime1425@reddit
My insurance has a "storage /mechanical" option. Like half price, has to be unused for 3or6 months. Either in storage or being fixed at mechanic. Check your insurance for a similar option.
Causification@reddit (OP)
Thanks that's helpful.
cbelt3@reddit
Depends on your locations. Many insurance companies will offer rates for “summer only” or “antique” rides. I shut off insurance while I was working on a hangar queen for a year. No problems.
Jumpy_Childhood7548@reddit
Make more, save, invest, spend less.
CheapFilm4826@reddit
Owning a second vehicle, in this case a truck you dont use but have at the ready is a luxury youve gotta pay for.
If you dont need the truck, want to save money and have found that you can also rent a truck when you need it and still come out ahead financially compared to owning, then the answer is really simple.
random_agency@reddit
This is a money issue, not a car issue.
bustedtap@reddit
Why does it cost so much to insure? I don't spend that much for an agreed value collectors policy on my 38 year old truck for a year. I carry bare bones Liability insurance on 2 of my vehicles, and full coverage on the nice truck and my wife's newer van that would cost way more to replace. Still don't spend much more than that to insure the other 3 vehicles for a year. Main thing for me, no car payments each month.
Signal-Confusion-976@reddit
Where does it take days for insurance to update. I can either go online or to my agent. Get insurance on the spot then immediately go to the DMV for my registration.
Sketch2029@reddit
If you're using a traditional insurance office that makes you sign papers be very careful with this. My parents called their agent and added insurance on their new home over the phone and were told to come sign the papers next week. That weekend the washer flooded half the house and damaged the carpet. Insurance wouldn't pay out to replace the carpet because the papers weren't actually signed even though the policy was dated before the incident.
So there's a chance you may be covered from a driving legality standpoint if you got pulled over, but might not actually be covered in the case of an accident. I think that's less of an issue these days with so many companies doing policies online.
Causification@reddit (OP)
It can happen immediately although technically they have 30 days to transmit the status.
Signal-Confusion-976@reddit
Where is this
Causification@reddit (OP)
Georgia
Signal-Confusion-976@reddit
I'm my state it's whatever you want the start date. The insurance company will put the date on the paperwork. You can choose a later date for insurance to start. But you can't register it until insurance is active. But the default is that day you get your policy.
salvage814@reddit
If you are not making payments just put liability on it.
inlikeflint1234@reddit
Owned a truck 36 years and a car for 12 it's all in the maintenance
NightKnown405@reddit
Live within your means. My house is paid off. All of my cars and trucks are paid off except for my newest car which I bought for my daughter. Plus there is nothing that can go wrong with anything that I own that I can't fix myself.
doug-demuro-is-daddy@reddit
I do all the work myself, and two of em 50 years old and a lot of these parts are cheap
Blu_yello_husky@reddit
Move to a state that doesn't have laws around how many unregistered vehicles you've can own or have on your property. My state, MN, doesnt have state safety inspections, emissions testing, or laws around capping off how many vehickes a single person can own. My uncle has over 35 non running vehicles on his property that have been there for decades. The state and/or county cant do anything about it because its on his own private land and its not visible from the road.
Judging by your post details, you must live in Cali or some other shithole state with an interesting interpretation of American freedom. Move to a state that has very few to no laws about the vehicles you own, youll be alot happier. Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Montana are ones tgat come right to the front of my mind when talking about the least vehicle-driver restrictions law wise.
Pimp_Daddy_Patty@reddit
The trick is to drive something that's good on gas. So the fuel savings offset the cost of insurance on the 2nd vehicle.
I've always had a daily and a project car and never had an issue having 2. Not even when I was making $12/hr
Cars_Music_GoodTimes@reddit
I only need a truck 1-2 times a year. When those days come, I either borrow one or rent one. I cannot justify the space, maintenance or insurance to own one.
snipsuper415@reddit
💸😭
trish828@reddit
I have a 31-year-old Ford and a 30-year-old Volvo. I buy parts from Rock Auto and do all my own work.
rhysisacreep@reddit
My state lets you get permanent registration once a vehicle is over 10 years old - costs about $300. Liability only is like $70 a month for both my trucks.
coreyjdl@reddit
$
ratedsar@reddit
Find more uses for your truck or sell it.
Even if it's a classic show car, you find more shows to go to than a few times a year (ie you rent it for off road wedding shots).
But yes, you should be disincentivized to keep a truck you only use a few time a year.
DarkDel517@reddit
We keep it pretty simple. I have the fun toy car to cruise around with, hit track days and go to shows. My wife has her daily driver compact suv that also doubles as our traveling vehicle and weekend family vehicle. We own both outright so it’s just insurance and gas. Also helps that we are not kids anymore and have had clean records for years which helps keep the insurance premiums modest at best.
Currently looking to add an older weekend warrior truck/suv to the roster for all our outdoor activities like fishing, hunting, camping. Could her little suv do most of it sure and it has for some time but a bigger vehicle would just make those things easier.
Dexford211@reddit
My DMV allows me to de-insure a vehicle.
badhoopty@reddit
ill tell you what tho, when you move to a different state and get to renew all your tags at the same time its glorious. thered be times id go to blow the cobbs out of one of my lesser driven cars (all hoopties) and id realize the dang tag was 2 months expired.
bhalter80@reddit
I turn a lot of wrenches myself but also I just buy way more affordable cars than my car budget allows. My newest car is 12 years old my oldest is 20.
My wife's car is 7vyears old.
At this point I'm paying the statutory minimum in reg fees and taxes to the state, the parts are all mechanical in most cases and I have an indie shop that does the work that I don't.
Combined over the last 10 years I've collected 5 cars and probably spent less than 85k. Yes that's a lot of money, but it's also not 5 new cars worth especially if you include interest on loans.
At this point I'm spending 3-6 k/yr on maintenance depending on what breaks.
If your question is why do this instead of renting a truck/trailer for those 2 days a year you need it. My answer is when I need something specialty like a truck I'd go rent it. That's what I do every time I need a trailer
VW-MB-AMC@reddit
I only own older cars. Classic car insurance is very cheap, parts are for the most part cheap (I have also collected a lot of good spare parts over the years) and I can work on them myself. I currently have 4 registered cars. The insurance, road tax and membership in a club (to get good deals on insurance) costs the equivalent of 400 USD a year for all of them combined. None of them use that much gas either.
Causification@reddit (OP)
That's impressive. Did you choose a particular provider for that?
VW-MB-AMC@reddit
The club I am a member of is part of a bigger domestic classic car association. And the association cooperates with one of the bigger insurance companies in our country. Through them we get very good insurance.
stabbingrabbit@reddit
You can suspend your insurance and keep the policy active. Talk to your agent.
ShiftieGears@reddit
Antique registration.
MSampson1@reddit
It’s a simple question of worth. Is it worth paying the extra insurance and registration fees to have access to a second vehicle whenever you want/ need it. If the answer is yes, you pay if it’s no, you get down to one reliable vehicle and call it a day. It’s an easier question to answer if you’ve got a toy yo play it or some kind of hot rod or project car. However, depending on the state of the project car, you may choose not to license it or insure it for some period of time until it’s road ready. Stuff like that is generally a case by case thing
Eschewed_Prognostic@reddit
I own multiple cheaper cars that serve my needs rather than a couple nice ones with rentals as needed.
dwcanker@reddit
Be old and live somewhere with cheap insurance. I think my spare 04 jetta wagon tdi costs $180 a year for the absolute minimum insurance.
Causification@reddit (OP)
Now that's a great price. Who do you have insurance with? Did you use any particular categorization for the vehicle to get that rate?
Ok-Task5336@reddit
I have 3 Toyota 4x4s ranging from 1986 to 2007. They cost less than my buddys 2025 Tacoma and I do my own work so I spend very little on maintenance.
Neat_Telephone_2525@reddit
Lol $40 a month aint shit.
nixiebunny@reddit
It’s only a dollar a mile if you drive it 100 miles a month. I am ready to sell my second car because it’s not getting driven even that much.
osteologation@reddit
it rasied my policy $30/month to add my old silverado with comprehensive. seemed like a no brainer. oddly it was an extra $50/month for a beater pontiac montana.
Agile_Session_3660@reddit
It’s not a hobby for those trying to be frugal, that’s just the reality of it. That being said, my collector policies on my classic cars are substantially cheaper than normal auto insurance for the amount of coverage they provide, but that’s because they are filled with rules like limited mileage, garage storage, can’t use them to drive to work, etc.
lightning71@reddit
Pay for them in cash and fix them yourself.
Arch-by-the-way@reddit
I didn’t realize there was another option
flying_dutchman_w204@reddit
Scheduled maintenance, check fluid levels weekly. Don’t be cheap when it comes to maintenance or repairs. Basically take care of your car and it takes care of you.