A second car can look inexpensive when it spends most of its life parked. No loan payment sounds great, and a paid-off vehicle can feel like a useful backup. But retirement changes the calculation because a rarely driven car still collects insurance bills, registration costs, maintenance needs, depreciation, and repair risk.
That makes the driveway a surprisingly poor place to hide a financial decision. A car does not need to rack up miles to cost money. If the second vehicle mostly moves for grocery runs, occasional appointments, or the annual ritual of shuffling cars around before a storm, it deserves a closer look.
