Jul 12, 2025
Balancing your work life with your personal life is hard enough — especially when both rely on the same car.
Say you’ve just taken a new job that has you driving constantly in your own vehicle. The company helps out by reimbursing you per mile and even offers a monthly stipend. Altogether, that’s about an extra $1,000 a month added to your paycheck.
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At first glance, it seems like plenty to cover the costs. But there’s a catch: your personal vehicle is a notorious gas-guzzler, averaging just 20 miles per gallon. Between frequent fill-ups and ongoing maintenance, you’re watching more than half of that extra money disappear every month.
Faced with these rising costs, you might think buying a second, more fuel-efficient car is the obvious solution. But before making that move, it’s worth asking: Will it really save you money in the long run?
Getting a second car pros and cons
While many Americans toil behind a desk during the workday, others are chasing checks, in part, by hitting the road. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30% of civilian jobs require some form of driving, including jobs like food delivery, sales and social work. Additionally, the average age of cars on the road is nearly 13 years old. That means a growing number of Americans are putting serious mileage on aging vehicles.
There are pros to shifting some of that use onto a second, newer and more fuel-efficient car — the main one being that it could save you significantly at the pump.
Let’s say you drive 12,500 miles per year just for your job, gas is $3.25 per gallon and your personal car only gets 20 miles per gallon. Switching to a car that gets 40 miles per gallon could save you a little more than $80 a month, or $998 per year on work-related commuting. Not bad.
Getting a second car just for work can also help extend the life of your current car, and you may be able to make tax deductions on mileage and vehicle-related expenses.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be other costs, both up-front and in the long run.
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At the Department of Motor Vehicles, you would have double the registration costs and property tax payments (depending on your state), not to mention double the state inspections, insurance premiums and monthly payments if you don’t buy the car in cash.
And even if your second vehicle is new and efficient, that doesn’t mean it won’t need some maintenance along with your other car. Plus, if you live in an apartment complex or condo, you might need to pay for an additional parking spot, which can cost hundreds per month.
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Budgeting for a second vehicle
Getting a second car for work is not a simple decision, especially if you can’t pay cash for the additional ride. Americans have a whopping $1.64 trillion dollars in car loan debt, with the average payment for a new vehicle being $745. You should evaluate your budget and job situation to see if it’s worth taking on another vehicle.
Figure out how much you’re spending on gas per month and how many miles you are driving for your job, including how much your employer reimburses you. The IRS’s 2025 mileage rate is 70 cents per mile for businesses, and some employers may reimburse more than that or add monthly stipends on top of the mileage rate. Use a calculator to compare gas costs for your car versus a fuel-efficient model.
Consider your financial situation and ability to make monthly payments on a new car. Will the savings at the pump, potentially lower maintenance costs and employer reimbursement outweigh the hundreds you may owe per month?
Two cars for a single person may be too much, especially if you want to keep one car strictly for work and the other for personal use — not to mention multiple annual registrations, maintenance and payments. Do you have the space to house both cars? Can you afford a second parking spot (if your apartment or condo complex even allows multiple vehicles)?
And finally, if your personal vehicle bites the dust, will you be okay with making your second car your primary ride? Ultimately, the right move depends on both your lifestyle and your bottom line.
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Chris Clark is a Kansas City–based freelance contributor for Moneywise, where he writes about the real financial choices facing everyday Americans—from saving for retirement to navigating housing and debt.
