Paul is out of town, so I'll take this opportunity to tell you that he totalled his Jimmy last weekend. This is the second Jimmy he's totalled on black ice, not to cast aspersions on his winter driving prowess. That would be a nasty thing to do to a Wyoming boy! In his defense, last time - the first Jimmy's demolition - was not his fault. This time, though - the second Jimmy's demise - was a one car accident.
It's no tragedy, fortunately. Paul is well, aside from a stiff neck and back. Also, the Jimmy was about 8 years old and fully paid off.
My Passat will be paid off in May, and we'd hoped to spend a few months tossing the amount we're used to spending on car payments at some of our massive credit card debt. We're not big shoppers but we're really really bad with money.
We have to buy a new car right away. With very small children and Paul working 25 minutes from home (without allowing for traffic) one car just isn't easily feasible for us right now.
Fortunately, March is the month for bonuses, and the insurance company will be sending us a check too. Down payment!
We went car shopping last night. As I whipped out my wallet to hand over my driver's license for the test drive, Ellie got excited. "Shopping! Shopping! Car!" She loved the very first (and only) vehicle we've looked at so far. "Ready! Ready!" she cried, pulling the shoulder belt across her chest. I'm sure she'll be crushed when she learns that she has to ride in her car seat in the new car too.
Paul will get the Passat, and I'll drive the new vehicle. He's rather jealous about that, but the Passat is a great car in great condition, and we both agree on what we need in a new vehicle: room for at least 2 car seats and 3 adults, with flat space for diaper changing and convenient access to the back seats from the front seats without having to get out of the car. Plus all the luxury features we crave.
I wonder how I'll adapt to seeing myself as a minivan mom.
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9 comments:
i think it's funny you waited for paul to go out of town to post this..
I'm pretty sure paul (almost positive, in fact) is smart enough to check a blog from a different city.
I drive the big ass SUV but Mr. MFBA is driving my 13 year old Sentra around. It looks like death but still runs great.
We are going to replace it soon and as much as I know we need a car I hate the idea of two car payments.
You do have a wonderful blog....so full of passion and LOVE.
We've already started the debate about who drives the eventual/inevitable minivan in our future. We also get both cars paid off by this summer, and are hoping to live payment-free for a while...though DH's Bonneville recently needed repairs in 4 digits, and it's only 4.5 years old, so I'm not banking on a long life for it.
Enjoy the new vehicle--minivans are very comfy to ride in and can hold a *ton* of kid stuff (or shopping bags, which might make Elly happy!)
Tina, actually, minivans come with all the luxury features you can imagine. It's just the mental block (and outside image) I have to get over. Once you're inside, minivans are sort of like portable spas.
Kathryn, he didn't have time today, but I'm sure he'll notice this sooner or later . . .
CCW, your type of SUV is the only one I considered, because it also fulfills all my criteria. But the gas!
SK, I am going to love it. When I have the girls. When I'm driving by myself, like to work, I think I'll love it much much less.
Thank you, Jenny!!
Kristi, my main complaint about minivans is the *lack* of storage space, but fortunately we won't need the back seats up all the time.
We had no choice but to get a minivan in 1994 when Daugther was two months from arriving and we already had a just-turned-3 and a not-quite-2. Nowadays they make some SUVs with a third row of seats, but not back then. We've stuck with them because of the autistic's aversion to his elder brother, and because it's just durn handy to have all of them separated by at least a seat-width on long trips. Besides, we can carry two other people besides Mom and Dad and the monsters.
And of course with the new law about "booster" seats, it takes even longer before you get rid of the things...
Ah. You are about to enter Minivan Hell. Good luck with that. I know we're going th ere soon ourselves. What with a dog and the Babe, our tiny Toyota Echo (like the Yaris) which has AWESOME mileage, just does NOT carry enough stuff. We're looking into the Toyota Sienna ourselves. We're total Toyota converts.
I don't understand why minivans have the rap they do. By the time we got ours, my oldest was in school and it seemed like we were the only ones who didn't have one.
I had been angling for a small SUV, but it is nice to have the van when we are on the long distance trips to the grandparents' houses - to be able to stick everyone in one vehicle on those trips has had benefits.
I remember all the long car trips of my youth with me and my brother pushing each other for space in the back seat - not an issue in the van. When they get onery - they can be split into differnt rows on opposite sides! Genius!
And as far as "image" goes - well I remember when my older one started school, how we were the only vehicle in line that wasn't a van when he first started. It didn't matter to me - not enough to run and buy one - but when that car I was driving crapped out, I think it made me more open to the idea. There were some really cool, hip moms driving those vans.
I also kinda think that with the second child comes this slow, creeping realization that things in your life need to be sturdy and utilitarian. When you just have one kid, you can kinda fake-believe that parenthood hasn't changed you. With one kid, everything is squeaky clean and brand new. With the second, I bet it will even get you looking at the way you purchase clothes for Ellie. You will look at stuff and judge it and wonder... will this last long enough for Ada to wear? Tell me if that doesn't happen.
We had the 'Minivan or SUV?' conversation with one of my cousins when our first child was almost 1 and we needed space. He convinced me by saying he'd alerady had both and it was no contest, save myself the trouble and skip the SUV. This is a golf/resort club manager who windsurfs still at 40, is a super dad of 2 and husband, and is as Florida cool as you can get. I was pretty convinced that if if he could be won over to the practical soccer-mom-mobile, then I could. He was right. Gas mileage is good, space is awesome (though we got the slightly longer Caravan for that reason) and the amenities like builtin DVD and room for 7 come in handy frequently. It also just drives like a car once you've had it a few weeks, but I think all big cars feel that way. We have that and my super-non-practical Cooper, so it's a good balance. I think those little mini-SUVs like escape/murano/CRV are attractive, but when you do the multi-state road trip, I bet you run out of space. I really like packing our van and still having spare room even when we are going somewhere for two weeks.
Hear ya on the two car payments..evil. Doing it now for 13 months in between the cars and it leads to things like credit card balance and tightening of the finance belt. So not cool, but when you need a car, you need a car. Test drive them all, you'll know what feels right, whether it's a Odyssey, Sequoia (uggh!) or a hybrid CRV.
I like volkswagons, they seem to have great quality and people love em, so maybe check out their Touareg ?
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