After 22 plus years of marriage, we have come to a decision. It was not an easy one, we really thought long and hard, we talked about it, we both gave opinions and reasons, we thought more about this than anything in our recent history. We looked at lots of pros and cons before we made this big decision. Keith took the 2 big kids with him so they could be involved in the process.
We are looking at getting a 2nd vehicle.
{did I make you nervous?}
We have been a 1 vehicle family since we started dating. We did, for 2 months have a 2nd car, but I saw a roach once, when I was driving alone, I could not find it to kill it, I drove home with the interior lights on and never drove it again! I don’t like roaches!! More than that, it smelled like rotting plastic to me, a few other real reasons, such as gas and insurance, we sold it at a yard sale. So except for 2 months we have only had one car.
We have been talking about getting a 2nd car off and on for a few months now. I don’t want to jump into a car loan, our silver beast has a few issues, it is a great van, but… BUT it kills on gas, it sucks gas like an alcoholic sucks down cheap beer. I think we get 8 miles per gallon in the city. I know the giant SUVs get the same terrible gas, but we don’t want to pay that much money. I run errands after everyone is in bed, when Keith is home and everyone is busy playing, I run alone or take a single kid with me. It is wasteful to drive that big giant van with only 1 child, a smaller more gas efficient car is the answer.
For a week Keith spent his free time looking on-line, choosing to go as far as 50 miles away to get the best deal. He finally found the top 3 we were interested in, for price, size and miles per gallon. I hate car dealerships, they do not value my time, instead we sit, and sit oh and sit some more. I would think that if they are getting paid on commission, they would move faster and get us out of there so they can sell the next car. Our first car purchase was a Saturn, our favorite car ever. When I went to college my sophomore year I had a car. My mom and sister used it for a year, then I resumed payments and it was our car when we were dating and then got married. That thing had the best gas mileage I think it was something like 40 miles per gallon or some crazy thing! We drove it until we outgrew it. {C was a newborn and I babysat full-time for twins who were almost 3, I could not get 3 car seats in the back}. That car purchase was the last one I enjoyed. So when Keith found the top 3 cars, I did not go, I did not give them a test drive, I did not look at them, I did not want to go, instead I sent Keith with C and O. I let them test drive the cars. I happily stayed home, reading books and taking care of bed time. It was wonderful. Keith chose the best price car. Turns out the one with the lowest gas mileage the door would not shut. That is a problem, then larger car was not his favorite to drive. After he found the car he completed everything so all I would have to do is go in and sign my name on the dotted lines.
We went back 2 days later, all we were going to be doing was signing the paperwork. I asked our salesman how long the process would take, he said “not long” I asked more specifically how long ‘not long’ really was. He promised 30 minutes. I set my timer. He lied. It was 58:44.30 I timed it. We took the 4 youngest kids along with us. I was offended when the finance guy came in to take us to his office to sign the paper work, he implied that my children would be in the way, and a problem, because” he has to go over all the paper work with us, and get a little more information. WAIT that was all done online and over the phone why now is there more stuff? “SO which one of us wanted to go first?” We then sat in our salesman’s office to wait it out. It was dirty and dingy, the wall paper was pealing off the walls, the art work looked like something bought off the side of the road, from the guy who sells rugs at the gas station. The dealership was filthy, there were cob webs in the north corner of the lobby that were so big I thought a bird was stuck in it, nope it was just a dust bunny. A very large dust bunny. Our salesman had no social skills, at 37 minutes of wait time he actually told me “you look tired.” I could not believe it. I replied, “I am I have 7 children, things to do and someplace to be.” I could not believe he actually said that! The guy is married, he told us, I am sure that he did not win his wife over with his conversation skills. Shortly after that he left us alone in his office. {That was a smart idea} There were no comfy couches in the lobby, no seating areas, no seats actually. A random stone/cement block planter and a race car, which I let my 4 kids rub their hands all over, leaving sticky prints on the car. When you have waited 50 minutes you get tired of looking at dirt and dust bunnies, pealing wall paper and filthy windows, you do what you have to do. When it was finally my turn to sign the paperwork I brought all 4 kids in with me, and set my timer on the desk. I began to sign, the finance guy asked what it was timing. I politely explained that we were promised we’d be done in 30 minutes and right now we are almost to a full hour. He was shocked that I timed it. When I finished signing, we were free to go. I left and did a little recovery retail therapy. Keith took 3 of the kids with him back to school for a football game.
{isn’t it cute? I LOVE blue!!!}
Now we get to go back because they only gave us 1 key to drive the car. What in the world! So now we get to go back in. If they are lucky they will get Keith and not me.
All that to say we have a lovely car, it has great gas mileage, all 4 doors and trunk open {our front van doors only open from the inside}
What about you do you love car dealerships? Or do you feel like it is a time sucking place. A few minutes becomes an hour.
O drove it already and it is much more ‘touchy’ than the beast is. She will be zipping around in no time. C will be able to use it on rainy days, instead of the moped. And Keith will not have to figure out how to get to school and stay dry in the process. We all have places to go and now we have a way to get there!
Go hug your kids, they need your love
jen
overholt8 