Bye Bye Kia

Thursday we drove the "Golden Girl" aka the Rio for the last time.  We took a trip up to Fort Wayne to look at a van we saw on autotrader.com. It had everything we were looking for, but we just wanted to see it in person and make sure it was in the condition we wanted.  There were a few thoughts going through my head on the way up there...1) I hope the Rio makes it up there and 2) I hope the van is in good condition because I dont want to take another 2 1/2 hour drive back home in the Rio! Well, here she was for the last time in the driveway with Squeak.

Here is the new van! Shiny, like new 2008 T&C! We have more room-my knees were touching the dash as we drove up to FW and on the way home we were much more comfy.  Nora liked the tinted windows with built in screens to block the sun and Jake was content letting me drive my new van. I think he's only excited because now the Audi is his to drive, but I'm OK with that. 

Alright...all you van haters unite, but tell me what I can get for the storage and passenger load, gas mileage and price and I'll show you this every time!

Car Shopping

Since we have one payment left on the Audi, last weekend we went car shopping for an upgrade on the Kia (sniff, sniff..I know sad). Goldy is a great car, good gas mileage, but get her going too fast and the paint peels off-so we are looking for a bigger vehicle (van or SUV) to haul lots of cargo and lots of people safely!

Originally we weren't going to start looking until summer, but I figured looking will at least let us learn what we want to buy. And, walking around a car dealership 8-9 months pregnant is better than hauling a baby with us or getting a baby sitter. So I gave into Jake's plee to go see some SUVs. At the beginning of the day we were looking at Pilots, Sedonas, Explorers, Outlooks, and any other SUV that carried 7 passengers comfortably, with "good gas mileage" (note: none really are good gas mileage) that were a few years old so that they could still be a certified pre-owned vehicle.

Rewind to before we went out looking-I think we should get a van!! After all considerations, I believe vans are the most economical in hauling passengers and cargo (for vacation) and still have the sweet gadgets you can find in SUVs. Don't misunderstand...I think vans look hideous, but nothing else out there compares to the size of the space behind the 3rd row seating like a van. And what other cars seats fold into the body of the car?

Ok, back to the day of car shopping...I glowed with excitement when I saw a van to look at in the used parking lot. Jake was devastated! He's not "ready" to be a van driver! However, after looking at a Chrysler Town & Country...he was pretty much sold. Sold so much when we got home he started looking them up online to see different colors and other used T & C's around the area. I laughed and smiled with excitement that he finally realized that they are worth it!

He liked the dual video screens, navigation, heated seats, all electronic switches/dials, etc and could give into a van with "all the bells and whistles" for wayyyy less than we could get the same things in a SUV with less space. He now never calls it a van..he calls it a Town & Country.

We aren't buying right now, but are weighing heavily on a van (we'd be one sweet looking couple in a van-can you picture us?) when we do decide to get an upgrade!