A newer car has been long overdue in the Kang household. I bought a Honda Civic in 1993, and Joe bought his Volkswagen Jetta in 1995. My car is older, but in better condition – many fewer miles and much less rust. And it’s a little ironic because Joe has always been borderline anal-retentive about maintenance on his car, and I am, well, a little more laid back about it.
We have been planning and saving for a new vehicle for a long time, and in the end it is Joe who will give up his first new car – it had the additional disadvantage of being a standard transmission, which I just haven’t managed to master. In the end, it just so happened that we had the money we needed, and Joe’s car was due for a major maintenance, and the stars and the moon aligned just so. We did our research, we plotted and planned. We arranged for Joe’s parents to watch the girls, and we headed off to meet our new car.
Originally, we were going to buy a Kia Sedona, but because most used Sedonas currently available in our market were coming out of rental companies, and the generous warranty Kia offers is voided when one of their cars is put into commercial use, we changed our minds and picked out a Honda Odyssey. We narrowed our search down on Cars.com, and it just so happened that the one we wanted was at a dealership quite close by.
We picked it up, and we spent several hours test driving it – we drove it on the highway, we took it to a nice parking lot and checked it all around, we drove it through a car wash to check for leaks. We found a few little things to be concerned about.
And then we went back to the dealer, and we negotiated. They promised to fix the little things. We talked about the price a bit, then we promised to give them cash and take it off their lot today, and then we talked about price a little more. There was some waiting, there was quite a bit of paperwork, and then there were keys and we were driving home.
I love the power sliding doors. Julie seems to love pretty much everything about it.
Sophie had just woken up from a nap, so she was a little dazed, but she seemed to enjoy checking out the third row of seats.
Now, Joe will inherit my Honda. A few months ago, when we started planning our purchase, I was feeling a little guilty about me getting the newer vehicle while Joe would be not only stuck with the older car, but perhaps worse, stuck with *my* older car, which I know he doesn’t particularly love. So, I said in a conciliatory voice “You know, we can take off the bumper stickers if you want.” and he retorted “What, you thought I was going to leave those on there? Ha!”
So we’ll be saying goodbye to these in the next few days.
And we’ll be saying goodbye to this – donating it -
just as soon as Joe can straighten out the title, which apparently he never took care of after he paid it off.
And I- wheee! I get a new ride.
Oh, and Joe’s parents not only watched the girls all day, but they also made a giant pile of kim bahp while they were here, so we all got to eat a delicious, homemade dinner that I didn’t have to cook. Gotta love that.
Congrats on the new wheels. If you haven’t already decided where to donate Joe’s car, I’d like to suggest Autos for Arc (Value Village):
http://www.autosforarc.org/
It’s a painless process, bring in your vehicle, title and keys and, once they auction it, they send you the paperwork you need for your taxes.
Yay for the new vehicle! Will you be getting new bumper stickers, or keeping the new-to-you bumper shiny and fresh?
Yay for a new car, it’s so fun when it’s really needed. Good for you guys for driving your vehicles into the ground and then buying used! Keep on being good to the Earth, Mama, and love your blog.
Natalie O.
Congrats on the new van. Is that the type that the seats fold into the floor? Gotta love that.
My kids are 18 and 15 and I still love my van for carpooling,
If you keep your van as long as your other cars then it will probably be the vehicle that your kids learn to drive on. I betcha hadn’t thought of that yet…..
I saw you pull up in your fancy new ride! Congrats!
Thanks too for the chocolaty goodness the other night.
woo-hoo! Looks AWESOME!! And you got your automatic doors? Yeehaw!!
Congrats on your new car!!!! We just got a new van about 2 yrs ago and while I said I really do not want another van it we ended up driving one off the lot. They are so practical and have so much room that with kids you just can’t beat em! Enjoy driving around in your new van. What color is it, kinda looked like dark purple? Nice!!!
Karyn
I have the same “Keep Your Laws of My Body” bumpersticker! In fact, I have quite a few feminist bumper stickers on mine.. and a “Support the Magnetic Ribbon Industry” yellow ribbon
Congrats on your new car purchase!
If your kids are like mine were when we got our Odyssey (they are about the same age, so maybe…) they will enjoy playing in the van, climbing around, etc. while you are nearby attending to something else in the garage.
Please make sure you don’t leave change in the change holder while your almost-two-year-old has free run of the van. It is located just below the CD player, which makes shoving quarters into it and shorting out the dashboard electronics both convenient *and* exciting!
Congrats!
That’s a great van…
I love your bumper stickers.
Thanks for the car-buying story — we need a new car and I’ve only ever bought the current one, from a friend of a friend, so appreciate the quick rundown of your experience.