We may be buying a new car tonight!!! Or at least starting our look...
We have been contemplating what we were going to do. Our van is older, a 1995 and while it is still awesome condition, we are noticing little things here and there, that are starting to go on it.
So, what do we buy. Our family is expanding and there is really no practical reasoning why we should buy another 7 seater van... we are going to be a family of seven and that just cuts out any of our kids ever having friends over, if we are driving places...so...
Hubby had been wanting a Durango for a long time...ever since they came out. Right now, it would be a bit better then a van, because we could get an 8 seater. But, if we ever wanted to do camping or travelling, which we enjoy doing often, we would need a trailer and a hitch to pull it. Otherwise we would all have stuff piled on us, which we have done before, but it is not such a nice way to travel, especially for growing kids (I almost have a teen already!!) So, much to hubbys despair, we have talked ourselves out of a Durango...or any SUV...
The only realistic vehicle left for us is a...are you ready for this?...a 12 seater passenger van. Now, you may be thinking, this is definitely a gas guzzler (we are looking into getting a diesel one), but an SUV is just as much of a guzzler as well. However, with a 12 seater we can take out the last bench and have a great space for packing stuff...like for camping and shopping and travelling, without it burdening anyone in the vehicle. Our kids can also have friends over and we would never have to worry about driving kids home or to parties or wherever. Right?
Now, hubby drives a bit of a distance to work...about half an hour. It would be a huge waste of vehicle and gas (diesel) costs for this to be our primary car, so instead of getting the van right away (we don't want to have the payments just yet), it is better worth our while to get a small car for around town running, and work running. We don't travel around town as a family, where we all need to go, very often, so if we had the car for those times and the (present) van for the other times, then we are thinking that is our first step.
With our income tax refund, we have enough money to be able to purchase a car outright (after paying our debts) and that is how I would like to be able to handle buying a new (to us) car...so, tonight we car shop!!
Those are the thoughts running through my head...do they make sense to you? What do you think??
I understand the need for the BIG VAN. When we had 6 kids at home we NEEDED one. We got an 8 passenger Dodge Ram Van - it was used but it was PERFECT; that was 7 years ago but it's still running PERFECTLY and while it's a "gas-guzzler" it's really not. Weird, but the tank lasts forever.
ReplyDeleteWe knew that was the right vehicle because I saw it in a lot while we were driving and I told hubby turn around. (I was about 7 months pregnant with the 6th kid and we NEEDED it SOON!). We got to the lot and looked at it, it was the price we were looking to spend, and in the front it had a plate that said "In God We Trust" so we had our confirmation. I love that van.
Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking and exactly what you need.
What about the bus...to go with the school Wave said you're starting. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHope you had fun shopping tonight.
sounds like a good idea to me...we are looking into getting a car for me to go back and forth to work in too cuz it is 1/2 hour each way too and my truck is a gas guzzler and it is 108.9 up here right now! YIKES!!!
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with a city-driving, smaller vehicle to be able to shoot around town in.
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