A New Thing to Notice

Its time to give it up. All signs are pointing me that way. 110,000 miles on our Dodge Grand Caravan, the engine light is permanently on and the estimate from our repair shop is over $1,000. I admit I am not a big car person. Sure I love having one and couldn’t live without, but I couldn’t even tell you what kind of cars my closest friends drive. I may notice if they are dirty or clean, but I just do not get into the hype of having the latest and greatest model. I dragged my feet on getting a minivan, but it was a necessity with two young kids at the time. Now that we have one I can’t go back! They are just too darn convenient!

So now the car noticing and comparing has begun! It’s always best to car shop when you don’t need to have it right away although I do somewhat feel like it’s a ticking time bomb driving with the check engine light. Parents magazine stated the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna are very safe and reliable family friendly cars so we started there.

On Tuesday we stopped by our nearest Honda dealership and test drove a used and new one. It has so many features, buttons, and knobs I think I may be a hazard on the road! Don’t worry, I really would try to figure it out before driving our three kids around. I am really intrigued by the navigation system and back up camera, but do we need all that? The DVD player would be nice and save my husband from hooking up our portable one before every long trip out of town. Come to think of it, now I think I can’t live without leather seats. Now the trouble has begun! I am noticing cars everywhere and thinking that if we are going to do this we are going to do it right! We will test drive the Sienna next week and then move on to decisions, deals and negotiating (something that will be very hard on me. I really am enjoying not having a car payment now).

Yes, I definitely notice cars now. I am uttering things you have never heard me say or even cross my mind…Where are the hybrid mini-vans?