Upgrade!

We now have a minivan.  It’s about time we upgraded because we outgrew our little sedan the moment Aidan was born.  Even the official at our insurance company couldn’t properly install the car seat because our Kia was so small.  And when you’re 6’ 4” as I am, it’s like driving a clown car.  I would have to unravel my arms and legs first, stick my limbs out of the door like a hermit crab, and propel the rest of my body up and out.  Hello head rush.  But those days are gone!  No more head butting the roof over speed bumps or eating my knees in the backseat.

There are a ton of benefits to having a vehicle with lots of room, especially when you live on property.  We can haul building materials and animals just by taking out the backseats.  Erin has even seen people transporting alpacas in vans!  Some dare to load up miniature horses too.

THIS JUST IN!!!  CARMAX IS EVIL!!!

In the middle of writing this post, Erin called me to say that the van is a no-go.  It turns out that good ‘ol Carmax had a skeleton in its closet.

Our first red flag was that Carmax does not deal with credit unions.  Instead, they only go through the “bailout banking giants” like Bank of America.  Carmax gave us three days to find a bank with a better APR than 15% so Erin tried Safe Credit Union.  That’s where she learned that the van was sold to us at $4,000 over the blue book price.  It doesn’t even have power locks, mirrors, or windows!  Safe also informed us that, not only were we walking out of the door way upside down, but with 15% APR we would end up paying $22,000 in the end on a van worth $7,000. NO THANKS CARMAX!

Safe Credit Union recommended Enterprise to look for a better deal on a used car.  Fortunately, they have a nice Chrysler Pacifica.

~Let’s compare~

Pacifica:
V6 Engine
25 MPG Highway
49,000 Miles
2007
Power windows/mirrors/locks/seats
Keyless entry
Cruise control
Steering wheel radio control
Roof rack
EPS tires
ABS brakes
Back-up Sensors
$1,000 under blue book price
4.7% APR

And that's just to name a few!  The quality of the Pacifica far outweighs that of the minivan.

Van:
4 Cylinder
23 MPG Highway
55,000 Miles
2006
Power nothing
Keep-your-foot-on-the-pedal control
Came with a steering wheel
$4,000 over blue book price
15% APR

I think we have a deal!

Ta da!  The Pacifica!

 Ooooohhhh...












     ....Aaaahhhhhh