Saturday, January 12, 2008

Help!

You might have noticed the new label - it's NATB - Not About The Babies. This post qualifies.

BJ's car lease runs out in a couple weeks. We need another car. I tried to talk him into getting a Segway, since the office is only a couple miles from here and that's really the only place he ever goes (except for Brandon's house and, occasionally, the lab) but he got really annoyed and rolled his eyes a lot.

I have a Honda Odyssey minivan. It is more than capable of hauling kids, dog, and crap around town.

We could, occasionally, use a pickup truck, but perhaps not often enough to own one. Especially when we have two good friends who have pickup trucks and are likely willing to let us use them for short excursions. Barring that, we can always rent one in a pinch. It's not like we're doing so much home improvement around here that we need it every weekend. Hell, the siding still isn't done from 3 summmers ago, the kitchen remains undone, the family room undid itself (it's leaking again)... and it's not because we lack a truck. We're just not spending every weekend at Lowe's, right?

Plus, if he gets a truck, he's not going to be able to take the babies with him anywhere without me and/or my van, unless he gets an extended cab, and those get pricey.

He was looking at the Toyota Highlander online, but then we realized that its a station wagon and not an SUV. Heh. Actually, they call it a "car based SUV." Yeah, that's a station wagon.

Part of the problem is that he really likes his car that he's driving right now (a Cadillac CTS), and doesn't want to give it up. But, it's going to be prohibitively expensive to keep it.

We've done fine with a van and a car, but for some reason he's looking at huge cars/SUVs to replace the car he has. I want him to get a Honda, but he doesn't listen. Mom's 5 year old Honda is paid off and is still worth $16,000. That's freaking awesome. I would love to have $16,000 worth of value in a used car 5 years from now. That's like money in the bank. Alas, too many of my relatives drive Hondas, and have told him to get a Honda, and now he's rebelling.

What kind of car should BJ get? What kind do you have? Do you love it?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too bad the Smart car isn't available just yet. Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to take the babies, but you would save a TON of money on gas :)

I wish my lease were up so I could get a Smart.

After reading your blogs about becoming more planet friendly, I figured he would be looking at the Prius and not SUV's.

I don't really have any suggestions. I have only ever owned American cars. I loved my '95 Dodge stratus and I love my '07 Impala even though it feels like a boat after being in Europe for 2 weeks. The remote start is great!!

Good luck with the search!

Jen said...

Stop...don't move. Call me.
Love,
Jen

Erin said...

We just traded in my 5-year old Saturn Ion for a Pontiac Vibe this morning. Matt was wheeling & dealing and got an amazing deal on it! We're still in shock.

BJ should talk to Matt. :)

Anonymous said...

like we were saying on the phone....Willy sold his old Grand Cherokee got a new Jeep Patriot this year and we love it.

Anonymous said...

What about the Toyota FJ Cruiser? That's definitely NOT a station wagon and a little more manly than the Highlander. XOXO B

Anonymous said...

That 'B' was for Barbara, BTW