A Day at the Drive In

That was the theme for Caden's Primary Activity Day on Saturday. It was the sweetest thing to come back after dropping him off and seeing this. The kids all had a blast "making" their cars, and then they watched a movie about David and Goliath. I am so thankful for the Primary presidency in my church. They have done so well with their callings. I just thought this was the neatest idea, and a great way to involve the children, yet still teach a great lesson on Faith.

It took me a while to get Caden out the door, but I am glad that I did. He had so much fun. He was so proud of his car, and couldn't wait to show it to me. I can't believe how much he is growing up. I love this boy!

He made out like a bandit!

With the purchase of our new van, we needed to sell our other car. As I had said previously, it had started giving us problems and that is why decided to purchase a new one. We went on the Kelly Blue Book website to see what the car was worth. It is a 97 Ford Escort and had about 123, 000 miles on it. There are some mechanical problems that need to be fixed, the windshield is cracked, and there are quite a number of dings on the outside. We figured it would be on the "fair" side of the spectrum. KBB said if we were selling it private party in Fair condition we could expect to get $1700 for it.

We didn't really think it was worth that much, and were willing to sell it to my younger brother for $500. On some aspects I didn't really want to sell it to family because I would hate for them to pay us and then shortly after the car really dies. So we took a bunch of pictures and Shawn threw it up on Craigslist for $1100 before he went the Priesthood Session of General Conference (each year the LDS church has a conference that is broadcast for everyone - this session is just for the men)on Saturday. When he came back 2 hours later he had received about 15 emails from people who were interested in buying the vehicle! About three people said they would come by on Sunday to look at it.

The first one showed up around 8 am. He looked at the car, test drove it, and then offered Shawn $1000. We thought that was pretty good, and honestly just wanted to get rid of it. So we agreed to the price. My sister is a notary so I drove over to her house to get the title notarized, while the man and his family went somewhere for breakfast. (They live on the other side of town so they didn't want to have to drive all the way back.) We called "J.R." and he came back and paid the remainder of the $1000. We took the money and went inside.

Shawn was doing some work on the computer, and from the office you have a clear view of our front yard. Right before J.R. left, the other two people that were interested in the car showed up. There was probably a congregation of about 10 people out there. They were all there for a short time looking at the car. The next thing we know the man we sold the car to drives off...WITHOUT THE CAR!!! We go back outside because we are curious as to what happened.

J.R. turned around and sold it to one of them for $1300! He made $300 in a matter of minutes! Can you believe it!? I thought Shawn would be upset that someone else got more money for it, but surprisingly he wasn't. He actually said that he wouldn't feel right about selling it for that much. There are just so many problems with the car that once you fix them all it would cost more that what KBB says it should in Excellent condition. The nice thing is that now it is out of our hands. If it happens to break down soon they can't come back to us...because we didn't sell it to them. This J.R. guy literally made out like a bandit!!!

The Good and the Bad...

So I guess I will start out with bad because it is always funner to save the best for last and leave on a high note! Yesterday, when I was out and about looking at some cars...Shawn called me. He had just finished a meeting with his boss, and the V.P. over his department. To make a long story short...they told him that he couldn't take the time off for our vacation!!!!!!!!!! The maximum time they would give him is 5 days!

Cancelling the trip kinda put us in a pickle because we almost lost all of our money. We were able to work something out with our agent so we will probably only lose about $200. I guess it is better than losing the full amount. It would have been fun to go on the cruise with my sister and her family, but we will just have to plan another one some time in the future. Even though I don't see it at the moment, it is probably for the best. Now we will be taking more little short trips instead of the long cruise.

On to happier news...

As I said earlier, I looked at a few cars yesterday that I had found through Craigslist and Auto Trader. I did have my heart set on a Sienna, but if we were buying from a private owner...you take what you can get. We mainly needed a car that would seat more than 5. I wanted something fairly new because we plan on having it for a long time, and the newer the better, right.


The first car I looked at was a 2007 Chevy Tahoe. This car was a beauty. It only had 3000. The owner only had it for 6 months. It was it great condition. It was kinda weird driving it around. I have never had a car that big, but it did drive really smooth. This is what Shawn would call the "manly" car. The thing that I couldn't look past was the gas mileage, and with prices these days...enough said.


We then drove over and looked at a 2006 Honda Pilot. Again, another nice car. This one was all decked out. It had a DVD entertainment system, leather, towing package. Like I said...nice. I would really like to have leather interior because it cleans up so much easier than cloth. This car was a little bit smaller than the Tahoe, but still large enough to fit a fair amount of people.


Last we looked at a 2006 Honda Odyssey. This one also was immaculate. It only has 7500 miles, and looks like it was just driven off the lot yesterday. It also had a DVD system, and an 8th seat. I fell in love. I just like the fact that it has automatic doors. It is so much easier for the kids to get in and out of. And it just seems to have so much more room.

I went home and showed Shawn all the pictures I had taken and we talked it out. Really we could have gone home with any of these cars. They were all so well taken care of, and it was hard to really choose. The more we talked about it...the more I just felt like the Odyssey was a better fit for me. So we called them up and negotiated a deal.

This afternoon we drove over and picked up our car!!! I still can't believe that we have a van...let alone an Odyssey. I had fallen for the Toyota Sienna because it was more affordable, but had always liked the Honda's. (My sister actually has an 2001) I am very happy! I can't wait to drive it some more! It all happened so quick, that I can almost not believe that it happened. Who would have thought we would find a car that we liked so soon! My hubby is so fantastic to go along with this for me. I know how hard it can be for him sometimes to spend, but I think this is a great deal, and a great car! I love you honey, Thank You!

Car shopping

Early last week Shawn's mode of transportation took a nose dive. It is actually my car. I bought it back in 98. It was the first car I ever owned....a 97 Ford Escort. It is not the best car, but it worked for me. He has been a doll, and let me drive the nicer car. Unfortunately the AC went out, and in Arizona...that just won't cut it. When he went to have it checked on they said the whole thing would need to be replaced, and that the transmission was bad, etc. etc. etc. Then to make matters worse on the way home yesterday the brakes went out!!! Talk about bad luck!

Needless to say, it is not worth paying to get it fixed so we are now in the market for a new vehicle. We will eventually need a larger vehicle because we plan on having more children...so we are looking to get a van. I have been on the computer alot of the day researching and trying to figure out how we can get the best deal on a car.

The vehicle I have my heart set on is the Toyota Sienna. Isn't it beautiful! I love Toyota's (I currently drive a Camry). The Sienna just seems like a great car. It is somewhat affordable, and I know it is reliable. Who would have thought that my dream car would be a mini-van! We have been searching Craigslist, and the Auto Trader trying to see if there is anything out there. I just want to get the best deal possible because we are not made of money!

We are also debating on whether or not to buy new or used. There are just so many different options! I kinda like the idea of getting a new car just because I can get exactly what I want. The only problem is that it will cost more, of course. I have gone to different websites to see what I can do so that if we do decide to buy from a dealer...we won't get ripped off. One of the most insightful sites I found was Consumer Guide Automotive. Their site is great! They have reviews on all the vehicles. Plus they have a comparison chart of what the Retail MSRP versus the invoice price is for each car. They also list any rebates or incentives that are currently being offered for either the customer or the dealer. It was very interesting to see.

My sister also pointed me to Car Info.com which gave some more pointers on things that can help you when you are buying a new car. Within that website they had a link to a website called Fighting Chance. This service actually costs money, and I am not ready to pay it yet, but it looks like it can provide alot of good information. If we do decide to purchase new, I may seriously consider investing in their services.

Do you have any hints, helps, suggestions on what you or someone you know has done when they are shopping for cars? Help me out! I don't know how much longer the Escort will last!