Car shopping is the worst. I mean, I suppose it isn’t the worst. After all, there is presence of famine, poverty, and disease in the world. But if we’re talking about things I loathe, car shopping would rank right up there. After Adam and I bought our first vehicle together, I decided I’d either a) do everything in my power to drive that car into the ground or b) send our friend John with Adam in my proxy for car shopping trips.
For the first year of our marriage, Adam and I shared a car. I would take him to work every morning in north Austin and then drive downtown to my job. I spent a whole lotta time stuck in traffic in that car…so you can imagine my love for it. Two months after moving back to Omaha, we set out on our first car shopping experience as a couple, and my first car shopping experience ever. I hated looking at all the cars. I hated the negotiation. I hated all the cryptic paperwork. And I really hated the 50 year old guy that got into a bickering match with yours truly. But, in the end, we were the owners of a 2005 Jeep Liberty.
I loved the Liberty. From the moment we bought her, I thought she was the bee’s knees. And I called her mine. Because Adam had purchased his car and so this was my first car that I had a hand in purchasing. She was nothing fancy but she was ours and we loved her. And Barrett thought so, too, talking about our red Jeep from the time words began spilling out of his mouth.
It became evident after two Christmases with Barrett, frequent trips to Beaver Lake and Wilber, and finally, an 8 hour car ride to St. Louis with two children in tow, that we would not be driving this vehicle into the ground. When two families worth of Christmas gifts and luggage were packed into the Liberty, it was quite apparent that we sardines were outgrowing our can. With another babe in the Brehm fam and a maybe someday in the near-ish future third {no that is not any sort of announcement}, we started the new car search.
The fall after we had Jonah, Adam’s parents watched the boys and we took the entire day and went on a car fact finding mission. In reality, both of our cars were nearing the replacement phase so we gathered information and determined the following:
1. Our priority would be replacing the family vehicle.
2. We wanted more space, but didn’t want a van.
3. We would have to wait a little longer to purchase a vehicle that had more space but wasn’t a van.
As readers of BOTB remember, you might remember a post I wrote regarding my feelings on becoming a mini van owner. But then, as a family with one income {heck, probably for anyone with little loves}, when you search for a vehicle that fits everyone, is reliable and is affordable, welllll, you feel like you might have to sell the farm to make it happen. And while I told Adam that I would endure the flack from all those who have sworn I will inevitably join the mini van mommas club if it was best for our family, ultimately we determined that purchasing a swagger wagon just wasn’t right for us. Though if we’d been more on the fence, this video may have swayed me…
So, almost one year later, Adam and I set out to replace the family vehicle once again. And in the words of Rod Roddy, “We got a new car!”. Well, not a new car, but a, new to us, car. We looked at nearly every option boasting a third row and in the end, we purchased a darling little silver GMC Acadia. And we love it. I mean, thank God it’s under warranty for a year {since the transmission already had to be booted}, but we love it.
The Acadia won out for us because of the bucket seats and also because we found a certified used option that we just couldn’t pass up. We also had a list of “wants” including sun roof and leather and the particular one we landed on had everything we really wanted. I still hate car shopping. I just think it’s shady. But this little ditty has been a sweet ride for us so far, is extremely family-friendly and even though it’s not a van, I like to think it’s still got swagger. If the family vehicle can have swagger, that is…
What do you tote your tots around town in? How did you decide on your ride?
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