Our Search for a Car - Part One

Let me start by telling you about our old cars.

1998 Ford Contour, v6: This is the little car that could. We've rebuilt the transmission, but other than that, it's been relatively repair free in its 13 years. It's got the original tape deck, the leather is peeling off the steering wheel, and there is some unidentified spill on the ceiling (we like to blame my dad's coffee drinking habits on that one). Mechanically, it now has a feature: sometimes it doesn't like to start unless you hold the key for a really long time. I say it's anti-theft; my husband says it's time for a new car. Additionally, it does need 4 oxygen sensors and possibly a new catalytic converter, along with a massive tune-up.


2000 Saturn LS2, v6: Similarly, this car just keeps going and going. It's been through a terrible oil change which caused electrical problems, computer problems, and caused the catalytic converter to go out at 47000 miles. Overall, it's been relatively maintenance free, too. Currently, it has a terrible shake at 55 miles per hour when you're accelerating, it's got 2 balding tires, there's a phantom oil leak, there's an unidentified smell that could be the catalytic converter. It has a tape deck and a broken CD player!



And now about our new car(s):
Before I tell this story, you should know there are two things that I struggle with: following through on decisions I've researched to death and change.

In an effort to keep this post short (ha!) I'll just give the big-picture.

We really thought that we wanted a 2012 Mazda5. We were sooooo excited about it! The sliding doors; the compact size; the fuel economy; the family friendly space; the steering wheel controls; the added horsepower; the fun handling. When it finally came to our dealer, we waited a week, and then we went to buy it. When we pulled out of the dealership, my husband, thinking he was being light-hearted, said "There's the last time we'll see our old cars!" I started BAWLING! That should have been the sign to turn back in and return the car!



Around town, I had a hard time finding "the right" driving position, but I attributed that to it being a brand new car. We drove it about 45 minutes to a party, though, and by the time we got there, my back was in agony. My husband drove us home, and I couldn't get comfortable in the passenger seat, either. From then on, I tried pillows, seat adjustments, etc, but all that I could find was more back pain and bruised knees from smacking my knee on the driving console. I contacted the dealer and my lawyer to see if I had any options. Thankfully, God was smiling on us, and the dealership let us return the car!!!!!!!

Since this post is getting too long, I'm going to drag it out...I'll explain how we decided on our next new car in Part Two!

1 comment:

Kim said...

I know the feeling of being sad to leave old cars. We sold the Mini to Carmax when we moved to Switzerland (much bawling ensued), and when a friend of ours sent a picture of it on the lot a few weeks later when they were searching for a car, the tears flowed again! They're like part of the family.

On the other hand, it was time for those two to go...they had lived a good life!! :)