Story of the minivan

S0, I just realized that I never finished the story of the infamous minivan (yes, we are the proud owners of one...eventhough David did NOT want one at all).

Well, it all started before we went to Disney. We had to spend over a thousand dollars on it and when we returned I had to take it in for them to tell me that we needed a new transmission (no, that isn't what they fixed). At first I told them to go ahead and fix it, but then both David and I were like this is ridiculous (our 2003 Murano had 77K miles and we had all the services completed on time). After another $350, we picked up our broken car. Fortunately, we had family here for Cassidy's baptism, so we had help trying to figure out what to do. That afternoon Jay and I took it to another mechanic and they didn't know what was wrong with it and said that it is probably the transmission (in agreement with the dealership).

On Saturday afternoon, David and I went to Carmax to see what they would offer us on our car and test drive some cars. They gave us a decent offer, but I didn't want to take it. At this point, I am still mad that we are having to car shop! We drove some SUVs and one minivan. At Carmax, my favorite was the MDX.

The rest of the weekend, I did research on SUVs and minivans. I narrowed it down to three vehicles (Acura MDX, Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna). On Tuesday, I had an appointment to see a MDX and then was going to go see a few other used vehicles later that week. David was in LA, so I had his car to drive and my mom here to help with the kids.

So the funny part is...
- Drive to the dealership to see the MDX (it was my mom, Cassidy and myself...Luke was at school)
- Pull into the parking lot and my car stops. Take a deep breath and restart the car...wondering if I will make it into the parking spot.
- Park the car in the parking spot with the salesman waiting on me outside (hmmmm, I wonder if I will get a $100 for the Murano)
- Tell the salesman that I don't have my license, but my mom does (holding my breath)
- Test drive the MDX (I don't like this one...probably because a dog had chewed the seatbelt)
- See a minivan on the lot and ask to see it
- Wondering how I am going to get home, if I could get home and how much these people would give me for my Murano
- Test drive the minivan (2004 Honda Oddysey) and like it alot (at least I liked one of the vehicles as I think I will end up with something here or get NOTHING for the Murano or sink another $5000 into it)
- He asks me when I'm looking to buy...I hesitate and say, "Today".
- Talk numbers with the salesman
- I'm not feeling that I have any (or not very much) leverage at this point as I feel I am very STUCK. The good news and God thing is that they offered me exactly what CarMax did for my Murano and they had a car I liked and it was the exact year model I wanted (rated the best on Consumer Reports).
- I'm texting and talking with David about the MDX, Honda and broken Murano. David doesn't have the luxury of seeing either cars and doesn't want the minivan. I hate the MDX...so what do we do.
- We make a deal....
- He says he can follow me home to get my license, checkbook, registration, etc...but I suggest that I drive the car home (to make sure I want it and plus I'm not sure my Murano would make it home)
- Drive home, drop mom off to get Luke, take Cassidy to Eva's (thank you Eva!!), pick up my checkbook, license, etc
- Drive back to the dealership (they sent someone with me)
- Wait and wait and wait
- Then, the salesman wants me to move my Murano over to the car to change out the car seats...so I'm thinking...no, no, no..so I suggest that I move the minivan over to the Murano (I need practice parking this thing) :-)

Well that is it...I bought it and now we are the PROUD owners of a minivan. I am enjoying it and it is so helpful to have the extra space for people/kids and large items. We have already used it multiple times to have friends ride with us and picked up shelves from Ikea.

Moral of the story..don't buy a Nissan the first year it comes out with a new model, don't expect them to work with you. God takes care of all our needs! He didn't let a slight thing like no wallet or a broken car stop us from getting home that day (or add anything else to my to do list).