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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Our New Van

Well, we bought a new van.

We scouted the internet for a bit over the weekend and then took LuLu and one of YaYa's friends with us to a few dealerships on Monday. Other then a nice Caravan with a DVD system, we didn't see much that screamed 'buy me'.

But that night, while trying to find the DVD van on the dealer's site, I came across a vehicle that caught my eye. Tuesday after work I decided to go look at it and dragged YaYa along - Lisa bowed out of the process, citing her purchase of the lemon Voyager (a foolish thought, as she did all the right research and just hit some bad luck).

YaYa and I test drove the car, looked at all the features, debated price with the salesman for awhile, then took the plunge and bought it. The decision was simple, the actual purchase was not. We were at the dealership from just  5 p.m. until just shy of close at 9 a.m.

[note: aside from an initial bout of brattiness right at the outset, YaYa sat patiently for hours, coloring, reading and playing on my phone. She also walked right into the side mirror of a Mustang, cutting her lip open (!). All in all she rocked and I was proud of her.]

In the end we - or rather I, as Lisa's (superior) credit was not run - got the loan and we were good to go. With the downpament payments are only $15 more a month than we paid on Lisa's Ford Aspire back in '95.

Of course, we haven't had a car payment at all in years and years, so the whole thing is frightening and very adult-ish.

It's a white 2005 Ford Freestar. Please spare me any formulaic anti-Ford propaganda. During our time together Lisa and I have owned a 1994 Aspire (still running) a 1995 Aspire (totaled by a drunk driver, which paid for a lot of our wedding), a 1994 Ford Escort wagon we sold to my Dad when Smiley was born, and a 1998 Ford Windstar (totaled by a woman who sped through an intersection and sideswiped Lis and LuLu). All ran fine and were dependable and durable as you can hope for, especially Vi, our '94 Aspire.

The Plymouth however . . well, p**s on it.  

So I was gleeful to be back in a Ford. It reminds me a lot of our Windstar, with some upgrades. It has stow and go seating, dual sliding doors, a second row bench which gives us a crucial extra seat in the middle, remote keyless entry, a CD player (no small thing, as the Voyager's radio was on the fritz), and more.

What do I like best? Aside from the stow and go, the bench, and the 36,000 miles on the odometer,  I dig the little mirror located above the rearview mirror. It's sole purpose is to allow the driver to see the kids in the back row, which downright ROCKS.

Here's some pics right off the website.

Here's that second row bench:

Here's the stow and go before:

and after:

Some of the dealer perks: a $520 gas card, a year of roadside assistance, a 3 month/3000 mile comprehensive warranty, and free car washes for the life of the vehicle, which can come in handy with a white car.

I like it, and I hope/pray/wish it works out well for Lisa for many years to come.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congradulations what a great looking car.  May you all have many many miles of happy safe driving.  You seem to get a really good deal there Dan. My eyes glazed over at the idea of the gas voucher...worth it's weight in gold that would be over here at the moment.. and as far as I can see it is not going to get any better I saw yesteday the the local gas station had again raised the cost to £1.20p ltr. I leave it to you to do the exchange rate!! but about $10 a gallon !!  LOve Sybil x

Anonymous said...

I had a white vehicle once.  Once.  I was going to comment on that and then got down to the last couple sentences and said "Whew, that Dan made a good deal with the free car washes!"  I do like the look of the stow and go.  Lots of room there.  Enjoy and may you(Lisa) have many safe journeys!
                                                       Smiles,  Leigh

 

Anonymous said...

It's in really impeccable shape!  Good luck Lisa ... enjoy your new ride.  ;)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your new van! You'll get no anti-Ford drivel from me. I'm on my fourth Mustang--I've never owned anything BUT Fords. I've found them to be great vehicles, and I love our Ford dealership.

I'll tell you one of the reasons I am committed to Ford. When they redesigned the Mustang recently, I saw pictures of it at an auto show. It was a concept car. I fell in love with it, and sent an email to Ford asking if it was going to stay a concept car, or was it going to be a production car? I expected an email in return....

Much to my surprise, I got a PHONE CALL from them--not the dealer, from one of the corporate offices--and I had a nice conversation with a lady who told me that yes indeed, it is going to be a production car, first year 2005. And my '05 and I have been very happy together. <grin>

It just told me that they have a commitment to their customers that you don't often see these days, and that they are trying to improve their company.

So...you didn't get an anti-Ford diatribe. You got some pro-Ford propaganda!

Beth

Anonymous said...

Ain't nothing wrong with a Ford.  My family had them for generations.  
The minivan is really nice.  Pey really wanted us to get one but I just can't do a minivan...It's imprinted on my DNA.
The stow away seating is AWESOME!  You have WAY more room back there than in our SUV..and more height.  
What is that dash board pop up?!  It looks like a great spot for a storage area but I'm thinking it might be for a DVD player?
*Remote doors...........droooooooling!!!

I hope y'all enjoy many years of safe and happy driving in the new van!
~Bernadette

Anonymous said...

I've been driving a Taurus now for 4 years. My SO liked it so well he got one for himself and then gave it to our daughter. Actually, white cars don't show dirt as much as a dark color--unless you live in red dirt country.
;^) Jan the Gryphon

Anonymous said...

I retired from General Motor's and while the company was good to me....my most dependable car, barr none, was a Ford Escort.  I have nothing bad to say about a Ford.  Congratulations.
Hugs, Joyce

Anonymous said...

Glad you have some new wheels, hope the gas mileage is not too bad :o)

Anonymous said...

MPG is 18 city/23 freeway

Anonymous said...

 great van.  I just got a new used mini van also.  They rock.

                Julie