Mama's New Ride

Two weeks ago Rudy and I took the plunge and made our most expensive purchase yet...we bought a new car! With both of our cars in the >240,000 miles range and our desire to be able to accommodate more people, we decided to buy our crossover SUV at the tail end of Black Friday weekend/last days of November for the best 2015 deal. I have to say, I'm proud of Rudy for all the homework he did and how well I/we worked that price down! We were fortunate to find that when you're not in a hurry to buy and your dealership needs their inventory moved and sale figures up for their goal of earning the rank of Regional Top 3 Dealership, we were in a good position to negotiate. :) Don't get me wrong, it still hurt to spend the kind of money we did, but we feel really good about the investment we've made. Used Toyota Highlanders don't lose much of anything in their resale value and after looking at all the research, we feel we made a smart choice in car.

So, here she is...

She's got more bells and whistles than Ru or I know what to do with. It's fun and intimidating all at the same time. Good thing one of us has a smart phone to sync up with. :) Coming from a 2002 powerless Honda, I appreciate having power door locks so we can all get in with just a press of a button. Actually, it's been nice to not even have to do that! As long as my fob is on me, I just pull the door open and get it. Not having to fish for keys has been a perk and the key-less ignition button is so convenient. I could go on and on, but the convenience of a car with power is really appreciated. She can seat 8 when she wants to and we've got ourselves plenty of room for camping and transporting snowboards, kayaks, and fishing poles! :) 

The boys are especially excited about the sunroof and DVD player up top. We plan on using that convenient appliance only for long road trips so we've yet to see how it works. It came with 2 headphones that plug in to the bottom of their end of the center consult. This will be so handy compared to juggling the handheld versions we have been used to.

It still feels weird to sit in a new, amazingly delicious smelling car but we're quickly getting used to it! :) One thing I wasn't prepared for was just how much we blend in to our OC culture. I've always liked white crossovers with dark windows, but I didn't notice how many of these types of cars there are everywhere around us. It's like when you're pregnant or wanting to become pregnant and you all of a sudden notice everyone else is pregnant... well, I pull in to Kyle's school and become the 5th or 6th brand new white SUV/crossover SUV in the same pick up line. I've had mixed feelings about blending in so much. Lest anyone ever think we are stereotypical OC, they can just visit our lil mouse house and see we are not "them." :) I guess if you're not from here, some of this is lost in translation. Nevertheless, we are very happy with our family car that will accommodate many people, playdates, and vacations for (hopefully) years and years to come. :)