The reality sunk in even deeper tonight that it is time to purchase a new vehicle. This came after Brad informed me that he and the boys found yet another a problem with our Toyota Sienna. The passenger door on the driver’s side won’t lock. I thought I would try it out when I went to the grocery store tonight. Sure enough, regardless of how you lock the doors, that door stays unlocked. I feel secure now.
This problem is just another addition to the list. Only one bulb works on the dashboard (don’t know how fast I’m driving at night–$250 to get bulbs changed); all four tires are bald ($500 for new ones), the driver’s side window has been known to not close (waiting for that to occur again when it is below freezing temps outside); one of the back lights has a hole in it (Brad got a quote on that and it was ridiculous); the back hatch door won’t open fully so you hit your head on it if you’re not careful (that can be painful). Did I also mention that we’re over 102,000 miles?
I have had a Sienna minivan for 10 years this month. I have had my present one for 7 1/2 years. Even though the new Siennas are sweet, I am tired of minivans. I want an SUV. I want luggage room, and I don’t want to keep a Thule Cargo Box on my roof all the time making it impossible to park in some parking garages, and impossible to use most automatic car washes.
But gas is around $3.00/gallon and will probably never go below that mark again…only above. Insurance will be more, gas mileage will be less. People will yell at me because I’m not being responsibly green.
Do you, once again, make the rational, cost-effective decision? Or do you live a little and buy what you really want? That is the question.
Dallen is becoming quite an accomplished electric guitar player. He has been playing for 1 1/2 years now. He can play along to many songs and is able to pick up the notes, by ear, of many others. To progress he really needs to find kids with other instruments to play along with. That is the biggest challenge.
Over the past several years, I have come to the conclusion that e-mail, message boards, and online chatting have created a society of rude people. Yesterday I experienced more proof of my anecdotal observations.
Background: I posted on Craigs List an ad to sell a modem that we purchased from Qwest when we decided to try their 30-day trial broadband package. We paid $99 for the modem package, but could not return it after deciding that Comcast had better upload speeds for us. So I decided to post it for $75. I thought it was a reasonable price to ask. We had used the modem for maybe 30 minutes. It was virtually brand-new.
I received an e-mail asking if it was still available. I replied that it was and gave the e-mailer my phone number if they were interested in purchasing it. A man called later that evening and talked to me about it. He said that he was interested and would come by the next morning to purchase it. The next morning he called, and I gave him my address and directions to my house. I told him that I would be leaving by 11:00 am. Before hanging up, he asked me again how much I was asking for it. I replied “$75…$25 less than what I paid from Qwest.” He never showed up, which is pretty typical. I tell people that all items for sale are “first come first served” because you are never guaranteed that someone will actually show up to buy something. I figured that he had changed his mind.
While out and about, I received the following e-mail message:
“thanks for being rude to my husband by countering higher than your original asking price when he offered less. he went to best buy and found a NEW one for 69. good luck getting 75 or 100 for yours. merry christmas…”
This problem is just another addition to the list. Only one bulb works on the dashboard (don’t know how fast I’m driving at night–$250 to get bulbs changed); all four tires are bald ($500 for new ones), the driver’s side window has been known to not close (waiting for that to occur again when it is below freezing temps outside); one of the back lights has a hole in it (Brad got a quote on that and it was ridiculous); the back hatch door won’t open fully so you hit your head on it if you’re not careful (that can be painful). Did I also mention that we’re over 102,000 miles?
I have had a Sienna minivan for 10 years this month. I have had my present one for 7 1/2 years. Even though the new Siennas are sweet, I am tired of minivans. I want an SUV. I want luggage room, and I don’t want to keep a Thule Cargo Box on my roof all the time making it impossible to park in some parking garages, and impossible to use most automatic car washes.