car shopping
I purchased an Electric Lime Saturn Ion Quad Coupe a few years ago. Its got these cool back doors that open away from the front doors. It’s got OnStar and a six CD changer and it’s a 5-speed, and I love it. Then we got pregnant. I couldn’t imagine trying to get the car seat into those funny doors in California’s small parking spaces. And my husband got a job 80 miles away from our house. So he started driving the Electric Lime Saturn, and we traded in his VW Turbo GTI for a Passatt. He hates that green car.
He’s always admiring things like the VW Toureg (retails for a cool $50,000) and various BMWs and Mercedes with fancy wood grain. He really loves the Chrysler 300 accessory packages. Clearly, we cannot afford these vehicles.
So this weekend, he sends me a Costco ad for a Hybrid Altima. Turns out the Altima has a great tax incentive, and it’s only available in certain states that have California emission standards, so it may actually retain a little value. I’m all for it.
Except that our Saturn payment is really low and the Altima payment would be much higher. BUT - I think if we were going to buy a new car, this is the one I’d want. I really want a minivan, but I just can’t get past how much gas they use. As comfortable and useful as they are, they’re hard to justify unless you have at least 3 kids.
Just go for the minivan now. I thought I could do 2 kids in my 4 door acura but it didn’t work. My poor hubby would drive with his knees all cramped up and my huge trunk became not so huge once filled with a double stroller. I love the minivan :)