Vehicular Decison

Dear Mommy Friends and Friends of Mommy Friends,
(Mommy Friends: please send your Mommy friends here to give their opinions. Being new at this "thinking like a Mommy" thing, I'll take all the help I can get)

Talk to me about cars. My lease on my beloved Chrysler 300 is ending in 6 months. Just a month after Spawn is due to arrive. (I guess I should explain that the unborn child I am carrying is affectionately referred to as Spawn by Matt and I). So I ask you, what type of vehicle do I want? Better yet, what type of vehicle do I need? A car? An SUV/Minivan?

Keep in mind:


1) my Father sells Jeeps, Chryslers, Dodges and Kias at his dealership and I have my pick (after he weeds out the models he deems unworthy for his daughter & grandchild)

2) Matt drives a (leased) Jeep Grand Cherokee that we will be returning in about 2 years for something new and sparkly - and bigger if needed.

3) Matt will be a SAHF (stay at home Father) and we planned that the car seat will be permanently housed in his Jeep as my car barely goes anywhere other than to work.

4) The new car will be purchased, not leased so I will have to like and it will have to fit us and our plans for a good long time.

5) I married a very tall man and there are a limited number of vehicles that he will fit in. (You'd be surprised what he won't fit into!)

What have you found? In a household with 1 parent working inside the home and 1 parent working outside - is it really necessary to have 2 vehicles that can easily accomodate car seats/baby gear (i.e. 2 minivans, 2 SUVs)? Or is it more practical to have 1 larger vehicle as the primary child cruiser and 1 vehicle that is smaller but will work if necessary?

My thoughts? The Jeep will be fine for now and we can re-evaluate when it comes time to return it. I'll get myself another Chrysler 300. (I really like my 300) If I wasn't trying to be a grown up, I would really like one of those sexy new Dodge Challengers. Rawr, purr.

Yes, I admit to being somewhat of a 13 year old boy. What do you expect from a Daddy's girl w/four brothers? C'MON - it's just sexy!

Help.

OOoooo, That Smell...

...that wonderful new car smell.
I did a wonderfully naughty thing today.
Squeeeek!

I am visiting my parents in south Florida for a few days before I go off to Virginia. Just hanging out, causing trouble and working on the wedding dress. Since I'm here, I took my car into the dealership my Dad works at (where I bought my car) and had them run a complete diagnostic on it before I hit the road. Just to be sure.

Here's where the SQUEEEEK comes in - I bought Matt a new car while I was there. Yup. Apparently, you can't leave me alone on a car lot with knowledge of the deals I can get because of my Dad. Granted, this isn't an unexpected purchase. We had planned on getting him a new car before he moves up to Virginia in July and had even made a trip down last month so he could sit in all the cars and pick out what he wanted.

Anyway, while at lunch, I asked my Dad when would be a good time to get serious about buying and he told me the deals I could get now versus the deals he knows are coming in the next few months. When we got back from lunch, we looked around the lot for the color/option package Matt wanted. He didn't have anything on the lot, but we found it at another dealership. My Dad worked the numbers and I gave him the thumbs up! Obviously, now is a much better time for me to buy.

Matt and I will be driving down this coming weekend to pick up his new car.

A Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, all pretty, shiny and new. I'm just a touch jealous I think. I LOVE new cars and mine is so 2 years ago. I'm going to have to get me a new one too.

(Kidding, kidding, kidding - kind of.)

Oh, and the coolest part - we are considering giving John, my 16 year old brother, Matt's current car. We don't think we'd get much for it as a trade-in and it would be perfect for a young man to tool around town in. We're going to let the dealership look it over first and see if we can get anything reasonable for it. If not, then it's going to John - after the shop checks it out to make sure it doesn't need any major work. He's going to fall over himself - I can't wait.