Dear Secret Blogiary,
Fact: I would like a new car. (notice that I don't claim it as a need?)
Fact: Mister W needs a new car.
Fact: I am not picky when it comes to cars.
Fact: There is no way in hell that we can afford a single new car much less two new cars.
Fact: I will settle for a new-to-us car. (I can’t justify spending that much money)
Fact: Mister W is a car guru…or snob depending on how you look at it.
Fact: As a married couple, Mister W and I should make big purchase decisions together.
Fact: Mister W is a big freaking pain in the ass when it comes to car shopping!!
We have needed a new car for about three years now, ever since Mister W’s car stopped caring about life. Little Red has really let her appearance go. She keeps her lights on unless the battery is disconnected. She threw her tailpipe and exhaust system at the highway in a fit of road rage. She picked up some infectious rust. Really she is just a mess.
The fact is my car, The Boo, is gamely hanging on. Oh she gets me where I need to go, but she protests it mightily. She squeals as if a Mack truck was reaming her up her tail end. She rattles if I push her near to 70. Her rust spots look like a case of chicken pox.
For the past six months we have been trying to save money so that we can put a large down payment on a new vehicle. Thus far, we have been relatively unsuccessful in this endeavor. Something always comes up: the furnace breaks, the bathroom explodes, we need to eat.
While we have been “saving money” we have also been scouring the web for a decent car. We can’t afford a brand new car. Can’t. Really. Really. Can't. I mean, I guess if we let the house go into foreclosure, and we save up the mortgage money to plunk down the whole price then, sure, we could afford it. And we are still debating doing just that.
Quite honestly, Little Red WILL NOT last much longer. I have been saying this for a while, but Mister W keeps MacGyvering the damn thing back together rather than accept defeat and let the poor girl go on off to the big car crusher in the sky.
So we came up with the plan that since Little Red is in much worse shape and I am the main transportation for the girls that I would get the newer car and he would get The Boo. Sounds like a plan to me until we actually started to seriously look at cars.
I want something “vany.” I’m involved in Girl Scouts and I often have to transport many screechy Brownies. Also, a van would provide ample space for travel and camping trips. And besides an AstroVan or a Mark III would be full of awesome.
Mister W is anti-van. The center of gravity is too high.
They tip.
They have exploding engines. (At least that is the gist of what I got out of his rant against vans. I sort-of tuned him out after the first five minutes.)
You name it; he’s used it as a reason.
Fine. Let’s look at SUVs. Same flipping problem.
Ok, I think, what about a truck. Eyebrows rise in interest. He agreed to that if he got to drive the truck. So I said “okay, but it needs to be an extended cab to fit us all in.” Well, the truck idea went out the window. Reason? Gas and mileage.
When I find a car we could afford, he shoots it down for some reason. For example, tonight I found a ’99 Passat on AutoTrader. It was listed just under $7,000 which is really a lot if you go just by year alone but it also had really low mileage and when I checked the CarFax, the two owners were obsessive about servicing and maintenance. So when Mister W got home from work, I showed it to him. He looked at the year said, “Warranty” and walked away. He refuses to consider a car that is older even if it has low mileage because it wouldn’t come with a warranty.
Argh!
After a deep sigh and eye roll, I have come to the conclusion that I can’t talk to the man anymore. He is far too picky and fussy.
I'll just go pick out a nice little number and it'll be in the driveway when he gets home.
