This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Minivan Update, Part 1
Oct
28
2014
We bought our first minivan just before Beta was born. He’s now 9.
In the last year, we’ve had to get some work done on the minivan. A radiator here, a heater core there.
At the last oil change, the shop mentioned the tie rods should be replaced and the power steering was leaking. $800 to replace it all. Yeah, let’s skip that for now.
Maybe we should think about getting a new van. My wife agrees and lobbies for it to be sooner rather than later so that she’s not stranded when the old van does die and then we’ll be pressed to get a new one not on our terms.
My wife has been mentioning that the van smells a little like exhaust inside. And when I happen to be outside when she drives up, I can hear that it sounds louder than it used to. Must be a crack in the exhaust pipe somewhere.
I look under the van. No obvious cracks or rusted-out spots.
So I go to open the hood. The hood release lever snaps off in my hand.
Okay, minivan. If you want yourself not to be replaced, you need to make a better showing than this.
I pull the dangling cable to pop the hood. I look around – nothing apparent in there either.
I shut the hood.
It doesn’t latch.
I shut it again. Same result.
Reach back in the cabin, jiggle the cable.
Shut the hood. It stays shut.
I go inside and inform my wife that we’re going minivan shopping tomorrow. We agree on a dealership halfway between home and work. At lunchtime.
I have been researching prices for slightly-used minivans, so I know what to expect. We choose this dealership because they have a selection of several minivans.
“Can I help you with anything?” asks the salesman who meets us outside the door.
“We are looking for a used minivan, something under 50,000 miles” is our general reply.
He takes us on a trip around the lot. Three minivans that look nice but are listed for a few thousand more dollars than I wanted to spend. We don’t make any positive responses and he walks us to an area where some more might be.
Nope, that one’s sold. How about this one?
Wrong color for my wife.
He takes us back to the showroom where he can look up inventory on his computer.
Two more are around back. He’ll go bring them around so we can see them.
We drive the one. It’s fine. He asks if we want to drive the other one and hands us the key. We start it. My wife says it’s louder than the other one. I say it sounds rougher. We agree there’s something wrong with it. Maybe that’s why it was parked back by the service area and not in the main lot.
We debate what to do next. I know therer are cheaper minivans to be had. They sell several minivans a week here. If we wait a week, there might be a better deal. But if we wait a week, our minivan might die and there might be a worse deal.
There’s nothing wrong with this minivan. And its price seems appropriate. I am a lousy negotiator. But even I know we can’t just tell the salesman we’ll take it. So I say that it might work but it’s a little more than I was hoping to pay. He explains why the price is set where it is. We somehow get to a point where I agree to buy it if he can knock $500 off the price.
Of course, he must get his manager’s approval. He leaves. I don’t see where he goes – he could have been sitting in the bathroom for several minutes. He comes back and says “we have a deal”. I shake his hand, I make a down payment, fill out an application for the loan, and we leave. “We’ll be back tomorrow evening to pick it up,” we tell him.
I head back to work. Total time: an hour and a half. Test drove one minivan. Bought one minivan. Rather, agreed to buy one minivan.
The caravans of Tema looked, The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.
Job 6:19
