New Car (finally)!

Joe’s truck was totaled in car accident in late March, after a guy rear-ended him, while Joe was stopped at a red light.   

So after weeks of research, test drives, debates, and changing our minds countless times, we finally went and bought our new car today!  Drum roll…..We are the proud (hint of sarcasm here) owners of a 2006 Ford Taurus! 

I wish I could say we bought something more exciting, like a mini van that I was hoping for, and Joe definitely wanted another truck, but after some extensive soul searching we decided to go the most economical-bang-for-our-buck that we could.  First of all, we never wanted to spend any money on a new car.  We would have been happy for Joe to keep his truck and drive it into the ground.  But, we were forced into this situation, and had to make the best of it.

We were this close to getting a mini van, and then Joe would drive our Jeep Cherokee, but we would have to take on some more debt for a mini van, and after thinking it through, our first priority right now is to get a different house.  Taking on more debt would lower our debt to income ratio, and would probably result in a higher mortgage rate when we buy a new house.  The same situation applied in getting Joe another truck, and since he also drives so much for work, a truck just wouldn’t get that good of gas mileage.  He was just about breaking even with the mile reimbursement his company pays him, so we figured if he could get a more fuel efficient car, then he would actually be making some money to save for repairs to the car, like the reimbursement is meant for.  Also, unless we got the fuller size truck, there would be no way both boys could ride in the truck if needed, and the larger trucks are even be more expensive, and get less gas mileage.

So in the end, the Taurus seemed like a good fit.  We will not have any debt, and it gets about 32-34 miles per gallon on the highway, (Joe’s previous truck was getting about 22 mpg), both boys can fit easily in the back, and there is room for another person in back as well.  It is a program car, meaning it was returned from Hertz as a rental, or a lease from a company, who had it for an employee as a company car.  It only has 25,000 miles on it, and comes with a two year warranty.  So even though it isn’t very exciting, it was the best car for our situation right now.  Here is a stock picture of it (it is a dark silver / light gray color, with light gray interrior):

As our family grows up, and maybe one day expands, then a mini van may be a better fit, but for now we’ll be content with the Taurus.  Fortunately, we can still haul things in the Jeep, and Joe’s dad, who lives about 10 minutes from us, has two trucks, so at least Joe will still have access to a truck when needed. 

I think the saddest thing in this whole process was Ryan’s reaction.  He LOVED going places with Joe in the truck, whether it was just a quick trip to the hardware store, or over to the grandparent’s house.  He keeps telling everyone that “Dad’s truck got hurt, (or smashed up).”  He also asks “When is Dad’s green truck coming back home?”  He looked pretty disappointed when we came back in the Taurus to pick him up from my dad’s house, and we told him it was Dad’s new car.  He did climb in the Taurus, and looked around, but he still wanted to know where Dad’s truck was.  Maybe one day, we’ll be able to get another truck as well, to keep all the boys around here happy.  🙂