On Monday, we bought a
minivan. After months of serious consideration and years of daydreaming, it become clear that the most logical next vehicle for us would be a minivan. As recently as February, I was still hung up on the idea that we would be getting an SUV. But as the end of
our lease approached, I was able to hear the arguments for a minivan with clarity. In the end, I just resigned to the fact that in
this season I will be a minivan mom. It should be known, that after driving the Fit, my beloved
little hamster-looking car, I have very little shame about what I drive.
To be honest, it took about 4 hours and I fell in love the van. And Cole loves the van. It was designed to make parents' lives easier and it already has! Cole can climb in and get in her car seat independently. I know once baby comes I'll be all the more grateful for doors that open with the touch of a button.
Once we decided to go the minivan route, Peter and I settled on the Honda Odyssey rather quickly. The car shopping experience was relatively painless. With all the resources available online, I was able to determine a fair price before even beginning a dialogue with dealerships. We started by going to the dealership partnered with
Costco and getting the Costco price. Once knew the Costco price, I didn't need to visit another dealership until we were ready to purchase. I emailed six dealerships in the area and asked for their best price for the year, color, and model I wanted, I also included all of our desired add-ons. As prices came back, I handled all negotiations through email. The process became very cut and dry. In a matter of days, I had a price below my target so we were ready to purchase.
As much as I wanted to fight the move to a minivan, I didn't. It's just too practical. For what it's worth, she's in the shop right now getting a roof rack. My one stipulation for the minivan was that if I'm going to drive one, it needs to be as sporty as possible. I suppose a roof rack will help that.
