Goodbye to the Frickin' Van, again
Since July 4th, 2007 the newer Frickin' Van -- our full-sized '96 Chevy van (a Glaval Gladiator conversion) -- has been mouldering in the driveway. After more than 180,000 miles the engine blew, and fixing it was well beyond our means.
We replaced it last summer with a 2004 Kia Sedona LX minivan, which has served us well, but circumstances have required us to consider getting a second vehicle -- doctor's appointments, after school commitments and other things, including a rather frantic summer schedule, have necessitated the purchase of another car.
Trying to jockey for the van with Bonnie, who now works out of the house four days a week, required me either to stay house-bound until she got home at 6:30 or so, or to drive her to work and pick her up, thus losing two hours of productive work time in the process.
I considered putting the Frickin' Van back on the road again using a rebuilt engine, but ultimately decided that was throwing good money after bad. The high mileage, wretched fuel economy (the vehicle has the aerodynamic quality of a brick wall), and 13 years of abuse from two families have left the Frickin Van in sorry shape. It's also ungainly huge -- parallel parking the beast is a futile effort, and finding a parking garage that will let me fit its 7 foot 6 inch tall frame in is very difficult.
I really didn't want to be saddled with another set of car payments, and I doubt very much we can afford a second car payment anyway, which left me searching for a good used car that I could pay cash for. And I found one at a local small auto dealer -- a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo.
It's certainly no econobox -- it's a luxury SUV -- but it's also in fine condition for its age and mileage, in my price range, and suitable as a second vehicle for us when we can't be in two places at once.
I'm actually surprised, given my relatively limited means, at what I was able to afford -- a comfortable five-passenger car with a leather interior, sunroof, wood trim, a premium sound system, a comparatively economical six-cylinder engine, automatic transmission and air conditioning. I'm not suggesting the Jeep doesn't have wear and tear on it -- it certainly does, and will need some parts and servicing as time goes on -- but it's paid for and insured at this point, so I won't have to fork over a few hundred to a bank every month for the next few years to keep this thing on the road.