We have a new car. 1 1/2 years of disciplined saving and no other major expenses – Dave Ramsey would be proud of us. To be precise, we bought a new car but we don’t have it yet. It’s in transit, on the truck, on it’s way – however, you want to call it. It was very weird to leave a check for the down payment at the dealer without driving our car off the lot.
Our previous car, Roger was his name, served our family well. When we purchased our 2000 Audi A4 Avant, we assumed we’d be driving it for a very long time. Because we assumed that it would fit our family (including the dog) perfectly. We also assumed that we could totally handle the maintenance of a German automobile. Well, we all know what they say about ‘assuming’…?!
Roger, our first Thrasher Mobile. Looking back, I think his name should have been Hans or Gustav.
Let me ask you this: When you purchased your car, did you sit on the backseat to see how much leg room you have back there? Did you consider the space you may need to fit a toddler car seat even though you just got married? Well, we didn’t. While our Audi looked spacious (it was a station wagon, for Heaven’s sake), it actually had a very small interior. We couldn’t even install Emma’s infant car seat behind one of the front seats but had to install it in the middle of the back seat instead. And that still didn’t leave Paul and I much space in the front.
Not enough space between front and back seats.
There was only one solution: Our family needed a car with lots of space for tall adults, a tall toddler, a mid-sized dog, a large stroller, a large cooler and at least three mid-sized travel bags. We needed a car that was Thrasher Road Trip-approved and would meet the following criteria:
- fit into our budget
- driving performance
- large cargo area and spacious interior
- design
- bluetooth
- affordable maintenance and repair expenses
- and no, we didn’t care that much about gas consumption because they are all the same anyways
After test-driving Crossover-SUVs like the GMC Terrain, Audi Q5, Chevy Equinox and our friends’ Ford Escape, we quickly realized that we had to upgrade and search for the new Thrasher Mobile in the SUV category. After ruling out the Dodge Durango (not liking the design), we tested the Nissan Pathfinder. Still not enough space. So we (as in Paul) went back to the virtual drawing board and researched more SUVs…
(…to be continued.)
As you’re probably anticipating the reveal of the Thrasher Mobile more than Part Two of the Twilight Saga, head over to my Facebook page and guess what car we got.
Recently I’ve enjoyed watching the very positive side of adoption as shown on ‘Modern Family’ (
I’m single and 40 years old. Would they let me adopt a child?
I’ve heard that you may have to pay the birth mother’s rent or her cell phone bill? What are other adoption expenses?
