Scott and I have been trying to cut back on some of our expenses lately, and one of the best ways we could see to do that was to lower our car payment. On Labor Day, we headed to the $1 movies with the kids but when the movie was sold out we ended up making the rounds through a few car dealerships instead.
We didn't set out with any particular car in mind...just something that cost around $12000. We thought that trading in a fully loaded car for a "clunker" would be fairly easy and that we would completely have the upper hand.
But the first dealership we went to told us that they don't even make our van anymore and we were better off trying to sell it privately because no one would take it as a trade in. We decided to try the Nissan dealership just in case since that's who made our van.
At Nissan, they were very helpful, all too happy to show us all of the used 7-8 passenger vehicles they had in our price range, and they actually wanted our van (they even paid us $1000 above blue book for it!). We drove a lot of cars of various makes and models, but when we found an '05 Ford Expedition, the condition, miles, and price were all a perfect match for what we needed and wanted. After a little haggling we got it for the price we could afford (and $2-3,000 less than blue book!).
Even though it is a few years older, a little harder to get the kids in & out of, and so much more basic than our van, it seems like a really sturdy vehicle. (and Scott is super excited about having 4-wheel drive). We have been a Japanese car/minivan family for so long that it is weird to now be not only the owners of an SUV, but an American one at that!
So, here are a few pics of our new ride (and for comparison's sake a few pics of our old one)...Goodbye Quest (sniff, sniff) I'll miss you!!
Quest
Expedition
Quest
Expedition
Quest
Expedition
2 comments:
Sounds like the responsible thing to do. AND, it doesn't look like too much of a sacrafice. Good work!
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