The time has come to buy a new family vehicle! There are lots of mixed emotions in our household as we are super excited to get something new (new to us, that is!) from this century with lots of neat features, oh and something that is safe and reliable! We brought home a 2006 Toyota Sienna on Friday and I have fallen in love! Sure, there is a certain stigma that comes with having a minivan, but I'm 100% comfortable and confident in our new van, plus both the girls will be playing soccer at some point this year :) We really needed the room and room she has! It seats 7, has a ton of leg room, a sunken trunk, the middle row has bucket seats rather than a bench and both the 2nd and 3rd row fold down for more storage room - oh and did I mention it has 14 cup holders!
But with the purchase of our van comes the goodbye of our 1993 Ford Explorer. Matt bought it June 13, 2006 with only 184,773 miles on it for $2,000 (it did have a new transmission to make up for the amount of miles on it). We parked it today for the final time with 284,843 reliable miles on it - over the last almost five years she lasted long enough to allow us to drive 100,070 miles. Matt took exceptional care of her, doing every oil and filter change himself every 3,000 miles, and replacing the brakes himself too! We only had a few minor repairs that ever had to be done. Once we got a commuter car for Matt (he drives 70 miles one way to work), the truck quit being driven so much and we're pretty sure that is what kept her going so long.
There are lots of memories created and we're both sad to see it taken away.
- This was Matt's first major car purchase
- We took our first dates with each other in the truck (we even spent the night in the back of it once)
- It carried all of Matt's things when he moved in with me
- It helped us move things when we moved into our next couple of homes together
- It protected me when I did an almost 360 in the rain at 65 mph
- It brought Hannah home from the hospital
- It has seen Hannah go from an infant car seat, to a convertible car seat all the way to a booster and from a convertible seat for Emma to a booster seat
- It drove us away for the first time after becoming husband and wife
- It took Matt to work during the 3 blizzards last winter
Today, someone is coming to tow the truck away. Even though she is still running and would last longer, we're just not comfortable selling it to anyone. Over the last few weeks the transmission started slipping and we don't want anyone to get hurt or in an accident in it. So even though we have to say goodbye to a cherished friend, we'll always have the memories and as we begin a new adventure in our car, we look forward to many more memories to be made!
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| Our trusty truck for the last 5 years! |
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| Matt sitting in it for the last time! |
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| 284843.1 miles and still (kind of) going! |
A few things: 1) That is a crapload of miles! I mean, omg. I have 105,000 miles on my car and it's only 7 years old, but over 280,000 is a whole new ballgame! 2) My dad has been a mechanic since he was like old enough to not be in diapers and his mantra is literally CHANGE THE OIL. As long as you change the oil, and never let it run hot, my dad says you can fix anything, and 3) We borrowed my mom's can once to take 4 of us to OBX and we loved it! Sitting so high, all the leg room, storage, it was fabulous. Long live the minivan!!!
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