car buying: babysitting connections has its benefits

NEW-TO-US-CAR:  Mini's accident was on a Wednesday evening. With my dad's car borrowed and the gray in the shop getting brakes, we only had two working cars. We needed a car. Really we could've used another 3 or 4 cars, but who's counting? Friday night, Lad looked at the website for all of the dealerships 'connected-by-blood' (or sparkplugs) to his. We found a few options. 

GW has rips in the seats. Red, RIP, had
a troll living in the wall that made a loud
 ticking noise whenever it felt like it.
This is seal. Look at that middle seat.
 She's a beaut. Leather seats
 - a first for everything. 

He was gonna drive to a distant, but related dealership and snag a used Honda minivan from '19 with 36,000 miles on it the next morning. Then, he'd pick me up in the car (how's that for service), drive me to his nearby dealership and we'd get 'er done. Then I could drive home in the newby. Coach works occasionally on a Saturday, and this was one of them, so I was on my own. We weren't financing, just paying cash. We were hoping for a fast transaction. 

After my workout on Saturday, I decided to scrub the kitchen. Top to bottom. I should've been writing, but sometimes I want a clean kitchen. Why should the kitchen only be clean and uncluttered when we're having a grad party?

Lad called. He was driving the navy minivan, but he'd gotten word that he could show me the car at his dealership, but that I couldn't drive away with it. It needed to be sold out of that building, certified this and that. I couldn't technically buy it that day. 

I switched gears quickly from my OH SHOOT mode to my COME NOW, LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT THIS mode. 

You all know that I used to babysit for the family that owns the dealerships where Lad works, right? As in, I was 12 when good fortune struck. They moved into my neighborhood. Mom showed up at their door with a plate full of cookies, a welcoming smile, and an introduction:  SO, I HAVE 3 DAUGHTERS WHO BABYSIT. THE OLDER ONES ARE A LITTLE BUSY WITH THEIR 'FAMILIES', BUT ERNIE IS EXCITED TO GET STARTED.

They were my first sitting gig, and I was obsessed. When we met, they had 3 kids. Eventually they ended up with 8. I vividly remember the specific days when each of the younger 5 were born. 

The owner of the Honda dealership was a year old when I started babysitting for him. I called him Baby Face and he called me Onion. If you look for him in my phone contacts, he's naturally under 'Baby Face.' Being glossed over by my family of origin was of little consequence once Baby Face started crying and clinging to me for dear life when I tried to go home after a babysitting job. The feeling was mutual. Can you say self-esteem builder? 

I texted Baby Face. HEY, IS IT TRUE I CAN'T BUY THE NAVY MINIVAN TODAY? WE ARE HURTING FOR A CAR SINCE MINI'S ACCIDENT. LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S ANY WAY AROUND HAVING TO GO TO BUMBLE TO PURCHASE IT.

A moment later my phone rang.

Baby Face:  They didn't tell me it was a woman I've known my entire life. They just said an employee's mom wants to look at that car. Shit, you can drive it home today. We'll have Lad throw some DL plates on it and do the paperwork at your house. He can bring in your check Monday. 

Later he told Lad to throw in an extended warranty or something, since I kept him alive for years. I knew there was a reason he was my favorite. 

I never even drove the minivan prior to purchasing it. Lad picked me up in it, and gathered some paperwork at his office and about an hour later I drove it home. It's nice. Fancy-shmancy. Hell, I was sold at "THE RADIO WORKS." 

There's a command center that I will probably never quite understand how to use. I think it does everything except start the dishwasher remotely. Plus we've never been part of the leather seat club. As a bonus, it has 8 seats. We won't have to bring two cars or the GW/church bus when we want to all attend a family function together. I'm excited to leave the little troll that lived in the back right side panel of the destroyed red car at the lot. I would like to have an autopsy to determine what the heck caused that thumping noise even when the car was turned off, but I'm just gonna have to wonder. 

Best of all, the car is clean. Really clean. Not gonna lie, I'd be OK living in it. How long will the new-car-clean last? Well, I'm not holding my breath. In case you are wondering, we haven't let Mini drive it yet. Did you know that a week before her accident we were discussing her driving habits and she said:  I'M A GOOD DRIVER. I DRIVE AGGRESSIVELY. 

Well, we tried to explain that she was supposed to drive DEFENSIVELY. How did she miss that day of drivers ed? It happens to be the THEME of the entire program. 

Lad pointed out that when we planned to trade the red car in in July, we wouldn't have gotten much for it because it was never gonna pass emissions. Since it was in an accident, the insurance company won't know that the emissions test was an issue. He thinks we'll get more for it from insurance, than we would've gotten when trading it in.

Mini realized this and said OH, YOU'RE WELCOME. Of course she did. 

We are fortunate to have the funds set aside. This is a terrible time to purchase a car. It was inevitable, but I would prefer not to have done it this way. When Mini was still sobbing in the kitchen a few hours after the accident, I let my kid-who-doesn't-hug know that it was time for a hug. I hugged her for a long time and told her:  CARS CAN BE REPLACED. I CANNOT IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT YOU IN IT. 

I had the joy of going to
the lot to get a few
things we forgot from the
smashed up minivan. Yikes. 

Then it morphed into a I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING moment, because goodness this was scary and I was emotional. 

After our embrace, I went upstairs to do laundry, and take some deep breaths. A moment later Mini called upstairs. MOM, I FORGOT I WAS SUPPOSED TO BABYSIT TONIGHT. I'M LATE, SHE JUST TEXTED ME. CAN YOU DROP  ME OFF? CAN YOU TELL I WAS CRYING. (sort of, understatement). 

I dropped her off. Then, Curly wanted to go mini-golfing with her friends. I realized Mini never ate dinner, I texted her that I was brining her dinner on my way to mini-golf. I dropped off and picked up Ed from working out in the opposite direction. 

Too bad I'm not in school, because my WHAT DID YOU DO THIS SUMMER assignment would be a piece of cake.

I DROVE. 

 * 8/16/22 update:  We bought the navy (shall we call her 'seal' as in navy seal, or do you have other suggestions?) minivan a few days after the accident in June, so I drafted this awhile ago.  Mini has driven it. But not till mid June. Ed almost missed his train downtown one morning because Mini was driving him (in the kid car). He was like SHE WAS SO SLOW. Praise the Lord for small favors. I drove to GA in Seal and never could figure out how to get the google maps to show on that dang screen. It's been with us a few months now and it's still mostly clean. How long till you think they leave a mess in it?

I'll describe the battle with insurance another day (and Thermador's microwave nonsense), but if you'd like to take a stab in the comments at how much Allstate is offering us - be my guest. 175K miles on it. 2013 Dodge. Let's leave things here at rainbows and sunshine and a car that isn't messy YET. Oh, also a few weeks ago, Lad finally taught me how to work command central. It's incredibly cool. Would've been nice to have that up and running for my July 5th drive to Georgia.