Sunday October 15th, 2017

The exercise:

Write about: catching up.

All caught up on comments again.

But there is more catching up to be done...

Mine:

When I started my contract with the town back in April it quickly became apparent that we would need a second vehicle sooner than later. I was starting my shifts too early for Kat to drop me off and ending them too late for her to pick me up. That meant for the four days I worked in a row, she was basically stuck at home with the boys.

That... didn't seem sustainable for the next six months.

So we started looking pretty much right away. And found what we were looking for before I'd even received my first paycheque. We wanted a larger vehicle to hold all four of us and all the stuff we'd be hauling around, especially on road trips that involve overnight stays.

We bought this Pontiac Montana during the first week of May (I honestly don't remember the exact date):

It's looking rather dusty there but I swear it's clean on the inside.

Why didn't I mention this purchase at the time? A couple reasons. The big one being that life was very, very busy. I didn't even have a decent picture of it to share (I actually took the above today in preparation for this post).

The other major factor in the delayed reveal? I was not super thrilled with purchasing a minivan. It fits our needs and whatever blah blah blah, but it's not exactly a vehicle I'd aspired to owning. In fact, I still insist on calling it our van, not our minivan.

As though the distinction makes any sort of difference.

Anyway. I think that gets me almost completely caught up. Just one more thing coming and I should be getting to that this week sometime.

Oooh, mysterious.

Tuesday May 3rd, 2022

The exercise:

Write two haiku about: two for one.

Now that I'm working in Penticton and the boys are a five minute walk from school, we don't really need two vehicles any more. The van has barely been used the last couple of months. I'm also going to start biking to work a few times a week now that the weather is more agreeable to such things.

So, after plenty of looking and waiting for the right deal, we went in to the local Nissan dealership on Saturday and traded in the Pontiac Montana and the Kia Rio for a 2016 Nissan Rogue:

 
If the van wasn't wearing down we probably would have just sold the car. And while I would have preferred to keep the car it just wasn't big enough to be our only vehicle.

So here we are, back down to one for the first time in five years, with all the savings that involves, and it is shiny and new and red and we're all quite happy with it.

Wednesday October 16th, 2019

The exercise:

Write about: insurance.

As promised yesterday, an explanation.

Mine:

So way back in March of 2010 we bought our 2006 Saturn Ion. Man, I look young in that picture.

Anyway.

Our Saturn has served us well over the years. It was our only car until we bought the Pontiac Montana in May of 2017. Which means it was our car when we got married, when first Max and then Miles were born. It got me through a pretty nasty accident a month before previously mentioned wedding.

But it's been slowly but surely nearing the end of its lifespan. It's broken down a couple times, once without the reason ever being determined. It's lost a couple hubcaps over the years. The stereo has been hit and miss for the last year or so (sometimes it stops working, other times the volume knob does not... function as expected).

Also: it's grey. We didn't want a grey car to begin with, but the price was right and we couldn't afford to be picky. But I was getting very, very tired of having a grey car.

So I've been keeping an eye out for a new ride, pretty much since I passed probation in July. Recently I had my eye on a marine blue 2017 Hyundai Elantra. It was out of my price range but the price went down once, then again... if it went down a third time I was planning on getting in touch with the dealership.

But somebody else decided two price drops was enough, and so it disappeared off their site.

Which was fine. Good, if I'm being honest. It was more car than I needed.

Shortly after that, however, a new contender entered the arena. Same dealership in Penticton, handily enough. So I emailed them to get a couple questions answered, then spent a week going back and forth via email trying to get the price I wanted. They dropped the sticker price by a bit, eventually agreed to waive all the extra fees (I'm sorry, but I ain't paying $499 for no cash grab nonsense), and... pointed out that they had the best price for the car I was looking at. In all of BC.

I went in on Saturday to take it for a test drive and figure out what they'd give me for the Saturn. I liked the drive, they gave me more than I was expecting for the trade in, and... now I'm the proud owner of this:

That's a 2018 Kia Rio. White. Would have preferred blue or red, but white is a sight better than grey. The price was right for a car this new, the mileage was what I wanted, and it has some nice features (already enjoying the heated steering wheel). I expect it will serve me well for many years to come.

So, yes, her name is Betty. As in Betty White. The name came to me at the dealership while I was waiting for them to finish washing and cleaning her. Because I am a creative person.

Oh, today's prompt. I felt like I did a lot of research on this purchase. Looked at a lot of different options. Negotiated hard on the price and the waiving of the fees.

The thing I forgot to think about? Car insurance. Turns out, they charge quite a bit more to insure a 2018 vehicle than a 2006 vehicle. Who'd a thunk it.

Anyway. Minor bump in the road. I am very happy with my purchase. The boys think it's pretty cool too. Kat is insisting that I let her drive it occasionally.

I told her I'm open to negotiations.