ZOOMZOOM!

We took the plunge and purchased a new vehicle! And by new, I really mean used. I mentioned in a recent post that we had decided to fix Old Blue rather than spring for a new vehicle. Well, Tom took 1/2 a day off work to take Old Blue into the shop and found out that the car required even more repairs than we were originally told. We're talking upwards of $2,000 in repair costs. It wasn't what we wanted to hear. We spent some time talking and crunching numbers after we were given the news and we made a decision. We decided that we didn't want to put that kind of money into an old car that was likely to have problems again in the near future. It was time to part ways with Old Blue.

After making the decision to buy, we spent HOURS of time researching online. We went back and forth between 4 door sedans and small crossovers. At first, we decided on getting a Saturn Vue but I talked to too many people who advised against getting a Saturn. We were running out of time to make a decision because Old Blue had actually been called "dangerous" to drive. We needed something new quickly! It was about that time that I spotted an intriguing car at the gym (I've actually been doing extra laps in the Target parking lot and gym parking lot lately just to look at cars!). I researched the car for about a week before Tom and I agreed it was a good fit for us. Then we narrowed in on some used models that were in the metro area.

We happened to be off from speech judging this weekend so we drove up to White Bear Lake to check out a vehicle that we were interested in. We ended up test driving it and buying it Saturday afternoon. They even took the blue car off our hands, even though it wasn't worth much. In fact, the mechanic reiterated the fact that it was too dangerous to drive and said he was surprised we made the 35 mile trek to White Bear Lake. Yikes! We are glad to be rid of it.

So what did we buy? A white 2010 Mazda5 Grand Touring with 52,000 miles on it. In hindsight, I don't think we got the greatest deal and we've been noticing all the little flaws in the used car now that we've had a chance to really drive it and inspect it. It's so tough to catch everything in a short test drive! We noticed pen marks on the backs of the leather seats and the back bumper seems to sag on the left side. It certainly appears that a family with small children owned this vehicle before we did... I guess they broke it in for us ;)

We really like the new car, despite the little flaws that show it is a used vehicle. It has a lot of space. There's plenty of room for our family to grow because the car seats 6 people. It has heated leather seats, a moon roof, and ZOOMZOOM! It's a tough vehicle to describe because it's not like anything else on the road. It's kind of a cross between a mini van and a small crossover, leaning heavily on the mini van side. Some people might call it a modern day station wagon. It has sliding doors like a mini van (Yay! No more GIGANTIC Monte Carlo doors to deal with!). It has the general shape of a mini van, but it is much smaller which makes it easier to maneuver in tight spaces. To give you a size comparison, the Monte Carlo is actually about a foot longer than the Mazda. The middle row has two bucket seats and the third row bench seat can accommodate two individuals. Both the rear bench and the middle bucket seats can fold flat if we need to haul something.

I really like it! I always felt a little silly driving the Monte Carlo because it just isn't something I ever would have chosen for myself. It always seemed too flashy for me. I love the Mazda, though. It's a little bit different, but not too strange. It's a family vehicle without the price tag of a crossover and without the "soccer mom" stigma of today's large mini-vans. Tom's happy with it and he's even more happy that he is back in his Monte Carlo. We're hoping the Mazda will be a good car for us!