Saturday, November 10, 2007

Our Car Is Sick Too

James drove to work on Friday, but decided to come home when the stomach bug hit him. On the way home, the Mazda died. He called to tell me that he was going to catch a bus home, barf bag in hand. I wanted to pick him up, but not with pukey kids in tow. I called his mom who graciously rescued him. He got the car towed to our mechanic.

Though it wasn't fun for James to deal with car problems when sick, it was probably a good thing that the car trouble occurred during the middle of the day rather than during rush hour traffic.

The shop called to give us the cost of repairs, which would exceed the worth of the car.

We've been thinking about what vehicle to purchase in replacement of the Mazda (which served us well for many years and was used in the first place). We are leaning towards buying a used 12-passenger van for hospitality purposes. We have often thought it would be nice to convey people other than just our immediate family. I would drive the big van, especially since I drive infrequently, and the mini-van would become James' commuter vehicle. We have been thinking this way for a while, and now the death of the Mazda will force us to act. (If you think our idea is foolhardy, feel free to try to talk us out of it in the comment section. ;-)

Matthew is convinced that this is the vehicle for us (click on the link, Loey). While the sign warning cars to stay back 500 feet, the intimidating presence, and the lights and sirens to clear our path are appealing (Logan: "Konk, konk, woooooo"), we might have too much trouble fitting it into our garage. Too bad, Matthew.

5 comments:

Tina in WA said...

Too funny about that choice of vehicle.

Bummer about the sickness of both human and auto at your home. :o( Neither of them are fun.

Blessings~Tina

Meliss said...

Thanks for commiserating, Tina! :)

Patrick said...

You could ditch the mazda, sell the minivan, get the 12-passenger van, and then another car that James could use for work. I would recommend a Toyota Prius. This way, you could save on gas mileage - otherwise James is going to be spending a lot to get to work and back. You also couldn't transport the whole family in the Prius, but you couldn't in the Mazda either. Just a thought.

andie said...

I love our 12 passenger. (Named Clifford, now, thanks to clever Staci at Writing and Living.)

Dh is driving the old Suburban (which used to be the 'all of us' vehicle) because it runs and is paid for and his commute is very, very short.

Later, when we have driven the 'Burb to death, we plan to replace it with something smaller and better on gas. Right now, though, it's nice that we can all fit in both vehicles.

Meliss said...

Hi Patrick

Yes, we are considering replacing the minivan with a smaller vehicle for James, but we'll see how we do on gas with the minivan first.

Hi Andie

We did buy a 12 passenger and I love it! I like sitting up high, the roominess and the more powerful engine. Now to come up with a clever name like Clifford. ;-)