As much as we've been trying to avoid it, Ames and I started thinking recently about our car situation:

We have a 1997 "Mommy Car" Camry that after replacing the AC compressor, we're worried is about to hit that maintenance prone part of it's life. Our other vehicle is a 1995 S-10 pickup with power nothing and a dead AC. Neither of which are really road-trip worthy vessels, and with the impending move to South Carolina, we've definitely got some road trips coming up - soon.

So we needed to do something. The weakest link is definitely my truck. Amy can't drive it because it's manual, and for all I know the thing might not even make the drive up to South Carolina. As pathetic as it is though, I'm really fond of my lil' red s-10 and would gladly drive the thing into the ground before trading it for another vehicle. Luckily, Amy doesn't feel the same about her Camry. We actually bought it as a rushed replacement for her beloved 92 Accord (with a sunroof) that was rear-ended and totaled in February of last year.

  • The Idea: Ditch the Camry and get a newer used car that we can depend on.
  • The Roadblocks:
    1. If we sell the car first, we'll have no time shop since Amy needs a car to get to work and cannot drive my truck.
    2. Even if we got what the car is worth, that leaves us with a budget for a similar year, high-mileage vehicle.
  • The Solution: Figure out what we want, and what we want to pay. Go car browsing the dealerships on Easter Sunday when there are no salesmen. Get pre-approved for a used car loan. Go back to said dealership Monday night after work. Buy Car!
Our Shiny New Civic!

The newest member of our family: She's an 02 Honda Civic EX with under 38k miles, power windows/locks, keyless entry, CD player ...and of course, a Sunroof.