Whew! Where was I? Last week went by in a flash. I was in the aforementioned training class straight from 8 to 5 every day and I’m sure you will all be happy to know that I am now properly equipped to be a leader. To make up for not being in the office at all, I had to spend a little time each night catching up on email and addressing a couple issues that popped up late in the week.
On top of that, we were unusually busy on the weeknights because we were test driving and then negotiating to buy a new car!
We’d been planning to get something in the next month or so and decided to start looking, and of course once we did that, car shopping went a lot faster than I had anticipated! We looked at a few last weekend, including the Toyota Highlander. My mom has the 2005 version, which I’ve always liked, and the 2012 edition has even more fun stuff included. In particular, we liked the way it looked, the layout of the interior, and the optional 3rd row of seats (fold down for maximum cargo space, pull up for maximum people-carrying capacity). The model we got has leather seats, a feature I’ve always deemed unnecessary, especially in the heat of Houston — but I now have to admit are comfy and will be a lot easier to clean than cloth once we are carrying a kid around. It also has a sunroof — a frill I have wanted in a car ever since riding around in my friend Cayce’s car in high school, but have never had until now!
Only 6 miles on the odometer when we drove it off the lot!
We compared it to the Ford Edge, which was nice but nowhere near as nice as the Highlander. We also compared it to the Volvo XC60, which had both advantages and drawbacks compared to the Highlander — we liked the additional Volvo safety features, but the Volvo was also more expensive by several thousand dollars. Others we looked at online but didn’t end up test driving for various reasons: Mazda CX-9, Nissan Murano, Nissan Rogue, Honda CR-V, Subaru Outback and Subaru Tribeca.
Where I parked today at work: far away from other cars!
We ended up test driving a Highlander last Saturday, and then going back on Thursday night to test drive the specific vehicle we ended up buying after it arrived from the Port of Houston earlier that day. We ended up negotiating on the final price that night, and went back on Friday afternoon to finalize the deal!
We traded Jose’s 2004 Tiburon, so the little red sportscar is no longer with us. Our next door neighbor noticed the new car on Saturday and teased Jose for getting a “daddy-mobile,” but the truth is that he was getting tired of having a low, cramped car even before we knew a baby was on the way. Still, it was his first car ever so we made sure to take a photo before we left it at the Toyota dealership for the last time.
So now we have a 2012 Highlander and a 2004 Xterra, and we expect to keep the Xterra for at least another 2-3 years. Two SUVs…well, we do live in Texas after all. At the moment, I’m driving the Highlander and Jose’s driving the Xterra. I told him repeatedly that he could drive the Highlander, since it was his car we were trading, but he kept telling me to take the new one — and I finally quit arguing! Ha.
I was wondering how long it would take for you to take over Jose’s new car. i can see that you beat even my expectations
I know no one will believe me, but Jose really did insist that I drive the new car! I kept telling him he got first dibs, but he was adamant!
Love the new wheels! I am hoping my 2005 Trailblazer lasts another 2-3 years and then I’m going for that Volvo…well maybe. 🙂 I do love the Highlander, my friend has one and loves it too.