Our New Wheels

A few of our vehicles have been real pieces of work. Literally. Vehicles that made us shake our heads in disgust and question: what in the world did we buy that for? Unfortunately, both our last vehicles have fit into that category. It's such a gamble investing in vehicles because what's in our budget to buy most often needs TLC and is most likely at the end of it's life.

With Eli's work car chugging and sputtering in the driveway and sounding like it was accelerating while idling, plus the transmission slipping in the minivan, it was down to the toss of a coin which would get replaced this time and which could limp along with the least amount of repairs. Since Eli's work car now has over 200,000 miles on it, it won the toss. Ideally, good gas mileage is an important feature for a work car. However, with Eli's drive time down to a mere 10 minutes, he branched out and started looking at Suburbans, something that would work like a truck for him but could also hold the entire family for a change. I had wanted a Suburban instead of the minivan, but thought we were opting for the more sensible, economic choice at the time. Eli loved the first Suburban he drove--except for the multitude of repairs it already needed. 

And then this nicer, newer Suburban was traded in. Eli decided to at least try it, even if it was more than he had hoped to spend. It got better gas mileage than our old Tahoe had, and wasn't far from the MPG of the minivan. Test driving turned into negotiating. We were offered a better trade-in amount for the minivan that made getting the Suburban possible. So Eli parked his car back in the driveway and we kissed the purple people eater goodbye.

The Suburban seats eight, so we gained a seat and more cargo space. If we're able to take our family camping trip next year we won't have to travel in two vehicles. Middle seats fold up with the push of a button, which should make access to the third row easier. There's even a navigation screen, back-up camera, and heated seats. Definitely the nicest vehicle we've owned to-date! Not to mention, it makes me feel so much safer driving in the winter.

Still no car seats...I'm sure that will change soon!

Just for fun, since you all know how much I love history...here is a photo of the first Suburban which debuted in 1933. Suburban is the oldest car model in American history that is still produced today. The Suburban is considered the grandfather of the SUV type of vehicles.