Okay, so after less than two weeks, we decided that it just wasn't worth trying to get around in two cars every time we needed, or wanted, to go somewhere together. (Not to mention it was impossible to do shopping in my Toyota Echo with all the kids in the car.) Because I love doing internet research so much, I was excited to embark in the journey of choosing the perfect (or best) car for us.
We tinkered with the idea of getting a Grand Caravan but soon ruled it out due to horrible consumer ratings on multiple sites. (I have to say though that Stow-N-Go seating is genius...I just wish that other vans had it.) The Kia Sedona was a great car as well (looked very much like the Odyssey we just had.) It has a great warranty and price. However, I very quickly narrowed our search to between the Odyssey and Sienna. Why? They are the only two mini vans that offer eight seats. We don't know how many children we are going to have, but if for some insane reason we decide to have two more, then we would ultimately have to have eight seats. (It was much easier to only compare two vans.)
I started out with the obvious one: Honda Odyssey. Because this had been a great car for us for ten years, minus the transmission, I secretly thought ultimately that we would end up getting it. Will, because of our experience with the transmission, basically said "NO WAY. I am totally against making the same mistake twice." Trusting that he wouldn't change his mind, I embarked on searching for the right price on the Sienna. Those of you that know me know that I am a total bargain hunter and do a pretty dang good job of it. I was excited to make a great deal. I found
this hilariously true to life podcast on line which helped me know where to start with price. I felt lucky to be looking at the right time of year when the dealers are hoping
to get rid of their '08's to get their '09's.
First, we went to our nearest dealer and test drove the Sienna CE (stripped down model.) I learned from this that I definitely wanted an LE with a certain power package (#2 which included a gas mileage gage, power sliding doors and driver seat as well as power back windows). Knowing that I should be able to get the van for well under invoice, I started emailing dealers with the exact color (white exterior and taupe interior) and model. I knew I just needed to find a dealer that had that car in their lot to get the best deal. (Other wise the dealers have to trade cars and the price gets jacked up.)
I finally was able to get to a low that I was happy with: $900 below invoice. It was in Hemet. I made the plans, had the guy pull our credit over the phone, and left with the family to go get it. Will, for the fun of it, wanted to stop by the Honda dealership next door to Toyota, just to check out the Odyssey before we bought the Sienna. I'm sure you can guess what happened next if you know my husband at all. He changed his mind. He decided that the Odyssey was superior and wanted to buy it instead. I was SO MAD. I had spend DAYS on the computer while my house was trashed by the kids. I KNEW I wanted the Sienna. It was more comfortable, had a MUCH larger eighth seat, the dashboard was "prettier," AND it was cheaper, not to mention that it got better reviews from consumers. I was not in the mood for this. He asked me to go to Toyota, sit in the car, call him and tell him that I still wanted the car for sure, and then he would come right over. I didn't want to see this guy that I had made a deal with and tell him "sorry, my husband changed his mind." I did what he said anyway, (scared to death that I would agree with him). I sat in the car and LOVED it. Everything about it was great to me. My husband was still adamant that the Odyssey was better. I felt physically sick. I do NOT like making people mad at me. I hated the fact that I just screwed this guy who worked all day to get this car ready for us.
For the next two hours we sat at Honda talking to this salesman named Jerry. I told Jerry that I just wouldn't be happy buying an Odyssey. I didn't like the dashboard (yes, I know it's a totally superficial reason, but if I have to look at it every day, I better like looking at it.) I didn't like the feel of the seats, the size of the eighth seat or the revious from other owners. Jerry, just before we left, told us that he wanted me to be happy and that if I decided on the Toyota he has a friend in Torrance that would give us the best price. We shook hands and left without a new car and both of us upset with each other. (The kids were devistated.) I was a little relieved, though to tell the truth. Somthing just didn't feel right. I felt like I needed to be in agreement with my husband before we made such a major purchase.
That night, we both stayed up all night doing research on both cars. In the end, I won. He agreed that I had made the best decission. I went on to email just about every dealer in Southern California. I got a great response from more than ten dealers competing for my business. I made it very clear that I would not answer calls, or come in person. I would call the dealer with the best price, THEN come. I dickered back and forth and finally found that the Hemet dealer that originally gave us the best price went down even further in price and was still the best. We had them start on the paper work again! Just as we were leaving, the guy from Torrance, Roger, called Will and said "I'll make this easy because Jerry is such a good friend of mine and told me to treat you like family. Just knock $1500 off invoice and you can have it for 0% interest for five years." We croaked. I was torn. Of course, we were going to get the car from Torrance, but this poor guy in Hemet is waiting for us to come for the second time and we are going to screw him AGAIN! I asked Will to call him and he refused saying that he wanted to make sure the deal went through as planned. (I did make sure he emailed the details before we left on our two and half hour trek.)
We left at 7 pm, got there at 9:30, and didn't leave till midnight. The transaction went flawless. The people were wonderful. I couldn't have been happier. I LOVE my van. So, it turns out that if my husband hadn't gone to Honda that day, I wouldn't have gotten such a smoken deal. On the other hand, if I hadn't done my research, I wouldn't have known this was such a great deal. I'm lucky to have such a social husband. We complement each other well.
Katie and Ani
Anna and Abi
Little John and Daniel
Anna and Ariel
John and Katie
Ani
Daniel and Will
Amazing cake made my Erin--who might be moving to the desert
Some new friends
The whole party clan
Abi flying in the air-Great tuck!
Think she'll be a cheerleader one day?!
Wish I could still do that...oh wait....wish I was EVER able to do that!
Ariel--wish I had a suit just like hers
Daniel can keep up with both of them
Incredible balance
This looks so good you'd think it was photoshopped....it wasn't!
Yes, that's right, we don't leave Ani out. For those of you whom this freeks out...don't worry, she LOVES it....she's going to be a great swimmer!
Ahhh...the chicken fights!
The best family in the world.
Can you top this one?
My beautiful girls
Ariel now asks about this boy all the time....(first crush?)
Another dare at the end of the party to see who could keep their hands in the ice cold water the longest. (The boy above's mom won!)
Last pile-up of the night. This was amazing!
