OUR Swagger Wagon

...that's right, folks. We did it. We bought a minivan. Friday night, specifically, at 9:15. We went shopping up in the suburbs since there is waaay more to choose from up there. We looked at a few SUVs, test drove a couple of them a few weeks ago, and then this weekend looked at/test drove a couple more minivans. We ended up getting a 2008 Salsa Red Toyota Sienna from Toyota of Elgin.



Sexy, huh?

It was a long day. A very.long.day. Thankfully, my mom is a wonder-woman-shopper, and did a TON of research before we went shopping. She had a very impressive spreadsheet with 16 different options, details and location of each. It was incredible. After looking at the spreadsheet, we narrowed it down to a few we wanted to see. We went to Toyota of Naperville first, around 3:00 p.m. We looked at three, test drove one, and sat around negotiating the price for one of them for at least an hour after that. We really liked it, but we wanted to make sure we saw our options, so we decided to go up to Elgin to see the red one before buying the one in Naperville. I'm glad we did! It was in much better shape, and was a year newer, for almost the same price. Unfortunately, it was a very long process. By 8:00, we had test driven it, decided we were interested, and made an offer. I was hungry and ate animal crackers and peanuts from the vending machine trying to tide myself over. The negotiations took forever, and me being tired, hungry and hormonal, I wasn't hanging in there all that well. At 9:15 p.m., I finally stood up, put my coat on, and said (rather obnoxiously, unfortunately), "This is how much money we have. We literally cannot spend anymore than that. Can you do it, or not? I'm pregnant, tired, and need food NOW." There was no one in the place except for me, my dad, Jason, the sales manager, and the saleswoman. They all were silent for a second and looked at me, then the sales manager basically said we had a deal. We sat there and signed papers as fast as we could, handed over the keys to my civic, and drove off in our new Swagger Wagon. The leftover pizza I finally got to eat at 10:45 was the best dinner I think I've ever had.

Part of me died a little bit in the whole process, but that's okay. I'm sure it's not the last sacrifice I will make for my kids. I got kind of teary eyed in the restroom while my dad and Jason negotiated the whole shabang. BUT, we're glad we did it, and we do love how much room and convenience this car offers us. I miss my little civic, but I know this minivan will be a great tool for our lives, and doesn't have to define us.