We have decided, mostly, to get a new car. The Outback has served us well for two and half years, but after replacing the transmission, the engine is leaking oil and acting up. Trips to two different mechanics gave us two different diagnosis:

1. Leaky head gasket. Cost to replace: $1200.
2. Small oil leak, nothing to worry about. No work needed.

I was worried our second opinion would find something, anything, but alas, no, and I don’t feel any better or worse about what our local mechanic told us about the head gasket. So, after furiously crunching numbers, we decided that maybe, just maybe, we could get a new car. We’d take a hit on the Outback, certainly, especially if it needed significant repairs, but even with repairs, its value was plummenting. So we did what we usually do when faced a big, tough decision about money.

We ignored it.

Sure, we researched cars online. We talked to friends. Got advice. But we never took that step to actually look at cars at the dealer. We’ve only purchased one car at a dealer (the Outback), and I hated the experience. I don’t like working with sales people, as I am not a fan of bartering. I certainly like the idea, but when it comes time to actually haggle, I turn into Mr. Nice Guy and rarely press my demands (thankfully we used a real estate agent to purchase the house lest we paid over what the sellers’ wanted). I absoluted hated the drama that was the Outback purchase — we wanted more money for the trade-in. They didn’t want to give it to us. We wouldn’t buy the car. The salesman would “go talk to his manager.” He’d come back with a slightly higher trade in value. Umm, sorry. “I’ll be right back.” Five minutes the price was inching closer to what we wanted, but at this point, I was tired of the shenanigans and decided another 2% wouldn’t break the bank.

So last night we decided to finally look at cars. Well, at least one car, the Scion xB. Yes, you read that correctly. The Scion. The box on wheels. The hipster grocery getter. My only defense will be this: find another car for under $15,000 that has the same options and reliability record. Good luck. So we dropped the boy at the grandparents and went on our way to the dealer. Any hopes of actually test driving one vanished, as the dealer only had one car in stock, and it was floor model. Humm. So we talked with the salesman for a bit, he told us what we needed to know, and said if we really wanted to test drive one of these, we’d need to put a deposit on one that was in transit to reserve it. We wouldn’t be contractually obligated to buy the car (given that most of these are sold before the even arrive, the dealer isn’t concerned about getting stuck with the car). Given that this was a reconnoissance mission, I wasn’t ready to sign on the dotted line, and we walked away (though I suspect we’ll be calling back sooner rather than later).

I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me doesn’t like the idea of getting a new car. What’s wrong with the Outback? Sure, we may to repair it, but that cost doesn’t last as long as new car payments. But then, think of the positives. We’re getting a car that is smaller and more fuel efficient. This could be the last car we buy for a long, long time (we said that about the Outback too). We’d have a car that Jen could actually rely on (unlike the Outback, which has stranded her before).

Humm.

About the communication bit…

As Jen pointed out, the boy is speaking more and more. The “switch” his doctor and speech therapist have talked about has finally been toggled, and he’s speaking in short sentences — “in baby pool! walk in rain!” — and picking up new words constantly (note to self: watch what you say, lest it get repeated to a grandparent). It is truly amazing however, especially after his rather late start with verbal speech.

Posted on 20 July 2005