We got it! We got it! We got it!!

Pin It   You probably have noticed that I kind of fell off the face of the earth for a few days. Everything is fine! We just had something going on that I wanted to tell you about but couldn't until it was all done and settled. And the reason for it is this:

   Yes, we got a minivan!!! At the beginning of this month Hubby got a very nice bonus which brought our savings in a Car Fund to about $12000. So we decided that it's time to start looking to see what's out there. We did quite a bit of research and set our hearts on either Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey, used but in good condition, no more than 5 years old and with less than 80000 miles on it. We realized that our original goal of saving $15000 was a bit of a stretch (they usually go for 16-18 grand before all the taxes and dealership fees) but we were hopeful. We weren't going to buy anything yet but we just couldn't pass on this deal!

   It's a 2008 Honda Odyssey with 73000 miles and in great condition. And in my husband's favorite color :) Sorry for a blurry picture. The owners (we bought from an owner, not a dealership thus saving us tons of money on all the fees) are moving to New Zealand because that's where they are from, and couldn't take their minivan with them. I saw a listing 30 min. after they posted it on KSL (local analog to Craigslist) and we were the first to call. Within the day they had more than 200 others interested!! The reason is the price. We bought it for a few dollars short of $14000 which is even below the Blue Book value. The car and even more the loan on it was really holding them back so they priced it to sell. And I believe we got an amazing deal saving us at least 3-5 thousand dollars!!

   After some discussion we decided to pay cash for it. We didn't have enough in our car fund so we "borrowed" from  EF. We try to have at least 3 months worth of expenses in our EF so we'll try to put this money back very soon. But we just couldn't pass on this deal! Considering the condition of the car, it's a real steal! It took us a few days to figure all the paperwork out because they still had a loan with our Oh-so-favorite Wells Fargo(thick layer of sarcasm here...)but we finally have a title in our hands. We are very excited! Now I just need to learn to drive this humongous car...