New Van

We've been needing to get a new vehicle for awhile--since we took our mini-van in for its 100,000 mile check-up and the mechanic said the work needed would cost more than the van was worth. We decided to look into getting a bigger van (12 passenger) for more space. Every seat in our mini-van is full. We can't take a friend home or carpool with someone. It's also hard to travel in our mini-van. Every inch of space is used for luggage, coolers or backpacks. We started saving money (originally intended for our 3-6 months savings), and I started looking on Craig's list and other sites.

My mom recently bought a car and used a "vehicle sales and leasing specialist." I've never heard of them, but they are kind of like a realtor for cars. You tell them what kind of car you are looking for and they help you find it. That is only kind of right. They have a "car lot" but I'm not sure how they get the cars and then people can buy cars from their lot. We decided to try the specialist that my mom used. He was fantastic! He emailed me about 2 vans and the 2nd one was the one that we bought. He took all the hassle out of buying a vehicle. He had great customer service skills and was willing to work with us. We recommend him to anyone who plans on buying a car. His name is James Gipson and he works for Arizona Fleet. Call him at 602-889-5964 or visit their site at www.arizonafleet.com.

Our van is a Chevy Express. I took this picture at night, so it's hard to see, but it's huge! It's tan-ish in color. The kids love having a new van. There are a few things to get used to when driving a bigger vehicle--parking, lane changing, turning corners. I think I'm getting the hang of it, though. I am also having to get used to there being only 1 door for the kids to get in and out of. And we don't have keyless entry yet, so I have to rememeber to lock all the doors everytime we get out of the van.