I'm in love....

With the Mazda5 Touring! We had to say goodbye to my dear friend Benny this week. That little Honda Civic has served me well for 8 years. Wow has it been that long? A good friend of my parents had need of it, and well we have been agonizing over getting a more friendly car so it was a good match for both parties. Poor Nathaniel has had his head bonked several times getting in and out of the Accord. It's also been back breaking to get him in an out for me and Ken. Seriously I was at the chiropractor two times a week for 4 months this last summer/fall! And there are these darn load bearing posts in the middle of our garage that make it difficult to open the doors more than a 25 degree angle unless you park just perfectly and then you get a 40 degree angle to work within. And the passenger side is completely inaccessible so on the weekends, I have to stand outside and wait for Ken to pull the car out before I can get in (quite often in the rain). Any one of these by itself is probably not too much to live with... but add them up and it makes you wonder if it's time to get a new vehicle. What to get, what to get? Something with sliding doors would be nice, something that fits in our garage well. I guess that is our criteria. Now I know that the Honda Odyssey is the fanciest most popular minivan around, but honestly the first time I took it for a test drive I HATED it! Probably had more to do with the totally incompetent salesman who couldn't answer any of my questions and kept telling me it had a cool engine... seriously? You think telling a mom about the engine is going to convince her to buy your car? How about talking about the safety or the ability to carry all your groceries and a stroller at the same time! We test drove the Sienna and I liked it better, but both minivans seems so big and cavernous. Bless my brother and sister in law's heart for having 5 kids (and a pet monkey), but I really don't see us with more than 2 kiddos.... so do we really NEED that big ole minivan? I know everyone who has one loves it, and I'm sure you get used to the size, but I keep asking myself what do I need. Something with sliding doors that fits in the garage. Well guess what Ken found!!! The Mazda5! Even after seeing it in the dark I LOVED it! I love how it drives, it meets my criteria and is significantly cheaper than the minivans we looked at. I could get a brand new one versus a used Odyssey or Sienna and still come out ahead. To make sure I am not just totally running on emotions for this decision, we decided to give a fair shake to the Odyssey and the Sienna one more time (they are probably tired of seeing me again and again). This time I test drove the Odyssey with a friend (who is a salesman there) and I actually thought I like this minivan a lot better than I thought... it must have been Moe's great advice and expertise! And we test drove the Sienna again... another incompetent salesman, and it seemed like it was having issues with the doors not working properly, etc. Then I test drove the Mazda5 again. I LOVE IT! I think it would take a lot to sway me back to either minivan. Ken likes it too. I know it's totally practical, why not splurge a little! Especially if Ken is actually willing to buy the more expensive option for me. I just keep coming back to what do I need. So we are down to one car this week... Nathaniel and I took Ken to work today and maybe will all week... until we can find the right priced Mazda5. We just need to start negotiations. Our phone is ringing off the hook from these Internet salesmen!!!!