Random Thoughts

We've been thinking about buying a new car for some time now, and we've finally decided to take the plunge. While we haven't narrowed it down to a specific car yet, we are just looking at Volvo models now. From the reviews, it sounds like you just can't beat a Volvo for safety and reliability. We're planning on keeping this car for a long time. Maybe, we'll even be able to teach the kids to drive in it. I'm not sure there's anything else out there that could possibly last longer.

It's taken us awhile to decide whether or not we could fit a car payment into our budget. Our current vehicle is paid for, but we're spending almost as much as a new car payment in the mechanic's shop just about every month. To make it even worse, I've started to worry about whether or not it will break down again every time I pull out of the driveway. We're just hoping that we can spend a little more upfront on a reliable car and save some money on the back end by not having any more repair bills for a long time. I guess we'll see over time how this great experiment works out.

So far, we've only been shopping online. Of course, we plan on test driving a few cars before we make our final decision, but we're dreading the face-to-face meeting with the salesperson at the car dealership. This time should be different than last time. We've found a site that will even tell us what everyone else in our area is paying for a specific car. We're hoping that we can walk in the dealership knowing what we can reasonably offer for a specific car and the negotiations will be easy. If not, we'll move on and try the next dealership on our list.