Car drama

The morning of Saturday the 5th, Josh was leaving to go to work. He came back up stairs and I thought he had forgotten something. He opens the door, looks at my car keys, and then asks me, "Where's your car? Your car's not in the stall." Fantastic, my car had been stolen. The car had a security chip that had to be in in order to start the car. That was upstairs in the house on my key ring so I was really confused as to how someone could steal it. I suggested to Josh that maybe some teenagers were pulling a prank and had just put the car into neutral and then pushed it somewhere. Josh drove around our complex but couldn't see it. He came back upstairs and called the police to report it stolen. He had to work that day so I was stuck in my house until that evening. Thankfully, I didn't have anything absolutely vital to do, and I had done my shopping for the next week already, so for that day, it was really more of an annoyance.

We had already had plans to go on a double date with some friends, and we were still able to do that. While we were in the movie, we got a call from the police department saying that the car had been found in Murray. It was not driveable, however, so the police just had it towed. We weren't too happy about that, because that meant we would have to pay a towing charge on top of whatever else it would cost to fix it, when Josh could've just towed it with his truck. I called the towing company to ask what was wrong with it and they said that the ignition had been ripped out and the steering column would probably need to be replaced. It was good that it wasn't completely stripped, but still, not fun news to get.

On Monday I did a bunch of research. The towing company told me I had to go get a state tax release (or something) from the DMV on Monday and bring it there in order to get my car. I called the DMV to see how much that would cost and what I would have to do to get it (oh, with no car because Josh was working, and no car seats because they were in the stolen car. Great.). I was very happy that they wouldn't charge me to get the state tax release because the car had been stolen, but not so happy when I called the towing company. They were going to charge me $254 just to get it out, and it was $25 a day to store it there. I would also have to pay a towing charge to get it to wherever it was going to go. Then I called the car shop we usually go to to ask them how much it would be to fix it. They couldn't give me an exact estimate without seeing the car, but the guy I talked to said it would be probably be at least $500 to fix, if not more. All told, I would have to spend at least $800 to get my car back. Josh and I had been planning on replacing it within the year, so we decided it wasn't worth getting back and fixing, when we could use that money towards a down payment.

One of my good friends, Amanda, was so helpful and let us not only borrow an old car seat she had, but she also let us borrow her mom's car (who doesn't really drive much) for a few days until we figured things out. She really was such a life saver!

On Wednesday evening we were able to go to Carmax and look at cars. I had looked at their inventory online and thought I knew which one we wanted. Josh wanted to look at others, though, before we made a final decision. We wanted a bigger car that sat 6 or 7. We were planning on getting a car that would last for a while and one that would still work for us when we have more kids. With that and our price range in mind, our choices were fairly limited. One of the first things I said when we told the sales man what we were looking for is that I did NOT want a mini van. I know they're practical, and totally designed for families, but I just was not quite ready to give in yet. He and Josh convinced me to at least look at one, though. We looked at 4 or 5 cars and then I decided to test drive 2. Josh told me it was up to me because I'd be the one driving it most of the time. I test drove the mini van we looked at (yes, I know) and the car I originally thought I wanted, a Chevy Trail Blazer. The mini van (Chevy Uplander) was a 2008 with only 84k miles on it and was in really good condition. It sat 7 and was very roomy and would be easy to get kids in and out of. The Trail Blazer was a 2004 with only 88k miles that also sat 7, but you had to fold down one of the middle seats to get to the back row. After driving the Uplander, the Trail Blazer seemed so old and not as nice. I really hated to admit it, but the Uplander really was the better car and the better value (it was $1000 less than the Trail Blazer). I very reluctantly said we should probably get the Uplander and I officially became one of those moms. I know it's illogical, but some how driving a mini van makes me feel older and far less cool (like my 15 year old silver and black Civic was so awesome...). Ugh. I knew deep down it would probably happen eventually, but I just wasn't ready for it.

Today I went to the tow yard to sign over my title to them so they could sell the car for parts. I looked through it to see if there was anything worth taking home with me. They had stolen the car seats which I was honestly more upset about than the car. That may seem silly, but I was already planning on replacing my car but I wasn't planning on replacing the car seats. I had just bought a big Costco pack of toilet paper and garbage bags the day before the car was stolen that I hadn't taken in the house yet. I looked in the trunk today they had stolen those, too. Really??? You needed toilet paper that bad? Ugh. Some people.

Here is a link to a really funny video about mini vans.

The inside of the stolen car showing the missing ignition

 The new car. It's so hot, right? ;)

 Me in the new ride