Life is a Highway....

After careful deliberation, endless research and some pretty savvy haggling (thanks to B)....we FINALLY bought a car last night!!  We quickly realized after moving to the suburbs in February that our schedules were not conducive to being a one-car family.  The whole commuting-together-to-work thing sounded better on paper than it did in reality!  I pictured us holding hands and cuddling in the seats while we read the morning paper together.....ha!  B works ungodly hours and it just didn't make sense for me to drive him to the train really early in the morning, then drive back a few hours later (when I have to be in the office), and repeat the same song and dance after work.  I was going back and forth to the train station so many times a day that I felt like I could do it in my sleep - and sometimes I did!  Well...not exactly...but I wasn't far from it! 

We also decided that it would be beneficial to get a bigger vehicle that we could use for taking trash to the dump (yes, Hingham is a no-trash-pick-up-town..crazy, huh?) and for our multiple trips to/from Home Depot (which is every weekend, and often multiple times at that).  We used to have a Chevy Silverado, which we loved, but it was not very good on gas mileage.  Ok, it was down right bad!  But we loved it nonetheless.  The size was right, but we also needed to consider how the car would function as a baby-transporter....and as much as I love trucks, they tend to sit a little higher off the ground (with 20+ in. wheels) which means that it would be a pain to try and lift a baby in and out everyday. 

So...that brought us to SUVs.

Our first look was the Toyota 4Runner.  Perfect size, good gas mileage (17 city/23 hwy)...for an SUV.... and nice looking to boot!  We test drove the different models; Trail, SR5 and Limited and they were all pretty smooth.  Great turning ratio too.  I can't believe I just said that.  The Trail had a slightly rougher ride since it is an off-road vehicle, but the rugged feel was kind of cool!  Overall, we liked them all, though. 

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Next, we checked out the Nissan Pathfinders.  They are a similar size to the 4Runner, but they have a 3rd row seat (which is awesome)!  They actually have a lot of leg room and head room inside as well...more so than the 4Runner, but they are lacking in the mileage department (15 city/22 hwy).  It's not a huge difference, but that was definitely important to us since we left poor truck a few years back for that very reason -- although, I must say that the truck was only getting an average of 13 miles to the gallon when we sold it...EEK!  So, this was definitely in the running as well.

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Finally, we turned to the Honda Pilot.  Friends of ours (and our neighbors) each own one and have raved about them!  We took one for a test drive and were pretty impressed.  Leather and a moonroof come standard on the model that we were looking at (the one that was comparable to the Pathfinder and the SR5 4Runner), plus they had ones available with RES (Rear-Entertainment-Systems).....WOHOOO!!  My thinking was that it would be great for kids down the road....but all B could think of is lying in the backseat on long drives to watch movies while I man the helm.....Um, no dice honey!  And on top of all that, it came in at 18 city/23 hwy for gas mileage.  Definitely on par with the 4Runner, but the price was a little lower.  Which is the most important part, really.  Other than safety, that is.  And thankfully, the Pilot has great crash test ratings and a full package of front and side airbags!  Perfect for our (hopefully) budding family!

So....we swindled our way into a brand new 2011 Honda Pilot EX-L.....EEEE!!!!  And for a great price too!!

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(Side note: Please ignore the creepy man in the car....)

Isn't it cute??  There is a third row seat and a 6-disc CD changer....oh yea, and did I mention the RES system??  L.O.V.E it!  I have never owned a brand new car and I feel like a kid on Christmas.  I can't tell you how excited I am.  We pick her up on Friday!  Oh, and get this....the dealership does the registration, license plate and handles contacting our insurance company it to our existing policy....WHAT!!??  I know.  That's what I said.  I mean, obviously you still have to pay for those things, but wow.  I am happy to pay someone to do that and not wait in the 4 hr line at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.  Any day.  Thank you!

At the end of the day, we were able to get the best, most affordable deal with the Honda Pilot.  We loved the other options too, but it just didn't work out for us.  This car was definitely the best way to go for our current budget, lifestyle and, we think, our future budget and lifestyle.  Plus, Honda has really great coverage for their vehicles, so we shouldn't have to worry about any repairs on it for the next 7 years!!  YAY.  I'll update you more as I can acquainted with her though....  :)

Oh, and I'm not sure if the photo above is the exact year and model, but it looks pretty similar to that....especially the color (which honestly, was all that mattered to me......well, other than the safety part).  While B negotiated the price, I spent my time debating whether it would be too boring to have two cars the same color.  And....what if they weren't EXACTLY the same color.  That would be WORSE!  Right?  Can you imagine if they were just a shade or two off....oh boy.  Haha.  At one point, B and the sales guy looked over at me in disgust as I stared at the two vehicles parked next to each other (yes, I made B drive our car over to the new one to compare)!!  Ok, I might be a little crazy, but these two cars need to live in harmony in our driveway for a loooooong time now, so I thought we should at least check them out side-by-side first.  Good news, though, they match!!  Originally I was going for the black one but since they didn't have one in stock, I thought that the gunmetal color would do.  "It's sharp," though, as my mom would say!  :)