I cannot believe I am considering this!

Let me start off by saying I hate, HATE, hate mini vans. I always said I would NEVER drive one.

Yea, you can see where this is going....

I am actually considering buying a mini van. It is amazing the things you do once kids are in the picture.

Jerrod's car is on its last legs. It is 18 years old, after all!! We have been having to replace small things here and there. It seems like we have to spend a couple hundred dollars on it every couple of months. Now the heater does not work and Jerrod said one day last week it sounded like a piston was mis-firing. Sure, it could just be a sensor and a spark plug, but it could also be something major. We have put off replacing it because we know we would not get anything for it anyway, so we might as well drive it until it dies. Well, I think it is dying.

I had my mind made up for MONTHS now that I was going to get a Toyota Rav4 when that day finally came. (Jerrod gets my car and I get the new one.) I really wanted a Highlander, but could not justify the price. I was worried about the Rav4 having enough room for us, especially if we have more kids. We drive vehicles until they die, so we would have it a while. Jerrod has been trying to get me into a mini van for YEARS! I have adamantly refused for just as long. BUT, in the back of my mind, I knew a mini van was probably the smartest vehicle to get, I just reused to admit it.

Well, I think I am finally admitting it. We took Jerrod's grandparent's van on our trip this weekend and it was not like the mini vans I remember! It was so nice having the extra room and the fact all 5 of us, and all our stuff, could comfortably fit in to it. I DON"T like the looks of the mini van though. But all the extra space for stuff and people really has it's appeal, ESPECIALLY if we have more kids. It also drove really nice and the inside was very car-like then the mini vans my parents had.

There is ONLY one mini van I would even consider driving, the Nissan Quest. It looks more like a crossover than a mini van. So I did some researching on it today. I must say, I really like it. What I don't like is the price. It is more than a Rav4 would cost. It also has limited availability, since just not many people are buying them, so used inventory is even smaller. (we just cannot afford a new one) But, I have found a dealership that has two 2005 Quests in stock. They have low miles and not a bad price. I think I might be making a trip over there to test drive one, just to see if I could stand owning one.

I feel like such a sell-out and hypocrite. But the more I look and the more I think about it, a mini van is probably the best choice for our family. BLAH..... I hate being responsible!