Amazing how a few short days can bring so many different things! It started with Friday, we drove to Lethbridge to go and look at some vehicles. In an attempt to not run our van into the ground before we can afford to replace it, we decided to do something a little different than we have been. Our van right now is still in decent condition, but with me driving it to and from Pincher every day, we are really starting to run up the km's on it, not to mention it's costing a small fortune in gas. Our other vehicle is a very old truck that we bought off some very kind friends who helped us out by letting us buy it when we were in a tough spot, it also is costing a small fortune in gas and is just getting too old and having too many recurring problems to justify continuing to fix. We did our research and after discussing with our insurance broker, came to realize that even with insurance on 3 vehicles that are more fuel efficient will save us $ in the long run... That being said, we set a dollar amount for the purchase of two new to us vehicles and set out looking a few weeks ago. We have already found a small car that, as long as it passes inspection this week with no serious issues will become mine! I drive the 4 kids that are in school full time, and it's so rare that we drive all 5 kids anywhere or all 7 of us go anywhere, we are going to save the van for those occasions and use the car otherwise.
Friday was more specifically to replace the work truck. Dave had an idea of what he wanted and had been looking at a specific truck, which when we got there...wasn't there!! We went to talk to the salesman and in the process noticed another truck and inquired about it. We were impressed with his honesty as he explained to us that the truck we had driven there to see ended out having more problems than they had originally thought. He then told us about the truck that was still there. He told us about the issues it did have that needed to be fixed, which were relatively minor, and that he thought we would be happier with this particular truck that was cheaper, newer, and way nicer, it's decked out! We took it for a test drive, and were sold. Thank goodness for the internet at the touch of your fingertips, some quick research on a few different sites showed us we were getting a fantastic price for the features on this truck....we pick it up later this week! So exciting :D We are really happy with National Auto in Lethbridge and when it does come time to replace our minivan, we'll definitely go there first!
We also had someone do something especially kind for one of our kids on Friday...it warms my heart that there are still kind, generous, honest people in this world. Having 5 kids means we can't always do all the things we'd like to for our kids, having someone do something so nice and kind and generous expecting nothing in return....I don't even know how to say Thank You!
Then today showed a bit of the dark side of the world we live in. We listed Dave's old truck on kijiji, it's an honest ad, the truck needs work, and I expect that whoever buys it will haggle us down, guaranteed, and will likely use it for parts. We got a response right away which surprised me, the truck is 21 yrs old! Then, the 'buyer' agreed to the price of the truck sight unseen, weird right? Then he wanted to send us $ for it, right away...wouldn't give his name....would send a 'mover' to get it...could he send us extra cash so we could pay the 'mover' for him?? That was enough for me, again, internet at my fingertips, what a glorious thing! A quick search through Google told me what I suspected was true, this was a scammer. They send $ that looks legit, pick up the vehicle, get it registered and sold again, and by then the bank has figured out that the money was no good, and you are stuck paying it back. For us, we figured it out before any damage was done, but it made me think of how many people would get so excited and fall into this trap, then get stuck having to pay it back. Some people in this world are just sick....
That's the excitement in our household right now! The kids are all back in school, 4 going full time now. The littlest in preschool 2 days a week which he is loving...Dave and M survived a dad and son trip to BC for our nephew's wedding. We are back into craziness full time! I'll post some pics once our 'new' vehicles are in the driveway!
