Blue book blues

One of the things I really strive for in life is SIMPLICITY. With 4 kids it’s pretty difficult to achieve, but that doesn’t stop me from trying! : )

Ever have times in your life that everything seems to be crazy-hectic though? That’s where I am right now. The new baby, refinancing our home, car shopping, plus all the regular sports/social/girl scouts things that my kids have going on. Of all of those the one that’s really getting to me is the car. I have a 99 Toyota Sienna that I love. I bought it at the end of 1998, after months of research and driving the opposite extreme ( a 69 Volkswagen van, with no heater!) It was the perfect, PERFECT car, but it’s a decade old now and things are starting to wear out. Sigh. I wish I could just keep it forever, but the hubby insists that now is the time to replace it. I hate car shopping. I’m willing to do the whole Consumer reports thing and research the models and safety and all – it’s the car lots I dread. Some people like it, but to me, I’d rather get a tooth pulled with no Novocain! I hate the high pressure sales, the tactics, the outright lies! The reason it disturbs me so much is that it’s in direct contrast to my general opinion of people in the world – I think that people are generally honest and caring. Most people in this beautiful world are good. True there are ‘bad’ people, but usually they are mixed up or selfish, not truly evil. The thing about Car dealers is; it’s their job to steal from you. They are paid to manipulate you into spending the most amount of money they can. They don’t care if you can afford it; if they get you to sign a contract for more than you can pay – they still get their money from the bank so they don’t care if you loose your shirt and hurt your credit. And they are really good at the whole manipulation thing. I’m not a really socially savvy person and I’m a bit naïve, I’m the first to admit it. People and how their minds work are mysterious to me, so I’m a sitting duck for these salesmen! Luckily my hubby is the opposite of me in this regard. He gets people, understands them and can see right through the manipulations. Lucky for me or I’d never own a new car in my life! Anyway, I’ve done the research part and picked out the kind of car I want and hubby is going to do all the negotiations, so I don’t have to do anything. Whew. Man is he a keeper!