Much as I did not need a new payment added to my budget, the time has come and I was forced into it.
My car, the 18 year old Volvo I have been driving now for over 8 years, maybe close to 10, crapped out on me on my way home from work last week. I was less than thrilled. While this was never the car I wanted (the ex purchased it for me and it lacked some things I very much wanted, like front wheel drive), it served me well and got me to and from work for a long time now. But it has had some major (as in expensive) things go wrong in the past few years and it still needed somethings that I simply wasn’t ready to handle.
This left me with one of our company vehicles for a night, but it is needed by the sales manager and couldn’t be used by me for more than a day or so. I came to the conclusion it was time for me to purchase a new vehicle. Well new to me anyway.
I wanted a white car, as I have had dark cars and white ones. White doesn’t show dirt like a dark one does. White also stays much cooler than dark ones with the sun beating down on the top all day. In recent years there are 2 cars that have caught my eye, the Kia Soul and the new Ford Fusion. The Fusion was really far out of my reach for monthly payments so that was not an option. I didn’t even think about the Soul, just logged on to the website for the dealership where my sister recently purchased a car, and there it was, on the used car page. Like destiny calling to me, it was a WHITE Keo Soul, 2011 and in great great amazing condition. And in my price range. I wanted her badly, and so I set out to get things in line to purchase her.
Thursday evening I drove my new baby, Henrietta Hamster, off the lot, ALL mine! The best part(s) is that I did it all on my own. No co-signer, no one telling me that I couldn’t have exactly what I wanted, just me me me! Another major step of independence for the Marvelous one, and it felt so good.
I love this car, it is SO me, so much fun to drive, and all mine. I am ecstatic to say the least.
Marti Gardner 
Congratulations! I miss our little Honda CRV that we had before kids. It was a great vehicle, and it was big enough that it still worked when we added 2 kids. But baby #3 meant the dreaded mini van. And then my carefully constructed character of cool…..died. 🙂