Car News

Three weeks ago my car was totaled. I admit that I had been a little too attached to my car. I loved the feel of the leather, the way the seat fit my back perfectly, the responsiveness as I drove. I loved the way she looked. And we had a history together... she went with me when I took Janne down to UofA to begin college, my grandsons loved her "talking map," and we drove over 106,000 miles together- many of them on I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. So the thought of replacing her was rather overwhelming. But the insurance company was NOT going to provide a rental car forever so the "car game"and fervent prayer began in earnest.

Being a permanent resident of Arizona but living temporarily in Maryland presented several challenges. We were not keen on having to register my car twice in two different states in less than six months. Nor were we wanting to drive a brand new car across the country when we return to Arizona. We considered the options:

• Make do with one car for the remainder of our time in Maryland and replace mine when we return to Arizona. - Not very practical since Richard travels between two offices nearly every day so I would be without wheels much of the time.
• Buy a "beater car" for the winter and sell/donate it when we leave Maryland. - Seriously considered... might not be very reliable.
• Buy a two or three year old car and sell it to Jenne and Jacob (as was the plan for my car) when we leave Maryland. - Not having bought a used car before, this option was a little scary!
• Bite the bullet, pick out a new car and buy it. - I despise being in the position of "having" to buy a car. And driving up to a car dealership in a rental car is like blood in the water to a shark. Sigh.

While I prayed for wisdom and for the Lord to show us the right car, Jacob, who is currently deployed in Iraq, got on CraigsList and found a car in Baltimore. Jenne and the kids went with us to look at it, test drive it, etc. A very nice young man who recently returned from his deployment in Afghanistan and is now going to nursing school using the GI bill (yep, both Jenne and I felt a connection with him!) was selling his first new car because he didn't want a car payment for a car he seldom drives. If you've ever been in downtown Baltimore, you understand why he seldom drives. Uncharacteristically quickly, the decision was made to buy the car! It took several weeks to get paperwork finalized and money where it was supposed to be. On Thursday, October 21st we picked up the car!!

Meet Banana Betty... 

... She is a Volkswagon Jetta GLI Fahrenheit Edition (194 out of 1200 made), a 6-speed manual transmission... 

Actually, Jenne and Jacob bought this car to replace Jacob's car that they sold pre-deployment. They are letting us borrow her while we're here in Maryland. Being the better clutch-driver, Richard will drive Banana Betty and I will drive... 

... the rather sedate "permanent" rental car- a Nissan Altima with no name.

We'll replace my car when we return to Arizona.