Bells and Whistles

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! We bought an SUV!! I've never been so scared in my life! This is the first time we've ever purchased a vehicle worth more than $7,000. I know we plan to keep this one for a long time, but it still makes me nervous. What makes me even more nervous is that we bought this car with the expectation that Travis will be getting his Journeyman's raise. Nothing has happened to tell us he won't get this. I'm just worried about how long it will take to get! Travis got a letter in the mail this past Saturday from the State of Texas regarding his Journeyman's license saying that he didn't include sufficient information about his previous employer. He called them to make sure he knew exactly what they needed, so hopefully I'll be sending that fax out tomorrow evening. Travis has another turn around at work coming up in May (around the time our new auto payments start) and he's hoping to get his new license before then. It does help a little that I got a raise. Mine is not as significant as his will be, but every little bit helps!

Last night we ran up to the Nissan dealership near our house to see if they had anything in the lot that wasn't up online. Turns out they did! I spent all day yesterday looking for a 2006 Nissan Murano that was one of the three colors I like, with leather seats. DO YOU KNOW HOW FRUSTRATING THAT WAS?! I was sure that we'd have to drive to another state to find what I wanted and I don't feel like it was that crazy of a request. I'm thinking it was just that what I wanted was a popular demand. Well, we got lucky and they had a black 2006 Murano SL with black leather interior AND A SUNROOF that was traded in yesterday!! We grabbed it right up! The downfall is that since it was turned in just yesterday they hadn't had a chance to clean it up or do the Nissan certification yet. Travis is bringing it back in on Friday to take care of all the kinks. It will be fun for him because he gets to pick a vehicle off their lot to drive while the SUV is getting fixed. =)

One good thing is they had a deal of a $1000 rebate that was ending yesterday (end of the Nissan fiscal year). I took some photos, even though I probably should have waited until it has been cleaned up. I am just sooo excited I couldn't wait! On Friday they are going to clean the inside and outside, replace the front tires and fix a dent in the front bumper. Travis took some photos of a few scratches and is going to point them out. Plus, they will look for anything else that may be wrong. We decided to get the Bumper to Bumper warranty and the car service warranty (which covers oil changes and basic maintenance). Basically, if anything goes wrong on this SUV for the next four years, the most we'll pay is a $100 deductible. While shopping around I found that this vehicle really holds its value well, so if we decide to trade it in a couple of years it should be worth our money.

Driving home from the dealership last night was hilarious. I figured out where the fundamental buttons were before I began driving, but I started to notice all these other buttons I hadn't seen before or that I didn't know how to use. I sat in the hotel parking lot with David while we figured most everything out. I was thinking I'd be bringing in the manual to read at lunch today, but when I got up this morning Travis told me he set up the garage door opener for me (the buttons are in the rear view mirror!). Despite having a softball game from 10-11pm, he stayed up until 12:30 in the morning messing around with everything! I hate that I get to drive this awesome new vehicle and he is stuck with his same old S10 truck. I hope that he gets his new dream truck in a few years!!! Well, here she is!

I still can't believe we got it.