Chrysler Town & Country LX
Yesterday morning Susan took our 1996 Ford Aerostar van in for an oil change. Last night, we drove home in a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country LX. How do these things happen?
The Aerostar had served us well, but at 10 years old, it was getting a bit long in the tooth. Plus, we were able to pay off our Explorer by folding it into the financing for the new van (the remaining balance on the Explorer was balanced by the trade-in value of the Aerostar plus some discounts we were getting). We figured that with the various repair items that kept coming up (tires, shocks, brakes, etc), we were probably averaging about $100/month in maintenance on anyhow. So that made up for the difference in what we were paying for the Explorer and the new payment for the Town & Country. Additionally, I’m going to be selling my Jetta, which gets rid of the insurance payment for that car (plus the fees for tags, emissions, and maintenance).
The Town & Country has that cool “Stow ‘n Go” seating, that makes the interior of the vehicle like a Transformer. This is particularly handy for us, because we’re usually lugging around Jamie’s wheelchair. The wheelchair fit in the rear of the Aerostar just fine, because it was an extended length vehicle. But most newer vehicles don’t have enough rear cargo space to carry the wheelchair without folding it up, which is kind of a pain in the neck (plus it adds wear-and-tear).
We haven’t had very much time with it yet. But I’m sure that as we get accustomed to it, we’ll be making some observations about the design and usability factors of the new van. And maybe one day I can convince Susan that we need some sort of nifty GPS navigation system. Hey, any excuse for new toys is a good one, right?
Has Georgia been more rational about a DOUGAL license plate?
Hi, Peter!
Actually, yes. We did try to apply for a “DOUGAL” plate earlier, and we were told that it was “unavailable”, so at first I thought it was the same problem. But later, when we were registering another vehicle, Susan asked again, and she was told that “DOUGAL2″ was available. So it looks like “DOUGAL” is acceptible, but already taken. When I renew at the end of the year, I might get “DOUGAL3″, since I’m a “third”.
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Hi Dougal
That van is pretty neat. Got some neat gadgets in it too if I remember rightly? One of my clients had a similar vehicle.
Anyway, hope you have some fun using it!
Cheers
Ross
Make sure that chair is somehow tied down. They can make a mess if they become projectiles. My powerchair went flying across the van when I dropped into a ditch.
And congrats on getting a new van. What’s the MPG?
hell yeah - any excuse is a good one
who needs an excuse, anyway? and it’s always best to be able to actually trade in the vehicle - last van I drove… well, after I was done, the only place we could have traded it in to was a junk yard. note to self: vans tend to fly long distances when they roll at high speeds :X oh, and transformers are fun