New Truck!

We got Ross a new truck! Woohoo!

It's a 2010 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner, access cab with two seats in the back.

We'd been talking for a while about how he would definitely need a new vehicle pre-babies. The Jeep, while very fun, only had two doors and a soft top, neither of which would be practical with kiddos.

At first we figured we'd make this purchase in 2012, a little closer to when we want kids. But then one day it dawned on us that our hopes in 2012 were to go to Europe, possibly start a family, buy a new car and buy a big, new forever-home.

What the hell. We couldn't do that. First, wow, big stressful year. Second, we probably couldn't get financing for a car and house in the same year, let alone make monthly payments on both. And if we actually were to have a baby on the way, we would be in severe need of both. That's when we decided to make 2011 the year of the vehicle.

Ross got excited and started searching online. We definitely thought we would wait more than six days into the new year but he found a dealership that had exactly what he wanted, as determined by weeks of research. We put the Jeep on Craigslist and then this morning headed to the dealership to make sure that this truck he thought he wanted was really all we dreamed.

He drove it and we loved it. The price was right and the on-the-fly trade-in estimate we got was spot on. Add into that a rockin' interest rate and I would say we more stole this truck than bought it. Shortly after lunch we drove off the lot with a new truck. Hurray!

I, for one, am super glad that we were able to land a 2010. The plan had always been for this vehicle we bought, whether we bought it this year or next, to last us at least eight years. I think our chances of that are significantly better since it's a newer truck than we thought we'd get. Also, it's a smaller truck so the gas mileage is pretty good, about 10 miles per gallon better than the Jeep. And though it's small, it has the LATCH system in the back (ie what you secure a baby's carseat with) so it is definitely a family vehicle and should meet our needs for the next eight years.

Verdict: Win.