Something I previously did in Dec. 2002...

...was purchase a car. It was a 2001 Chevy Malibu sedan that I purchased with only 27,700 miles for only $9,200 from Suderman's in Midland. It served me well for a long time. There were times I had to push the car through some tough conditions but it came through everytime - those as the car got older I think it protested a bit.That was then.

Now, the car has nearly 182,000 miles with new little glitches happening frequently. This last week, I found some new rust and realized that the power mirrors no longer worked. I already had been looking for a bit for the next vehicle but by the time I found the latest glitch its fate was sealed.

Enter Suderman's again... Once again, they had their eyes out looking for another vehicle for me. This time I was looking for something different. My vehicles over the last 10 years have been sedans or the equivalent so it was time to head in a new direction -- minivans. I wanted a van over an SUV for the mileage and safety factor and I chose one over crossovers for the room and versatility. They found one for me - a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with 48,000 miles that I ended up buying for $12,656. Five years of payments should end up around $246 monthly which I think is a bargain though I understand used cars are starting to become less of a bargain then they were. I think I got this in time...

Here are the first set of photos of the van I took yesterday and today alongside the final set of Malibu pics I took yesterday before trading it in.

Front

If you look closely, you can see rust on the hood of the Malibu that started around 80,000 miles ago.

Front tires were new just before the snow arrived.

Rear

Cargo Area

The van has "Stow-n-Go" which allows the back seats to be folded into the floor. With the rear seats up, this offers storage below the floor as shown here. I have a few things there already including geocaching stuff and bottles to take back to the store.

Dashboard
The steering wheel was already starting to be worn on the Malibu when I got it at 27,000 miles. I'm already used to not having the shift lever on the floor.

Gauges

Both are simple and direct with speedometer, tachometer, gas gauge, and engine temp gauge. They say at nighttime you can't tell those are white gauges. They're right.

Miles

Malibu miles --> 181,956

Grand Caravan miles --> 48,361.

I've been averaging 25,000 miles a year.

Stereo System / Climate Control

I was lucky to even get a cassette deck on the Malibu, now I have a CD too. I'll like the seperate driver / passenger temp controls. There's one for the rear seat passengers too.

Engine Compartment
Everything on the Malibu was easy to reach but was never able to access the transmission fluid (by GM's design). Some might be a little tougher to get to on the Caravan but everything looks like it's marked in bright yellow.

That's all for now. I'm sure I'll be keeping y'all appraised as to how the van is coming along in coming years.