Thursday, May 28, 2009

Having Second Thoughts

This could be a really long post with a lot of explanation, however since I got no more than a few hours sleep and as a result am dragging I'll keep it short. My husband and I have been looking for a mini-van for a year. I have been hesitant because nothing screams mom-mobile like a mini-van. Plus I am partial to my current car. There are a variety of reasons we were looking at a mini van, more room being the primary reason. The fact that our current car couldn't hold a third kid down the road is a concern.

A few days ago we found the perfect mini-van. Leather interior, navigation, DVD, 6 disc changer, power everything, dual power sliding doors, and a ton of other bells and whistles that aren't necessary, but are nice to have. Plus the price was a great deal. Great deal! Well, we bought it yesterday. I drove it around a bit, ran a few errands and it was great. I like it, the kids like it; it's convenient.

However, all day yesterday I had this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like this unrelenting nervousness that only intensified as the day went on. Regret? Buyer's remorse? I don't know. I couldn't put my finger on it. My husband and I talked it over repeatedly. I think we gave new meaning to "beating a dead horse." We spent hours listing all the pros and cons and every single time we ended up with more pros than cons.

But my gut. I just couldn't discount my gut. I have this spot-on intuition and when something doesn't feel right, it usually isn't. I have managed to avoid some potentially devastating (in a variety of ways) situations based on gut alone. I couldn't sleep last night, I've made lists, and graphs, and budgets. On paper this van is perfect. However, the moment I verbalized my desire to return the car very very late last night, or I guess really it was very early this morning, the knot that had been in my stomach all day unclenched. I could breathe. I felt settled again.

The car is going back.

** On a related note, the first thing my daughter said when she saw the new car was, "It's nice, but I'm sure going to miss our old car."

3 comments:

Nancy said...

You're really going to return it? Even though there are more pros than cons? Is it the cost?
I'm insane with buyer's remorse so I know what you're talking about -- but if there are so many pluses I'm just curious about your decision. Can you get your old car back?

Moxymama said...

We did return it this morning and got our old car back. They had already sent our check off and our plates so we had to cancel the check and have a dealer plate put on our old car until we get ours back. I really was so torn over this and even after feeling totally at peace with this decision I still can't put my finger on why I had such a strong physical reaction. Total amount financed played a part I think, even though it was an amazing deal. Also knowing that it will be at least a year before we have a 3rd kid and if we really want to be paying for something we don't need right this second. I may regret it later because the van is much nicer than my current car, but it just did not feel right. For the first time in a few days I haven't been in knots.

Nancy said...

If you feel better about it, that's what counts! When the time comes that you *need* a new car that will be the time to do it. I HATED my mini van when I first got it many years ago but I grew to love it and we drove it for over 100,000 miles which was a miracle for us!