New Car

We got the offer for my beat-up Malibu on Friday. Marcel and I went car shopping most of Saturday and test drove a handful of different vehicles. Just like before we got the offer when I was on and off the phone with insurance companies, I was on and off the phone with my mom, because we weren't thinking we'd be car shopping for many years!

The Crazy Story

Monday, we went to test drive a Pontiac Vibe, simply from a picture my mom sent me from the Idaho dealer and 1 commercial I saw, but Pontiac isn't with Chevy here like in Idaho, so they didn't have one. Because of that we test drove another Chevy Malibu & an HHR, just something Marcel threw in for something very different. We were so close to buying the Malibu but I had to take Marcel back to campus for class. I then went to the old Malibu and got the last of the stuff I had in it (took some more pictures of the crazy amount of damage) and authorized the tow company taking it to a salvage yard somewhere. Picked up Marcel and instead of heading back to Chevy to buy the Malibu, we found the Pontiac dealer to test-drive a Vibe. Marcel had to test drive a Mazda 3 to get to the Vibe, because the lot is actually 2 lots about 5 minutes apart. He loved it for the power, but not much else (probably because of my influence on how ugly the interior was!). We both test-drove the Vibe, he a lot longer than I because I really only needed to know if I could see out the mirrors, the sun shade didn't take up the whole windshield, I could reach the radio and heat/AC buttons, and the interior was pretty. He was at first disappointed with the power of it until he realized he was going 60 much faster than he expected. It quickly became clear that we both enjoying driving and riding in the Vibe than the Malibu--so our decision was made!

There were still so many decisions to be made...Marcel and I had been judged/stereotyped/looked at funny (insert correct word here) before we'd even get out of the car at each dealer we went to, and with our blessing, my mom and stepdad will actually be the ones working with the Idaho dealer to get us the car. We used the dealer's website to figure out which of the 10 we wanted. As soon as we get the check from the "guilty" guy's insurance, they'll head down and pick up the Bailey's new car--I'm less than 2 months away from being a Bailey!

The new car

2009 Pontiac Vibe

Wrong color, but the picture is just from online

Through the entire process of dealing with insurance companies, my mom was working hard to remind me that something good was going to come of it, somehow someway. After our hectic day of car shopping and me being very stressed all Monday morning almost buying a car, I feel so much relief after finally deciding what we'll be getting. Like I said before, it's only a few years earlier than Marcel and I ever imagined buying a new car, we are grateful we found a car we LOVE and can afford, even very early in our marriage that has yet to start!

Always remember the lesson we learned in this unpredictable situation:
God won't give you something you can't handle and there's a silver lining to EVERY situation!