From Mr. Handsome:
Last week I got in a wreck on a slick road. It was a minor accident but just enough for the insurance company to consider my 13-year-old vehicle to be totaled.
I was a little concerned when I called Ellie because I didn’t know how she would respond to the news. Would she be distraught about the fact that I could have been hurt? Would she break down in tears thinking about the finances?
My mind went to the worst possible scenarios about how the conversation could go. But I could not have been prepared for the trauma that the phone call would cause. As I told Ellie no one was hurt but that the car was totaled, I almost lost my hearing as she squealed “We can finally buy a minivan!”
My mind instantly became flooded with horrifying images: Cheerios scattered across the floor mats, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches rotting between the seats, juice boxes spilling on the upholstery, banana peels decomposing in the seat-back pockets, fold-down TV screens playing the same movies over and over, and soiled diapers everywhere.
“Honey I think I misheard you,” I chuckled. “For a second I thought you said something about a minivan? My hearing must be off after the accident.”
“You heard me correctly.” Ellie explained, joyfully. “I have been thinking how crowded everything is with Little Buddy and the car seat and all his stuff. And since we are planning on growing our family, we will need a car that is big enough for expansion.”
And with that, my worst fears were realized.
How many of you are familiar with the Man Code? It is a list of things that you simply don’t do as a man, such as enjoying the taste of vegetables, paying someone to mow your lawn, listening to Brittany Spears, or watching a Hallmark movie. And if you do find yourself doing one of those things, you certainly don’t admit it to your male friends. Anyways, at the very top of that list is one thing you should never do as a man: Buy a Minivan.
A minivan is simply the worst vehicle on the market. It’s not a hot sports car. It’s not a manly truck. It’s not even a real van! As any good homeschool family school, my family had a real van growing up. And by real van, I mean a 15 passenger. Honestly I would rather just go straight to that rather than buy a vehicle that is too big to be a car but too small to be a real van.
I decided that it was time to take a stand. “Ellie I am sorry, but I need to put my foot down. Under no circumstance will we be buying a minivan.”
So anyways, the next day we were at the auto dealer to buy a minivan. I will tell you all about it in the next blog post, but before that I would like to hear your thoughts on minivans?
I had an accident in January, luckily I and my two boys all got out safely. Car was totaled. I went looking for a car while my husband was at work. He asked me not to look at mini vans but i did. I didn’t find one I liked but I got a nice 3 row SVU. I feel like it was a nice compromise between a mini van and SVU. I like having the extra space, even though we don’t use the 3rd row much and it’s mainly laying down, we have had to have the seats up to use. I found my mommy dream car but it was unforently out of our price range but I was able to find the perfect mommy car.
Ok mister your man card has now been revoked lol, just kidding, actually for a young growing family it is a wise choice. Soon you will be having more little ones to fill up the extra space that a minivan provides you. It will be good for extra room for packing for day trips or vacations because as your family grows so will your need for extra rooml grow too. So congratulations on your new practical vehicle!
I believed this story up to the point where you said something about finances. Anyone who can afford vacations to the beach, season memberships to Cheekwood, and adding more children should be able to afford a vehicle, especially with what insurance will cover for the wreck. I hope the minivan you got was brand new, because you should have something new and reliable if you’re hauling around a family.
Get the minivan and let Ellie stuff it with those things. Then get yourself a snazzy little 2-seater sports car, stick shift, convertible, European. We own one of those, along with a fleet of other vehicles. Unless you own something from every category (sports car, sedan, mini van, SUV, and truck), there will always be a missing piece. There’s no reason not to buy a sports car, because once you own one, you’ll see you were wrong not to get it sooner. Not kidding. Post here when you have it.
Everyone has different priorities regarding what they spend money on. There’s nothing wrong with being conservative in some areas while being willing to spend more in others. Ellie neither claims to be struggling financially or brags about being well-to-do. Just because they spend money on family experiences doesn’t mean they can’t try to save money in other areas.
Mini vans are nice, but I agree with Mr. H. 15 passenger vans are the way to go. So happy that y’all found a good deal! 🙂
There are some nice looking minivans now with convenient features. It’s the clear choice if you need cargo space.
One thing to consider is whether your family has motion sickness. Sitting in the third row can sometimes make people feel nauseous.
An SUV is always an option if you’re absolutely anti- minivan. Getting one with two rows in the back gives you needed trunk space when the row furthest back is down. Not as much room as a minivan but is a good vehicle to grow into.
LOL. I remember getting our first minivan when we had our babies. I was SO excited. It’s a right of passage I guess. Maybe it’s a woman thing. But boy once you get used to all that space you never want to go back to a small car again!
It’s okay, I had to get over getting a minivan too, as a young Mom of 23 years of a couple of little ones. But one thing is for sure- it sure is comfortable!!!
Mr. Handsome, I’m glad that you were not hurt. I can’t give you my thought because we never owned a minivan. What color is your minivan?
There comes a day where every person who becomes a parent looks at a carseat, diaper bag, countless toys and other baby items and realizes the only way to make space is to buy a minivan, the one thing they swore to never purchase.
It’s not possible to be cool in a mini van.
But does a husband or wife with a spouse or family really need to be cool?
We have several family members who love their minivans. Our daughter, son and my sister all love them.
Don’t need a mini van unless your having about 10 kids. What did we do before mini vans. We surived.
We had big station wagons and people with large families would let the littlest ones roll around in the back, no car seats and no seatbelts. I actually rode to a private kindergarten with school-provided transportation like that. Those were the days. You don’t see station wagons any more. SUV’s and minivans have taken over.
We had station wagons!
I’ll take minivans and progress any day. Anonymous 9:30, not all of us were fine. We rolled around or tried to stand up right between the parents without seatbelts (an acquaintance of mine lost her little boy that way when he flew out of the car in an accident); we could open the doors without childproof locks (my friend broke her arm that way when she was little).
We had two different ones when our children were young – a Chevy Venture and a Ford Windstar. The Venture actually had built in car seats for our young kids (not infants) and it was nice. They were so helpful when our children were young. Now we still drive SUVs even though our kids are adults. You won’t regret the decision.
Mr Handsome,
Remember – happy wife, happy life.
Well played Ellie!
Only have 2 kids, on my SECOND minivan, and no regrets. My husband and I have loved every second of having them. I guess we’re not cool, but we don’t care! They are fabulous to drive and use. Both Toyota Siennas. You will enjoy I think!
I believe it. A new car is an unexpected $30,000+ expense. You can budget for expanding family expenses, vacations, and memberships. They can afford it, but there is still a question of how someone will initially react to a financial hit. Fortunately, Ellie was thinking about getting a new vehicle.
We never had an unexpected new car expense. If we had to have car payments, or if loan interest rates were lower than what our investments were making, then as soon as we paid the car off, we kept putting that much into a savings account each month. So if our payments were $500, we put $500 a month into a savings account earmarked for a car. When it came time for a new car, either we had a nice down payment or the entire cost of the car already saved, or else we’d find another low-cost loan and put the money saved into an investment that drew more interest or dividends. Make sense? In other words, once you’re making a car payment and the car is paid off, keep saving that amount. If you didn’t miss it when you were making the car payments, you won’t miss it by putting it into savings.
Glad you are okay. God Bless.
Joan,Marion and Marilyn
Minivans are THE BEST. They’re not just for carpooling kids, they’re great for bringing home manly stuff from Home Depot. I’m on my second, and I’m sure I’ll get a third someday so I can drive around all the grandkids I’m going to have.
Someday get the sports car too.
I am single, and i own a minivan, because i am disabled and i got a lift installed for my mobility scooter. A minivan would be beneficial if you have young children, to get them in and out of car seat, carry strollers and the rest. It saves your back and you have better access from side doors. I bought mine second hand, definitely more affordable than brand new.
My husband is counting the days until we buy a minivan. Right now we are sharing his truck because the toddler car seat in the rear facing position does not fit in my matchbox car. When we both need a vehicle, he has to take the car. We chose to only have one car payment at a time so we are working hard to pay his truck off early. He looks really sad when I drive off in the Silverado and leave him with my old rusty car. Lol. Minivans have a lot of nice features that moms love!
Glad you are ok. Men look silly driving minivans. Get yourself something else and let Ellie drive it.
That is not true! My hubby likes our minivan and thinks it’s luxury to sit into and drive around. It’s easy to get in and out of and drives great. I don’t know how minivans get so much hate. I love the look of a new Honda Odyssey!
Be careful if you’ve never driven a minivan before. Your center of gravity is higher. I was sitting at a red light one time when some woman, probably on the phone, came around the corner, misjudged where her lane was, hit the curb, clipped a fire hydrant, and the van tipped over on it side in slow motion. Two lessons here – pay attention, and minivans can roll over. You can check your vehicle’s safety rating on the NHTSA’s website.
The day my hubby and I bought our minivan, I considered myself an official adult!!(LOL). Seriously, when you have kids, a minivan is truly the best vehicle you can drive. It will hold pretty much anything you need to transport. My best friend bought one just before her daughter started kindergarten. When her daughter went to college 13 years later, my friend and her hubby took their daughter to college in the same minivan!! Good luck finding the right car for your family!
HHhmmmmm……have you really embraced your role as a father? That maybe an area for you to work on. If you are finding it hard to let go of your single image or your yuppie couple image then try harder, there is a whole new image for you to fit into now.
So true! Becoming a father or mother is life changing. Changing from our former into what God has for us now.
We have 4 children and my Toyota Sienna is like my 5th child, ha! We got it when I was pregnant with our fourth and I treat It like my baby! Love it so much! My hubby was very sweet about getting it for me:)
2 kids here and I have a minivan. Can’t imagine life without it. I roll up to school, push a button to open the door, they hop out, push button again to close door and I’m on my way. School doesn’t like parents to park and get out and fumble around with doors so the sliding doors makes it insanely easy.
LOL! Love the post. Actually, I drove a mini-van in college (family hand-me-down), and it was a well loved vehicle for our road trips. If a young twenty-something can drive one and be cool, so can you! 😁
Guess I’m the only one here who had the original minivan, the VW Bus. We got it used and cheap when someone we knew was shipping out overseas and the vehicle needed a good new home. That thing was HUGE inside. It was OK, if you overlooked the facts that (1) it didn’t have much heat and had no a/c, (2) a strong wind could roll it over, and (3) top speed was about 35mph! Downhill, slightly faster. They’re actually bringing back the VW Bus for European markets in 2022, and it’ll be electric. It’s cute – I’ve seen it online.
I loved my mini van. We got a station wagon when number one son was born. It was great till I was an appraiser driving all over the place and got hit by an 18 wheeler. It bent the frame but they still didn’t total it. It was never the same. Then we had an Eagle Summit which looked like a very tiny van, complete with the sliding door. I loved that vehicle, but it wasn’t that well made. I briefly drove a leased Mazda with manual transmission when the Eagle died. Then it was on to a real mini van. We had the shorter wheel base Voyager. I drove that until number 1 went to college. Number 2 was in middle school by then and I switched to a small ZUV x a Honda CRV. I love that even more. I’m on my second one, with a Rav-4 in between. But while you have young kids those sliding doors save your back and your neighboring cars in the parking lot since the kiddos can’t open the door into the next car. All that entertainment stuff was just a dream back then, but i think it may have had a real outlet the boys could plug their Game Cube into.
We are a family of 4, with 2 young children, and I have been avoiding buying a minivan like the plague 🙂 I really do not want one, although I do realize how convenient they can be.
We’re managing in my Toyota RAV4, for now! All of the current seats are taken, so if our family ever expands we would be forced to buy a minivan, or preferably for us, a larger SUV.
I’m sorry, I tend to fall behind on reading blogs, but this is hilarious 😂
Yes, we have a mini van for our (hopefully growing) family of 4 kids. **Don’t forget the milkshakes that spill into the cupholders 👀😂 **
As long as both sides are automatic it’s really not that bad. As the wife, I was the reluctant one at first, but I’m overall happy with it. Now that you’ve had it a few how do you both like it?!
Hi Jennifer,
Do you have a minivan with 7 or 8 seats? Ours is 7.
I love it! It has a great then radius and is very easy to drive. Mr Handsome is still growing to love it, but he recognizes the practicality.
Ellie
Ours is 7 also. Both sides have buttons with automatic doors, with car seat on both sides and older boys in boosters in the back, it’s pretty convenient. I’m hoping we can fit one more kid in the very back but my husband doesn’t think so haha
About 26 years ago we had one child and I was pregnant with twins. I was admitted to the hospital on bedrest for the duration of my pregnancy at 20 weeks and had to learn to relinquish some control. My husband was so excited when he came to visit one day and showed me a picture of the new mini van that he bought as a surprise. It was very practical and a nice gesture but not what I would have chosen. It served us well for many years but I was so giddy when I picked out my 3 row SUV.
So funny. Love your writing style!
I think I enjoyed the mini van when we had one. Now we’ve moved on to a “real” van (if 12 seats counts?). We had a Sprinter which was soooo nice because of the extra head space and room for moving in the vehicle. It was not so nice on the wallet though as it had to be repaired wayyyyy to often. Now we have a Ford Transit. I’m thankful for a reliable vehicle that can get our family of 10 from point a to point b and back again! 🙂
Hubby, a definite car guy, was not thrilled when we got our used minivan. Baby 2 was on it the way. 15 years later and with over 300,000 miles on it, he sadly said, “goodbye”. We hauled everything in it–especially when you could remove the seats. Plywood, 8 foot 2x4s, water heater, set of tires, and so much more was hauled it it. We occasionally used it with 3 kids and lots of luggage too.