WNW: That Smell

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It’s spring, which means that I’m barely championing through battles with allergies and the disgusting smell of the pear tree.

Don’t let the beauty of the flowers fool you. They really, really stink. Like… well, if I had a few beers, I might describe it. But I gave beer up for Lent (and shopping for clothes & shoes), so you’ll just have to read for yourself.

However, there is one smell that I’m loving every minute of:  NEW CAR!!!

She’s all mine – a 2012 Jeep Compass. My old 2002 Mercury Sable kept having one problem after the other (sensors, some kind of dry rot on a hose, constant check engine lights, etc.) and I got sick of it. Not to mention, it was just plain ugly (seen here in a pic of Charlie on my roof).

I’d been saving for a down payment on a car for the last two years (trying to balance my home project budget and savings at the same time) and after the last problem with my car, I decided it was time to do research on  what a new car would cost.

Initially, I’d wondered whether I wanted a truck or an SUV. Trucks would be great for house projects, but I wanted something with better gas mileage, too. And I’d had enough of the weird looks I got with molding sticking out of the back of a granny car – so a compact sedan was out of the question. Time for something sporty, young, and fun.

I began looking for a used SUV, keeping in mind that I wanted to keep it for the next five years (I’ve kept the Sable for more than 5 years, so I know I’ll be happy with something I actually like for at least that long). I had plenty for a down payment, but not enough to buy the car outright (a first for me). Because I was financing it, I did the math… and realized a new car, with all of the manufacturer and dealer incentives, would be a better deal than buying used. I narrowed it down to a few different body styles (the Jeep Compass, Kia Sorento, and Honda CR-V) and asked my friends. The results:  the Honda was too “minivan” (though the older body styles do look much sportier than the new), the Kia was a little too “soccer mom,” and the Jeep was juuuust right (yet another Goldilocks experience). Internet searching led me to the perfect deal – I didn’t even test drive another car.

I absolutely LOVE IT. My last car didn’t have a name (though, looking back, Mabel would have been a good one), and I’ve been trying to choose one for the Jeep. I think I’ve settled on a suggestion from Lindsey at Redhead Baby Mama (one of my IRL friends):  Rose. Get it? Compass Rose?

The interior is pretty fantastic. I hated having leather seats in the Sable with Charlie, and now I can fold down the back to let her spread out when we ride to the dog park. She was very cautious with the hatch – it took a little bit of coaxing to get her to jump in. She’ll get the hang of it soon; she loves that the back windows roll all the way down (er, that they roll down at all).

I don’t know all of the buttons and I haven’t read the manual. Is it weird that I’m actually looking forward to looking more purposeful when I pull up to Home Depot? Surely I can’t be the only one embarrassed driving down the road with molding sticking out of a beat up old car.