Several years ago, when my oldest daughter Hailey started driving, we helped her out with the purchase of a used car. It was a 2010 Chrysler Sebring, and she quite liked it. Sadly, when you purchase an inexpensive used vehicle, you also purchase all the problems associated with it. Most of these are initially unknown to the buyer. So, over the past several years we put thousands of dollars into maintenance and repairs to this car.
Recently Hailey was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Fortunately no one was hurt, and the collision was not her fault. The other driver made an illegal left turn across traffic in front of Hailey and she could not stop in time. Unfortunately the old Sebring was a write off. The insurance company paid out Hailey for the car, and she even got a couple hundred bucks more than we originally paid for the car. But, lost was the two thousand dollars I had just put into the Sebring for brakes and struts.
Hailey decided this spring to quit her retail job at West Edmonton Mall and try something new. She has taken a position in East Coulee, to run a gift shop for Dinosaur Valley Studios. This is the company that I am involved in with my friend Frank, and that rents my shop space from me. They are experimenting with a gift shop called The Rock. It is set up in an old store just down the street from the shop. Hailey will be spending the summer living in our trailer at the shop, and working at The Rock. This first season is somewhat experimental as it remains to be seen if there is enough tourist traffic in town to support the shop.
The timing of the vehicle collision could not have been worse. Not only did it write off my investment in the repairs, but it also left Hailey without her vehicle, days before her planned move. Fortunately we have another vehicle that Hailey was able to borrow. This is Margarit's old 2008 Honda Pilot, that we have elected to keep on the road and allow the two younger girls to use to learn to drive. Last fall we replaced it with a new Toyota Tacoma for Margarit.
Hailey moved down to East Coulee in early April and we started the hunt for a replacement vehicle. Margarit and I decided that with Hailey moving away from home, she needed something reliable. So we elected to put the insurance proceeds towards a new vehicle, and helped out with the balance. One of the most economical vehicles that we could find, that was available relatively quickly, was a Chevrolet Trax. It is a small, front wheel drive SUV that comes very well equipped. Many manufacturer's advertise vehicles with a low cost entry point but we soon learned that in reality the dealers don't order any of these in. Everything that is brought in seems to come fairly loaded up with options, and a much higher price tag. We found two of these Chevrolet Trax's that were just the basic model, with no upgrades. But both ended up being sold before we could secure them. The Don Wheaton GM dealership on Whyte Avenue was able to find us one that had just arrived at port in Vancouver. These vehicles are manufactured in Korea for General Motors. This one only had a couple hundred dollars worth of options over and above the base model. So we grabbed it.
It arrived in the city on April 27th and we were able to arrange insurance and pick up on April 30th, as the snow was falling. We brought it home to our place for now, but in the coming days we will run it down to East Coulee for Hailey, and exchange it for the old Honda Pilot that she has been using.
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