Give Thanks...For Our Van And The Friend Who Made It Happen

Last week I blogged about having to give up on a trusted car, something that's been in our family for more than a decade. At the same time, we decided to let go of another vehicle. This one on which we relied for not only transportation of people, but of furniture, groceries, top soil, and numerous yard and garage sale bargains.

And now, it belongs to another.

We did, however, keep it in the family.

Years ago, around 2009 another trusted van we owned started to fall apart. Almost as a joke, I posted on Facebook that it would cost more to fix than it was worth. A good friend called me after seeing my post. "Hey, you looking for a van?" he asked. "Yeah, I guess we are."

I should say that these words are most likely not the exact conversation we had. It's been more than a decade, after all...

"We just got a new van and we were wondering if you'd like to buy ours." He told me the make and model and I think I laughed. I told him there was no way we could afford it. "How much do can you spend?" I told him we had some savings.

"Okay--we'll take that for it."

Shock. He was cutting the value of the van by 2/3. I wanted to make sure he was okay letting it go for that price. He said he was. We drove over and picked it up. It served our family so well. We'd by another Toyota Sienna in a heartbeat, but we no longer have need to take six-eight people on family vacations to California and Washington State. We no longer need--at the time--the mind-blowing technology of a DVD player and screen installed for the kids to watch movies. We no longer need three rows of seating or enough room to haul a full-size upright freezer from Brigham City to our house. 

Even though we no longer need these things, we miss them. We got a new car, newer, fewer miles, more mind-blowing technology. But we'll always be thankful for the van and my friend who let it go for a loss.

We passed it down to our son. They have a toddler and need something they can count on. We were happy to do it and we took a loss on it as well, not as big as my friend, but we tried to help them out. If you need to move several people, I recommend the Sienna. It drives wonderfully, hauls like a truck, and it's just a wonderful van. I'm thankful it served us so well for all those years. 

The Light Goes On...What Now?

I noticed the light as my wife and I drove home last night, the little symbol of a tire with an exclamation point inside.

Tire issue.

But, what does it mean?

The newest car we have (before I picked up Donk, the Subaru...) is a '07 Toyota van. Love it--I highly recommend the Toyota product. Over the years we've had the tire sensor indicator light show up on the van's dashboard. When that happens, I'll check the tire pressure, fill up whatever tire's low, then the light will go off.

With Donk, I just don't know the car well enough. I checked the tires and they seemed okay, not any noticeably low. I then referred to the trusty owner's manual. Reading that, it made it sound like if the tire light goes on, you've got a flat--or almost flat--tire. Well, I know that's not the problem. The manual even states if the light goes on, do not panic. Keep driving straight ahead and move off to the side of the road.

I did an on-line search. I sort of got some answers. Turns out the sensors in the tires can be affected by cold weather. Yes, it's been cold, but from what others have written on-line, the light should go out once the tires warm up. My light hasn't gone out yet.

I guess tomorrow, I'll check the tires to see what the proper pressure should be. It's possible they're all low, even though they don't look it. If they're low, I'll inflate them then hopefully, the light will go off for good. There's a pro/con whenever you get a new-ish car. The improved features are great, but more features mean more chances for things to go bad.

Like the van, I'll get used to the car, try things, keep doing what works. It's a trial-and-error system--just part of the plan.