It’s Official, I’m A Minivan Man!
We’ve all heard the jokes about buying a minivan. Having never actually been inside one I was led to believe that they were simply a boring box on wheels and that I should never ever consider owning one for fear of being voted off the cool people island. When we went car shopping recently we didn’t have a minivan on our short list, but now that the dust has settled I can confirm that there is definitely one sitting in my driveway right now.
Shameless plug here but it was my work on the Schick “Drive Free” campaign that got me thinking about how much money we were pumping into our current vehicle because it was older and needed a constant stream of maintenance. We figured we’d at least check out some new vehicles that would have warranty plans we could rely on. After looking at a couple different option the salesman cautiously asked us if we had ever considered a minivan. We both kind of laughed it off but next thing we knew we were sitting in the back seats checking out all the cool features it offered.
After some hard negotiations… Wait, let me try that again. After cowering under the sales table we finally agreed to purchase a brand new, fully loaded, Dodge Grand Caravan and I have to say that this is the happiest I’ve been with a new car purchase. It has given us the freedom to allow each of our children to choose a friend to take places with us and that has really taken summer to a new level! We’ve done museums, beaches, parks and pool parties all with a van full of kids and room to spare. Seriously, minivans are the exact opposite of everything I’ve heard about them. Up next is our minivan’s first camping trip and I can’t wait to see how much stuff we can cram into it!
In closing, you should definitely buy a minivan so you can be cool like me. On top of that if you think gas, maintenance and insurance are all too expensive, you still have a lot of time left to enter the Schick “Drive Free For A Year” contest! All you need to do to enter is click on the previously mentioned link, follow the easy steps and Schick could be paying your gas, insurance and depreciation for a whole year! You can also visit the @FreeYourSkinCA Twitter handle for more specials and details about the contest. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this program, however I did actually buy a minivan and I really do love it! I also actually feel cool while driving around in it. It’s like punching an achievement on my dad card!
I agree, Mini Vans are cool (especially in the Dad crowd). I never really got the jokes about van’s not being awesome…we have three kids and I can drive the whole family PLUS a load of lumber (or some other big manly thing), all at the same time if I want!
We’ve been through three Caravan’s so far and never had any big issues with them. The last one, the old white van, was the hardest to get rid of. I even shed a tear when it went to the big junk yard in the sky – http://theplaceunderthepine.blogspot.ca/2014/04/so-long-white-van-obituary.html
Awesome!!! We were actually looking into a Dodge Caravan as well…except I was going to do a sweet van mural on mine. 😉
You should let the kids do the mural…
Congrats Chris. I admit I use to make fun of minivans (especially my friends who own them) but I think I might be joining the club soon. Great site btw. Cheers.
Hey Joe, thank for the kind words! The truth is that it only took one week for the minivan to grow on me and now I love it. I’m sure you’ll have the same experience!