My New Ride...

Me & My New Ride... at 39 weeks pregnant!!

I find it ironic - yet unsurprising - that I had been on-island with a car only 2 months before I managed to get in an accident and have it totaled!  Granted, the accident was not my fault, but ironic nonetheless given my driving record!

Anyway, I finally settled with the insurance company and got the check last week.  The check was in Yen, so that involved a funny story about Tommy going to the Japanese bank, lots of hand signaling, and him somehow walking out of the bank with 90 percent of the money in American dollars and the other 10 percent in Yen.  Still unsure how that happened, but nevertheless we were able to purchase another car.

Shopping for cars on this island is... interesting. You have two options: One, the Lemon Lot.  Yes, this is the actual name.  It TOTALLY instills confidence, doesn't it?!?  This is a parking lot where military leaving the island park their cars and pray that someone calls them to buy their car.  It is what it is.  Sometimes you get a great deal, sometimes you get... a lemon.

Option #2 is to go to a used car dealer.  There is a definite price markup, but the benefit is, they do all the paperwork for you (there is a lot...), the Japanese Car Inspection, and a one-year warranty.  There are true Japanese dealers and then there are ones that cater to Americans.  We couldn't find any cars initially at the American ones, but we found two at a Japanese dealership that we wanted to buy.  After an hour we were told they couldn't help us because of the communication barrier... how frustrating!  On Monday we went back to an American place and they had a new arrival, and we ended up buying the car above - a 2003 Honda Fit Aria.  I have no idea what the American equivalent is, and I wasn't really looking to buy a car, but at this point, we just wanted something that met the following requirements:

1. It didn't smell like smoke, body odor, or wet dog.
2. It had keyless entry (two small children...).. i.e. newer than 1998.
3. It sat 5 people.  Not 4. Not 7.  FIVE.

These are, apparently, tough requirements here on the island.  The smell factor eliminates over half of all cars automatically. #2 eliminates another 25% because most cars on island are pretty old.  Seriously this car we bought was like the newest car I've EVER seen on an American lot!  Then #3 is hard because Japanese cars are not very wide at all, so most seat either 4 people (2 front, 2 back), or 7 (think minivan).

Finally we bought this car, and I do like it, although an hour after we bought it I couldn't even remember what color it was.  You don't get to test drive them, either, they are all just crammed in a lot, so it was a nice surprise to find out that it drove nicely!

It's almost baby time, so I'll keep you posted on that info as soon as it's available!