New Car!!

Yesterday I got my new car!! Although I have said that you really don't need a car for day-to-day living, I've never not had a car and with Dave working an hour away from our house, I wanted to have one. I'll mainly use it to make trips to get items too big for the bike or if the weather is too bad, etc. You usually have to pay for parking almost everywhere you go and it can sometimes be quite expensive.

We decided to lease a car and chose something small. I was used to driving a minivan but I'm really happy about the small car! Parking and even some streets are really just easier with a little car. After reviewing some choices online, we chose the Volkswagen Up!. I don't think that it is available in the US. It is smaller than the Golf and has a 3 cylinder engine. I won't be winning any races with it!! I had thought I was getting a 2-door, so I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up getting the slightly larger 4-door. Makes it easier with the girls. I do have to get used to having a manual transmission though!! I haven't driven one since my little red truck (in college).



I actually think that picture makes it look larger than it really is. Here's a couple more pictures:



Getting the car was actually a little bit of a process and our first exercise in frustration here. The car registration needed to be put in Dave's name. Typically you can do that at the post office here. We went there with the car dealership representative and was told since Dave still didn't have his residency card that they couldn't do it there because of a change that had occurred Jan 1. We then drove to Amsterdam to an office that could take care of it. We waited 1 1/2 hours and when our number was finally called, the woman typed in a few words into the computer and said, "I'm sorry, the server is down, you'll have to come back another time." After multiple phone conversations and a few more stops, Dave was finally able to have success several days later. He had to do all of this during working hours and I really appreciated his persistence on getting it done.

Since we are in the Netherlands, the car came standard with two hammers to break open the windows if the car ever becomes submerged. It's been years since I got a new car, but I don't think they come automatically in new cars in Ohio? I guess you need to have that when you live in an area under sea level and constantly near the water with canals. I will be sure to make sure I don't ever need to use them!!



If you are wondering about what Dave is driving, he received a nice temporary car (Volvo) our first day here and is in the process of picking out his car. He'll be getting a nicer car since he unfortunately spends quite a bit of time in it each day!!