Update On My Vehicle Nightmare

An update on this post from July 14th.

 

After having "Black Betty" for a few weeks my wife has decided that a Toyota Highlander will be her replacement vehicle as well. The cargo space and seating arrangement is really to her liking. Progressive gave us $15,525 for her wrecked RAV-4 so that will make for a decent down payment. She found a nice 2023 Highlander XLE with 46,XXX miles on it at a local dealer we have dealt with for years. Mine is an LE Plus package but the XLE is a higher level of options to include the sunroof she loves. It has a graphite gray interior with heated leather seats. It has the balance of the factory warranty and is in beautiful condition for $38,XXX. The vehicle was leased at the dealership and brought back when the lessee turned it in to lease a new one. We made sure she got a better vehicle than I did because of her commute and use compared to mine. Her commute one way is about 28 miles where mine is 1.9. She also travels the region and sometimes further for dog events. 4WD or at the least AWD is a necessity where we live in the hill country especially in the winter time.

This will be the first time we have both had the same make and model of vehicle and the first time we have had two auto loans at once. Her auto loan will be paid by monthly withdrawals from our retirement investments. We will use mine for towing the utility trailer and putting our kayaks on the roof racks. Hers will have the dog cage assembly she already owns installed as soon as we take delivery. We are still waiting for the check to clear before we move forward to finalize the purchase. We gave the dealership a $500 deposit to hold it and they needed to service it as well. The brakes need work for pulsating and the tires are iffy. The whole vehicle needs to be detailed inside and out.