Happy Valentine’s Day

Three years ago today, we signed the papers for our first home. Two years ago on tax day (April 15th) we bought our Toyota Camry. This year, we bought a Honda Odyssey. It’s used but has a lot to offer. It’s a 2005 EX-L with Charcoal exterior and tan interior.

Honda updated its minivan for 2005, revising the styling and adding additional safety features. The ’05 Odyssey offered LX, EX, EX-L, and Touring models. All had front-wheel drive, a 255-hp 3.5-liter V6, and a 5-speed automatic transmission. EX-L and Touring featured Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management system, which deactivated three cylinders when cruising or decelerating to save fuel. Standard safety features included antilock 4-wheel disc brakes, traction control, and front side airbags. All models came with an anti-skid system and curtain side airbags for all three seating rows. All but the LX came with power sliding side doors.

Standard on all models were front and 2nd-row bucket seats and a fold-into-the-floor 3rd-row seat, which was split 60/40. EXs had a removable jump seat that slotted between the 2nd-row buckets for 8-passenger seating. New-for-’05 features included a storage compartment in the floor between the front seats and side windows that powered partly down into the sliding doors. EX-L and Touring had leather upholstery, tri-zone climate control, sunroof, and Honda’s Active Noise Control system designed to electronically quell unwanted mechanical, road, and wind noise. Touring models had 17.5-inch wheels with run-flat tires, plus a tire-pressure monitor. Other Odysseys had 16-inch wheels and conventional tires. Available on EX-L and Touring were navigation and DVD entertainment. The navigation system had voice recognition, real-time traffic alerts, and came with a rearview TV camera. Source: HowStuffWorks.com

How did we manage this when Julia is no longer working…

We sold my 2004 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner to Carmax for $12,000. They paid off the loan and cut me a check for the rest. We were then able to put down $5000 on the Odyssey (also Carmax) and with a 4.99% loan from the credit union we were able to lower our monthly payments. Plus our insurance will go down and our gas mileage will go up. A win-win situation. But I must say that I didn’t expect to be getting a mini-van so soon. i will miss my Tacoma though. It was a very good truck.