Collin's Volvo 2.0

A few weeks ago Jeff and I were tailgating at a Houston Texans game when he received a call that no parent ever wants to receive. Collin was driving with Kevin in the car on the way to a swim meet when another driver pulled out and hit him. It was a high-speed car crash and Collin's car was totalled. Thankfully all parties were fine besides a few scrapes and bruises. We were SO grateful that Collin's car was a Volvo and therefore withstood the impact much better than some other cars might have. You just can't put a price on safety! Here is what was left of Collin's car:



Once you have a teenage driver in the family, you wonder how you ever survived without that extra car. We had a few weeks of inconvenience as we waited for everything to get settled from the accident, and luckily the other driver's insurance company was a dream to work with. Then last weekend we finally found Collin another Volvo.



Here's a quick funny story about the car buying experience. Jeff thought it would be a good life lesson to teach Collin how to buy the car and negotiate the price with the dealer. The asking price was $6000 and Jeff wanted Collin to negotiate by offering a starting price of $5200, with the hope of settling on a final price of $5500. Jeff gave Collin a few final pointers and then sent him to talk to the dealer. Collin was understandably a little nervous and wasn't sure quite what to say or how to say it.

"So," Collin said to the dealer, "I'd like to make you an offer for this car of 52 thousand." Without hesitation the dealer replied, "I'll take it!"

Collin was stunned and quite proud of himself until he noticed that the dealer had a huge grin on his face and Jeff had his head in his hands. "No, Collin," Jeff said. "52 hundred dollars, not 52 thousand." The car dealer was ready to take the weekend off after that offer, ha!

Luckily the dealer settled for less than $52,000 and Collin drove off in his 2nd Volvo. Let's hope this one makes it a little longer than the last!