More Car Information

Daniel usually doesn't provide details, so for those of you who like details... here are a few more about our car purchase.

We knew since we arrived here that we would need to purchase a car but we had been dreading that process. We had never purchased a car before, so we weren't sure where to begin. The idea of visiting used car lots or calling the classified ads and trying to discuss cars in Spanish was pretty awful.

On Friday morning, we mentioned to the mechanic at the children's home that we needed to buy a car and that we would like a small SUV type if possible. That afternoon, he showed up with one that his friend was selling. Within the hour, we had purchased the car. That was pretty scary! We trust the mechanic here and he said that the car is in great condition, so we just stepped out in faith that he is right.

It is funny because I would never have bought this car in the US. It is 12 years old, has a huge hole in the driver's seat, a repainted hood, and many dents and scrapes. However here, the more dents and scrapes, the better -- we don't want it to be too attractive and be stolen! It is also better for us to buy an older car to use for the year and a half that we need it because it will re-sell for about the same price that we paid for it. Newer cars would lose a lot of their value faster.

So we are happy with our Guatemalan car and hope that it will be very reliable for the next year and a half!