I've always wanted a brand new Cadillac Escalade. That has been my dream car for many years now - even though I've never even sat in one before! Then over the years of producing concerts I got to drive a GMC Yukon a lot and fell in love with it. Essentially it is the same body as an Escalade, it's just not quite as luxurious and doesn't have the coveted Cadillac emblem on it. Then just a few months ago, Ford sponsored the #5DadsGoWild camping trip that I'm a part of and they lent me a Ford Expedition. I immediately wanted one to keep.
But sadly due to the price tag and the fact that I have a disabled daughter who will be bound to a wheelchair and will need an accessible vehicle, in a very cruel twist of fate it looks like I will be driving the one type of vehicle I swore I would never buy: A Minivan.
Regardless, I think 2020 is the year for a new vehicle - whatever that may look like. My 15 and 18 year old vehicles are very quickly falling apart.
I’ve been to concerts that have had LESS flashing lights than the dashboard of my vehicles.
Even my father-in-law couldn’t contain himself when I lent him one of my vehicles over the Christmas holidays and gave him the pep talk of all the tips for success before he walked out the door. I think what got him the most was the gas gauge. One moment it reads full, then you blink your eyes and it plummets to below empty. I’ve been keeping an odometer journal to determine the accurate level, but even that got the best of me on Christmas Eve of all days, when we ran out of gas on the main highway going through Kelowna.
Quite frankly from here on out, every trip we take with these vehicles could be their last one. And that’s no way to live. That’s not even living responsibly when you’ve got a very dependent family. But buying a new vehicle is one thing that doesn’t just happen. There are lots of factors in play and unfortunately at the moment, none of those factors are aligning for us.
To top it off, I am struggling with the accessibility portion of this equation. I know it’s virtually inevitable, but it doesn’t make it any easier; especially when a conversion adds $30-40,000 to the price of the vehicle. This makes the Toyota Sienna an $80,000 minivan or the GMC Yukon a $135,000 SUV. Remember a few days ago when I said that $70M lottery would sure be nice? Yeah… this is why!
Perhaps I can find a charity or a grant that will support us in accomplishing this goal. Because even in writing it out like this today, I realize how far fetched accomplishing this goal on my own really is.