New Vehicle Assessment: 1990 GMC Safari 10/31/07-?

So I'm now driving my mom's old van. She upgraded to a CRV 4 months ago (lucky for me) and the trade-in value on a 1990 GMC Safari with no AC is not very high. The "Chris needs a car" value of the van is very, very high. The first van related test was "Does it fit in the garage?" The answer is yes. It's very, very close. and when it's in the garage...it IS the garage. But it fits, thank god.

The next test was painful. A week ago, I filled it up. That cost 46 dollars. Today, 1 week later (but only 5 days of real drivin') I dropped another $26 into it. It's getting about 13 mpg. So gas is definately a concern.

The next negative is quite obvious. Going from Accord to Safari has allowed me to appreciate the sublime feeling of a proper parallel park. Because that shit ain't happening in the van. Hell, sometimes I pass over regular parking spaces just because I don't like the angle. The van is very wide and does not do so well with turning radii. It despises them.

There is good, though. It sits up high- I like lording over the other drivers whizzing by beneath me. There is also a glorious abundance of leg and headroom. The Honda loved to give me a love tap on my head whenever I went over a bump. That is gone. It is also cavernous. If at any point you need to drive an NBA team somewhere, let me know.

I mentioned after the accident that I was car shopping. I have all but changed my mind. I figure I can pay off most of my debts and drive this giant van until it dies. And then promptly go back into debt. Well, the hope is to have some saved up so when the van does bite it, I could actually have some money down for a vehicle. That's the plan anyways. When I see you, dear reader, next summer and I'm covered in sweat, it's because I'm cheap. Just remember that. The AC is a definate issue. It's something about having to replace the freon to some new formula that cars use. I think my father told me getting this done would effectively cost the same amount as the van itself. One good thing is that my mother drove it sparingly- in 17 years there's only 91K miles on it. The Honda had 112K. Crazy.

"Battle Van" is its nickname. This was actually named way back in high school in reference to the Punisher's method of transportation. I remember quite clearly going on a trip with my parents and thinking to myself that when I'm old I'll never have a boring car like that one. I'll drive mustangs and ferraris. Yeah.