The newest member of our family.

Let me start at the beginning.

A little less than 2 weeks ago, I drove our Kia and went for dinner with my friends in Lethbridge. When I was leaving the restaurant, it was giving me troubles, again!! The Kia had been in the shop multiple times last month and we put a decent chunk of money into getting it going. Needless to say, I was pretty choked when it was acting up again. My friend drove me home that night and we left the Kia in Lethbridge.

We went in the following day and brought it over to the shop to get checked out again and then Doug and I decided to go take a look at the dealerships for a newer vehicle. It was pretty overwhelming, so we just kinda glanced at what there was. Neither of us were really serious on getting something new - it was more of a hope than a reality.

Fast forward a couple days - the Kia is still in the shop and we had yet to hear what was wrong with it, but we still had our Alero, so we were still getting around. After the Trunk or Treat on Saturday, we were driving back to Coalhurst and Doug slows down and pulls over. I asked why he was slowing down....his response? "I'm not doing anything. The car is dying"

So yes, our Alero broke down on the side of the road. We couldn't get it to start at all. Of course, we were ill prepared and forgot our cell phones, so I got out and tried to wave a car down to help us. Much to my surprise, there were 4 cars that burned right past us - didn't even give us the time of day! Thankful, a man stopped with a suburban and then another couple, who happened to be in our ward. The couple who were in our ward lived less than a km away, so they "towed" our car to they property. The towing consisted of pulling the Alero with a rope tied under the hood. The other gentleman who stopped let Nola and I stay warm in his car and then drove us all back to Coalhurst once the Alero was safely off the road.

So there we were, back home, with no car. Two cars dead within 4 days of each other! Whats the luck!! Doug has thought that the engine had seized, which was very bad. If the engine seizes, it is no good and needs to be completely replaced. Of course, he was very worried.

On Sunday, Doug and my Dad went out to check out the Alero again. My Dad is a mechanic, so he knew right away what had happened - the timing chain broke. This could b a good thing or a bad thing. If it was just the timing chain, we could replace it for about $1000.00, however due to the break, there could have been extensive damage internally, requiring detailed work or again, a new engine. All we could do was have it towed to the shop and have them do a diagnostic.

That evening, we went over to Clint and Nickie's for dinner and a visit. A few weekends prior, they had bought a new vehicle - a Dodge Journey. We went out with them for a cruise and we fell in love! It was just what we wanted - an SUV, seats up to 7, can pull a bike trailer, DVD player and reasonably priced!!

On Monday we went to the dealership and by Friday, this is what is sitting in our driveway...

What a beauty!! And she's ours!! Our 2010 Dodge Journey SXT!!

As for our other cars? The Kia had a cap that popped of in the transmission. Fortunately, it was only $50 to fix and she back and better than ever. As for the Alero...not so good. The engine needed to be replaced, so off the auto-wrecker she goes. You've been good to us, Betty. May you rest in peace.