Meet the Patrol!

This afternoon, we finally took possession of our new vehicle, a 1997 Nissan Patrol Y60.

I know, I know.  It's not a Land Cruiser.  I told you that you'd be surprised.

From the very beginning of our vehicle search, the Nissan Patrol has been on our short list, along with 4 Toyota models.  In the past six months, I had narrowed our search to the 80-series Land Cruisers, mostly based on personal preference.  They are fantastic vehicles and I would still love to own one.  However, I just haven't been able to find one with what we want for less than $20,000!  That's a lot of money to spend on a 15 year old vehicle, even though it is one of the stoutest in the world.

This Patrol belonged to friends and coworkers of ours here in Cochabamba.  They recently decided to get a newer, smaller vehicle that was more suited to their needs.  They offered up the Patrol for a price that we would be crazy to refuse!  The remaining money in our vehicle fund will be used for upgrades and future repairs.

Besides not being a Toyota, it's also not a diesel.  It has a 4.2 liter TB42 straight-6 gasoline engine that has been converted to use vehicular natural gas!

Natural gas is incredibly cheap to run here.  The problem is that it lacks the power of gasoline or diesel and eventually starts to eat the engine.  We're not quite sure what we're going to do about that down the road (diesel swap, maybe?), but for now, we'll enjoy the benefit of cheap fuel!

The tank does take up a large chunk of the trunk:

The girls love it.  Addi's big thought for the day was, "We don't have to ride in taxis anymore!"  She and Lydia love having car seats, something Lydia doesn't even remember.  Kaylee is glad to be able to go places without (average) a child and 2 bags on her lap.  I think Anne appreciates the freedom of riding by the window, by herself.  I'm just glad for something to drive!

We just want to say a huge THANK YOU!! to everyone who made this possible.  Because of your prayer and financial gifts over the past year, we now have the ability to get around much easier.  Our kids are safer.  We will waste less time (waiting for taxis).  We can be more flexible.  After almost 2 years without our own transportation, it is truly a blessing.

Live from Santa Cruz: Vehicle Search!

On location in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia:

I flew down early this morning and was greeted by a heavily pounding rain, punctuated by lightning and thunder.  Not exactly the type of day you want for a vehicle search.  So I spent the morning sitting in my cozy room in the guesthouse, listening to the rain fall and staring at my computer.  The rain let up around noon, so I went across the plaza to the grocery store and bought some lunch, then headed out at 2:00.

There are two places in this town where cars are sold everyday.  They're basically just long sandy strips alongside a road, where all the sellers come with what they've got.

I went to La Cuchilla first, mostly because it's bigger and the vehicles are easier to spot.  I didn't get a quarter of the way down the strip, when I saw this:

It's a 1992 Toyota HDJ80 Land Cruiser.  It has a turbo diesel engine.  It has a manual transmission.  It's in excellent shape.  It's original left-hand drive, not transformed.  It even has good tires.

There are three ways that it does not fit into the "perfect" vehicle list I posted on Saturday:
    -It's nice looking.  Kaylee said (and I quote), "I WOULD RIDE IN THAT."  Obviously, not a bad thing.
    -It doesn't have differential locks.  A non-essential, honestly, that can be added down the road if desired.
    -The asking price is $2500 more than what we currently have in our vehicle fund.  Yep, that's a problem.

I should be able to talk him down.  All vehicle sellers tell you a price that is "charlable" or chattable.  They expect you to point out all the flaws and kick the tires and lowball them, then come to an agreement somewhere in the middle.

The problem is that I don't think I can talk him down that much.  So what do I do?

Well, I'm going to pray.  I know that God has a vehicle for us here.  I just have to wait for Him to show it to me, while doing everything I can to find it.  Is this it?  I don't know, but it's by far the closest thing I've found to this point.