CHECKLIST: 14 Things We All Promise We'll Never Do With "The New Car"

A shiny, clean, new car is pretty much the best toy a parent can ask for (I suppose a shiny new house wouldn’t be too bad either).

Keeping it shiny, clean and looking like new becomes your main mission, especially during the first few months. But, like all things in life, sometimes even the best laid plans can go astray…

How come? I’m going to take a stab in the dark here and blame it on the kids. Because making promises we can’t keep is pretty much the norm once you have kids.

I promise to never let the kids tantrum in public (fail!).
I promise to feed them home cooked meals every night (lies!).
And I promise to never, ever, ever, let them eat in the brand new car (whoops!).

As it turns out, going back on our promises isn’t just reserved for our parenting styles, our discipline methods and our food choices. It also relates to our vehicles.

New car: new promises we won’t be able to keep

How many of these things did you SWEAR you would never do with your brand new car? And how many have you done?

I swear to NEVER let my car get too dirty

Weekly cleans from now on. It starts out doable, you know, for the first week, before the car leaves the driveway, before the camping trips, before the school pickups in the pouring rain.

Now? Sure, the car gets cleaned..whenever the kids say they are bored and want some pocket money.

I swear to NEVER use the ‘cheap’ petrol

Premium petrol only. For the first month…

I swear the kids will NEVER eat in the car

Hahahahaha. Good one.

Okay, then, I swear the kids will NEVER eat anything STICKY in the car

Sorry, I didn’t quite get that one. I was distracted by the kids licking spilled ice cream off their seat belts in the back seat.

I swear I won’t let the dogs in the car…

Next.

Fine… I swear I’ll NEVER let the dogs eat in the car

Drool? Yes.
Shake their sandy bodies all over the backseat? Yes.
Sit in the front seat? Yes.
Eat, no.

I swear there will NEVER be fingerprints on the windows

If you look closely, you will see the massive marks along the windows are not fingerprints. They are tongue-prints. And possibly a butt cheek print (which I’m not going to even ask about).

I swear I’ll NEVER drink coffee in the car

Hot beverages spill. And leave a sticky mess. But un-caffeinated mummy yells. And looks like a hot mess.

Hot mess mum is worse than sticky mess car. Trust me.

I swear the car will NEVER be loaded with rubbish

Those 87 half empty water bottles are not rubbish… neither are those Kinder Surprise wrappers. I’m saving those for later.

I swear the backseats will also NEVER be a dumping ground for toys

Maccas toys don’t count. Oh, and neither does that headless Barbie doll.

I swear I’ll NEVER let the fuel run low

Keeping your car fully fuelled means you are equipped for all emergencies and proves that you are a responsible car owner.

Except fuel is expensive. And it takes effort to get.

Besides, if I didn’t go back on this promise, I would have never discovered that it’s completely possible to get from one side of town to the other side of town with the fuel light on. Who is going to stop for fuel when BOTH kids are asleep in the back and risk waking them up?

I swear to NEVER park on the dirt

Except when it’s raining and all the on-road car parks at my kid’s school are taken.

I swear to NEVER overload the car with purchases from Kmart

Yes, that oversized reindeer, bookshelf AND outdoor table can fit in the boot. They just need a bit of a push…

Finally, I swear to NEVER forget a service

Those 10,000 kilometres came out of nowhere!

Okay, so perhaps we can’t keep ALL the promises we make ourselves when buying a new car. But you can keep the costs down by making the right decision when it comes to your car loan.

No parent wants to spend more than you have to on a new car. This is why Positive Lending Solutions provide expert car loan advice at no cost to you. The average customer saves 17% on a car loan – for that kind of extra savings, you may even be able to keep some of the other promises on your list (or purchase a whole car load of Kmart homewares).

Speak to an expert on choosing the correct car loan for you and drive away knowing you’ve made the right decision for your budget, your family and your kids, sticky fingers and all.