Goodbye Libby…

This is the first time I’ve ever gotten in a serious car accident. Well, serious enough to total Libby, my ex Jeep Liberty. I am absolutely 100% okay and there were no other vehicles or people involved.

So, what happened?
Wednesday morning was seasonably warm, unlike the day before, which was seasonably cold. I left my house a little bit later than usual because I had plans to stop at the DMV to finally register my expired tabs on my Jeep (shame on me!), which I had gotten a ticket for the previous weekend. I figured I’d go to the DMV closest to my work so that I could miss the morning commute and make it to work on time.

I noticed that the roads were a bit slick in certain places (especially on bridges), so I took my time and went under the speed limit my entire 35 mile commute to work. I live west of Minneapolis and Anytime Fitness Headquarters is in Hastings, Minnesota (Southeast of St. Paul), so my daily commute is brutal.

I was about 3 miles from work, still obeying the speed limit, seat belt on, phone NOT in hand. I went to   accelerate to switch from the left lane to the right lane, when my back end started fish taling. I let up from the gas, but I lost complete control anyways and start spinning. I can’t remember if I spun left or right, but before I knew it, my car had slammed into the middle median ropes. I remember thinking…”oh shit,” and replaying that one Grey’s Anatomy episode where the pole gets jammed through those two people over and over again.

Luckily, I walked away without a scratch. My airbags did not deploy and I did not get whiplash. I think it is because of the way my car hit the median. The passenger side is what slammed into the median, which ended up popping both passenger tires, shattering the passenger window (thankfully no one was sitting there), and tearing up the passenger side in general. I will miss my pride stickers…

Right away I called 911 and they told me to stay in my car. Then I called Blake, who dropped what he was doing to drive 35 miles to get me. The police man took about 2 minutes to get to me and started with the paperwork right away. My car needed to get toed, but they were backed up because of so many other accidents, that we left my car and Mr. Police Man escorted me to work.

Now that’s service.

After many calls to my insurance people, AAA, and the towing company. Libby is a goner. I totaled my Jeep :/ Blake and I really had no idea if it was totalled or not, and I honestly not sure which I wanted it to be because I really did love Libby. The nice thing is, I was appraised to get more money than I thought back for my car, giving me a nice-sized down payment for the next car I purchase. I was hoping to hold on to Libby for at least another year or so, because not having a car payment has helped me save save save.

With that being said, I need a new car, so that Blake can have his truck all back to himself. The sad thing is, I am not a car person. I have no idea what kind of car I want and have never really done the whole car shopping thing. Here is a little list of things I think I like in a car…maybe you have some suggestions for me!

Things I Like in a Car
-Good Gas Mileage (like I said, I have a 70 mile roundtrip commute)
-4 Wheel/All Wheel Drive (MN winters…)
-Prefer a smaller SUV, but am open to cars
-Newly Used (2-3 years old)
-Brands I know I like: Jeep, Toyota, VW, & Mazda

Short list? I need help

What model and make do you suggest of a car/Small SUV?

What places do you look for cars?