2008 Nissan Pathfinder SE-V8

After 16 years and 140,000 miles with my trusty 1992 Nissan Pathfinder XE-V6, we finally bought a new car to replace it. Since we've had good history with the Nissan Pathfinder brand, we decided to stay with it and purchase a new 2008 Nissan Pathfinder SE-V8. We wanted another SUV because it suits our lifestyle. We can now take this SUV to the mountains for snowboarding in the winter and camping in the summer. We also like the extra space it affords. Plus, since it's a midsized SUV, it is rather easy to navigate, very similar to our old Pathfinder. It's also much safer with front and side air bags, considering that Lucas rides in this car every day.

We decided to pull the trigger now (even though we didn't really "need" a new car) because of a couple of things: since we were planning to buy a new car this year anyway, why not buy earlier in the year, and also Nissan was offering some pretty attractive cash back incentives this month ($3,750 cash back). So I started my research earlier this month and came up with a target price - $27,500 out the door (including tax, registration fees, and license). In arriving at this target price, I researched current incentives, dealer holdback, advertising fees, and other "hidden" fees and calculated a figure that was "reasonable." Comparing to the MSRP (sticker) of $31,460 plus $2,864 in taxes, registration, and license fees ($34,324), my target price is almost $7,000 under MSRP ($4,000 under invoice). I then went on the Nissan website and obtained contact information for Nissan dealers within a 30 mile radius, and sent an email to their Internet Directors with the make, model, interior and exterior colors (storm gray and graphite cloth), and options of the car that I wanted (double-checking their inventory on the site) and sent them my out-the-door price. I told them that if they can meet my price today, I would buy today. This went on for a couple of days until I received a written confirmation of my offer from Buena Park Nissan. I went there ready to buy unfortunately the salesman started to play some games when he realized that I am not budging on my price, at which point I got up and left. However, since I had a written offer, I went to a dealer who had also had the exact model I wanted and asked them to match it. They did and I went to Superior Nissan of Carson and signed the papers, paid in cash, then drove off with the car. No haggling needed, no extra hassles from their finance department. At the end of the day, the dealer essentially made $200 on the sale. But they gained me as a customer because of their excellent staff service.

Overall we're very happy with the SUV. It's very solid, stable, and spacious. It's rugged, yet refined. It feels like driving a luxury SUV as it comes with all the accoutrements (LCD screen with RearView monitor, iPod controls, MP3 capability, dual zone climate control, privacy glass, etc). The SUV is also very versatile with fold flat third row seats, easy clean cargo area, and 64 different seating configurations. Finally, with the powerful V8 churning out 310 horsepower and 388 lb-ft of torque, power is never an issue (although MPG is a little bit, but since I drive only a couple of miles a day it's not really a big deal). This SUV should accomodate our family for many years and miles to come (hopefully as long as the old Pathfinder did).

Lucas' 1st Trip to Mammoth (and Snow)

Despite Dad feeling a bit under the weather, we went ahead and drove up to Mammoth for the weekend. Lediya and I wanted to go snowboarding again after two seasons off, and we also wanted Lucas to experience snow for the first time. Boy, did we pick a perfect weekend to do it. There was a major snowstorm that happened to hit the eastern Sierra so we got plenty of snow - 48 inches in 24 hours in fact. We had to dig out our car just to get out of the parking lot. It didn't stop snowing the whole time we were there. The snowboarding was great also with fresh powder on all the runs (but with some white-out conditions ). It was tough at first because we hadn't gone in a while, but then it sank in again, just like riding a bike.

Lucas' reaction to the snow and cold was kind of funny. He didn't know what the falling snow was so he tried to grab it and eat it from the air. When we gave him a snowball to play with, he grabbed it, and realizing that it was really cold, he didn't want to grab it the second time. Now he doesn't want to touch snow at all!

We'll try to make our trip to Mammoth an annual tradition. We can't wait when Lucas gets to go up to the slopes with mom and dad!

Lucas Playing With Dad

Here's a short clip of Lucas playing with me the other night - We were playing peak-a-boo.

Madelyn Kealia Macaraeg

Welcome to the world, Madelyn Kealia Macaraeg! Our newest niece was born on February 4, 2008 at 1:54 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs, 12 oz and is 19.75" long. What a cutie!

Ten Months Old

Lucas is 10 months old today! He can now crawl commando-style. He's also eating Phase III of the foods (heartier and chunkier). His top teeth are also coming out, which may explain his recent night time fussiness. Other than that, he's growing heavier and taller, and is blabbering a lot more now also.