Your car is one of the most expensive purchases you make, other than your home. After years of being responsible for one person, all of a sudden comes parenthood. In a moment, you’re responsible for cleaning up and maintaining a car inhabited by a gaggle of hobgoblins.
You don’t want to own the car whilst these dirty birdies are still under your wing. Read on for three reasons that you should lease a car rather than buying one whilst your offspring are young.
Biscuit crumbs between the seats
Every time my child opens a package of biscuits in the car, I wonder whether any of them made it into his mouth before dissolving into a fine powder buried deep in the carpeted floor. It’s a full-time job combating the crumbs and dust that constantly plague the floors in your home, and the car only offers more corners and crevices for the crumbs to hide.
Even the most determined fighter of filth is guaranteed to miss some crumbs — and a plastic wrapper or two — buried deeply between the car cushions. Do yourself a favour and take pre-emptive action in this losing fight by only keeping a car temporarily before returning it for a brilliant, sparkling new model.
Stickers on windows
I love my kids, and I love the sweet smiles of excitement on their face when someone gives them a sticker for their brilliant behaviour at an appointment or on an errand. I could, however, do without the inevitable placement of said stickers all over the doors, windows, and seats of my car interior.
Try as I might, I still have yet to find an effective solution to combat the sticky residue left behind by the stickers. Sure, my fellow mummy bloggers have some great DIY suggestions to fight the residue, but in my household a new sticker leaves its mark as soon as I’ve scrubbed away the evidence of the last one. I’d just as soon leave the sticky markings of little ones’ rewards, along with the fuzzy residue, behind.
Beverages in the backseat
My children have been known to drink out of a cup of questionable origin from the backseat. I know the tots are thirsty after a run in the grass, but drinking out of an old beverage that’s past its prime is beyond the pale. Those cups roll around in the back of the car until whatever was once inside turns into a science experiment that I’d rather never revisit. The worst part of being a mum is that you can’t toss an old cup without opening it to see how bad it is inside. Keep in mind — once you crack that lid, the car will never be the same. Do yourself a favour and find a great deal on car leasing before you’re tempted to purchase an auto that your kids will permanently mark.
The best reasons
So there you have it. I could keep listing more reasons to lease your Mummy Mobile, but in the end, they all trace back to a common theme: kids are messy! Sweet, but messy. Cleaning up after them is a fact of life, but leasing a car can aid you as you strive to reduce their impact on one of your most valuable possessions during the messiest and most dependent years of their lives. Of course, you’ll still likely need to clean up that leased car before you return it.