FINALLY!!

We are so thankful to have this vehicle! After 3 months (4 for Brian) of rickshaws and buses we really appreciate the room and a/c (which means not having to breath stinky exhaust:)! It is a 2001 Mahindra Bolero. (Note the racing stripes that are non-optional on all SUV's--Brian says it makes the car go faster:) People here either drive tiny compact cars or large SUV safari types like this one. The large family needed to opt for this kind:)

We learned quickly that buying a vehicle in India is not like the states. You can't go to your local CarMax, pick out a car and drive off. Finding a reputable dealer is a challenge and although we worked with an honest salesman for 2 months (the first month was wasted with a dishonest dealer:), most of the cars he told us would be available fell through (the dealer works with individual owners who decided not to sell them). We actually looked at this same vehicle about 2 months ago but held out to see if we could get a more recent model (and the man selling it was holding out to get the price he wanted). Nothing materialized. We assumed this is the one the Lord wanted us to have.

Like most cars here there are are no seatbelts in the rear:) We are going to have those installed so we can make use of those carseats we value so much in the u.s.:)