Hunting for a Kangoo

"S" has helped us out yet again.

She has turned us on to Carlos, a local mechanic, in hopes of finding us a good used car.

The deal seems to work something like this: Carlos goes to the Spanish border every week looking for cars. Apparently the cars from Spain are in very good shape. So anyway, we tell him what we're looking for and how much we want to pay. He then finds it, checks it out, sells it to us, and guarantees it mechanically for a year. "S" trusts him, and I have to agree: he has a very nice smile, and a very good vibe. A genuine person.

And here's the kicker: after we return our rental car and while he seeks out our dream vehicle, he loans us a car for free. Amazing. That's service indeed.

So what have we asked for? A renault kangoo.

Not the flashiest car on the road, but very useful for us without being too suburban. It's spacious enough while still able to navigate the narrow streets of French villages, and it has a sliding side door. Every seen a French parking lot? You need a sliding side door, or else everyone needs to get out of the car before you park. So that's a plus. Of course, we're a little flexible: citroen and peugeot each make nearly identical cars, and that's ok. We'll just have to wait and see what we get.

And by the way, if we do get a kangoo, we know we'll be safe. Look:

Safe as milk.