The Story of Our Van

Picture this... a cold, dark February night, 2007.
A one car family with jobs in opposite directions.
An advertised Christian car dealership we traveled an hour to patronize. Complete with worship music playing in the background on the sales floor.
We were shown a low mileage van at a really good price.
Upon inspection, it looked alright. I noticed that it needed a cleaning, which we were assured that after a full detail it would be in like new condition. We began the paperwork to purchase the vehicle.
The phone rang... it was my mom. 8 month old Adam was with her, and had spiked a fever. 103. My focus immediately went to needing to get to him, now.
I believe at that time the salesman's eyes probably secretly lit up. A set of concerned parents in a hurry... time to get a commitment. We caved. Bought the van.
So. move ahead a couple weeks There was an odor emerging. A hard to explain, but like an old man-cigar-smoking-not-showering-ever- type- odor. The kind that makes you want to cry at the thought of picking up passengers.
We went back to this dealership and, of course, were laughed at when asking for an even trade on something else. Even after describing the smell as above. The best we could get was an extreme detail job from Delta Sonic, with the odor neutralizing machine run in it, paid for. This made the smell bearable, but still not great.
We left it at that. So, over the next nearly 4 years, we drove a smelly van that we both despised, despite its mechanic near perfection. Ugh. Live and learn, right?
Despite many discussions and researching, we never did take the plunge into something we liked. But a few weeks ago, Paul and Adam ran into a store and I stayed back with Zachary who was sleeping in the van. I breathed a big breath of stale cigar (or something) and decided... no more.
So, we got this, a Toyota Rav4. And. we love it! The chemical "new car smell" is heavenly.