Help the Svedins Secure a Safe Vehicle

Hey, it's the Svedins! We decided through much consternation and hesitancy to start this fundraiser for a new vehicle. We've done our best through the years to keep our family can running, but at 215k our 2014 Nissan Quest is needing much more frequent repair at an increasing cost that has become unsustainable. In addition our family has been growing we are needing a larger family vehicle. Unfortunately, the cost of a new(to us) vehicle is out of reach as far as being able to qualify for a decent auto loan rate, and having the liquidity immediately available for a down payment.

As easy as it may seem to buy a cheaper, older car from someone on FB or Craigslist, the problem is the reliability. We've been buying and using "clunkers" and cheap "hand-me-down" type family vehicles and it has always ended up becoming more of an ongoing financial burden and we end up with vehicle that just simply aren't functional or safe. We've only gotten 4.5y out of this current van. And we've loved it, it's done well for us, we've serviced and repaired it so many many times.

But today we were almost in what would have been a catastrophic accident because the wheel started to come off the axle. I was taking the kids to school, and the car became more and more difficult to handle, and I pulled over to find that my front left wheel was at a severe angle and some of the lugnuts were gone. We don't know how this has happened, there have been no accidents or curb checks or anything recent as far as rotations, etc. But now we've got to pay for a tow, and even if we can get this figured out and fixed within a reasonable budget, we've also been having electrical issues, and suspect the control body needs replaced entirely. We've paid for this van 2-3 times over what it cost us and what its current value is. We need a car that's reliable, sizeable for our large family, and we need help paying for it. It sucks asking for help, but we need it.

As many of you know, Jason works as a high school physics teacher. What many may not know is that he has been busting his butt with many extra responsibilities at the school in order to make more money where he is able. This means he has taken positions that require much more time from him and away from us, much more personal and emotional investment and development, and he does this joyfully to serve his students and our family. He provides for us, but right now everything in this current economy is stacked against us, and we've experienced several financial blows in the last 18-24 months; vehicle repairs have been a significant part of that.

Many know that I joke my way through exasperation. One of those, if I don't laugh, I'll cry, even if the laughter is out of incredulity. But I'm here seriously, sincerely, and humbly asking for help for our family. Please help us secure a reliable and safe vehicle for our family. Thank you.

UPDATE 5/26

Thank you for such a strong start to our fundraiser. I wanted to write an update to share some more details, clarify exactly how these funds will be used and provide some pictures.

These funds will be used in 2 ways:

This brings me to some additional details. We announced back in February that we began kinship fostering our newborn nephew, which was a sudden addition to our family (we love him and he is growing so well, but it was certainly a big change we weren't expecting!). What we have not yet announced, and most do not know, is that about a week before receiving news about taking our nephew into our home, we found out that we were also very surprisingly expecting once more, and I am due in August! This will take our family from 6 to 8, which will include two infants 8 months apart. While we are excited with how our family is changing, the difficulties are real and more pressing in regards to a safe, reliable, and suitable vehicle for our family.

For context about the situation of our current van. We're not sure exactly how it happened, but somehow, lugnuts became loose resulting in an improperly seated wheel. This caused 4 lugbolts to shear off, and in the process of trying to get our van onto the tow truck, the wheel (which had been slowly having ribbons of metal shaved off on the inside) was sliced open, the tire also receiving sidewall damage, and further damaging the hub assembly.

(Note: this estimate does not include the cost of replacing the wheel which looks like el be an additional $300ish. The tire should be under warranty, as we just replaced all 4 in Feb. This estimate only includes repairs to be able to put a tire, the donut spare, on the axle, and make it drivable, after which we'll be taking it to Discount to handle the wheel and tire).

Thank you again so much for those who have already contributed to our efforts. I (Kay) am trying to put in as many extra hours as I can with some online work I'm able to do, and Jason is doing odds and ends jobs where available before he starts his month of teaching summer school. Everything extra we're able to earn and raise will be going to this need. Thank you for helping us meet it. We appreciate you all so much!