Summary: I bought a minivan for my wife and kids too hastily. Somebody tell me to either chill out or do something about it.

There was a point where I thought we'd get by with just my beloved 2003 4Runner and a little Jeep Wrangler with no AC or hard top. I was going to use the YJ to get to the airport (I work from home and often visit clients that are from 50 to 500 miles away), and for longer drives I would rent a car and be reimbursed for the mileage by my company. My wife, meanwhile, would use the T4R as the daily driver with the kids. I decided I was OK with all this, even the bit about the kids spilling soda and french fries in the back seat.

Sounds OK on paper I guess, but I couldn't handle it. I wanted my 4Runner back, and so we needed a car for the wife and kids. Budget: $20K tops, and I'd sell the YJ. After making extra sure my wife wouldn't feel like a dope driving around town in a minivan (she still swears it's fine but I'm not sure I believe her) we figured out what attributes were required (seating for 7 plus cargo, fold flat third row, motorized sliding doors, good reviews, affordable). This led to a quick conclusion: 2-3 year old Honda Odyssey was the only choice. If more money had been available, a newer Toyota Sienna would have been a no-brainer, but we just couldn't afford the latest model (they only recently added fold flat rear seats).

18 hours later I'm looking at a 2001 Odyssey EX on a used car lot. Four hours after that I drove away in it and got (I thought) a pretty good deal. That was a few months ago.

Now for the buyer's remorse. I hate this minivan, partly because it's no fun to drive (duh), and partly because I had a bad buying experience.

• # Three days after buying it I found the battery smelled of sulphur and wouldn't hold a charge. Replaced it myself rather than drive 25 miles to the dealer and let them keep it for four hours.
  
  # I was assured the vehicle was factory certified and had a warranty that was good for something like 2 years and/or 30K more miles (we bought it at 52K). In the dumbest move of the century, I didn't verify this claim in any of the contracts, and of course I have no such warranty.
  
  # When I told the dealer I would be financing the car through my own lender, they said "no problem" and promised a quick three day free loan as is common in such situations. When I called them with my credit union to pay off the car and transfer the pink slip I was told the loan had been sold to a third party and I'd have to deal with the new lender. It took 2 months to wrest the loan away from the new guys and get my loan in order. This too could have been avoided by more vigilance on my part.
  
  # I was pretty sure the car had floor mats when I looked at it, but of course there were none when I left the dealership. The dealer denies the possibility of "accidentally" forgetting to replace the mats after the car was detailed for delivery.

So I have a bad taste in my mouth over this, and I guess it's because I didn't pay close enough attention to the transaction, allowing myself to be rushed by my impatient family, tired kids and a dealer in high gear.

What should I do next?

• # See if I can still buy a warranty if the car is indeed certified and I'm still elligible.
  
  # Get the dealer to fix the whine coming from the transmission (apparently a factory warranty extension due to a known defect).
  
  # Figure out why the check engine light just came on.
  
  # Figure out why the TCS light (traction control?) light just came on.

Blah! Am I whining pointlessly? Should I be thinking in other terms? Should I try to sell the stupid thing even at a loss and get a vehicle I can have some pride of ownership in and redeem myself by handling the transaction correctly? Or just calm down and get over it?