Our "New" Ride

Okay, so I know many of you have already heard my news, but I thought it was rather fitting for this post to be about our new-to-us minivan, seeing as how the last post was about needing one! :)

God is so good, and He has yet again wow-ed us with what He's done.

We had been praying for wisdom to know what to do about our car situation. After a little thinking and talking to each other, we took some of our friends' advice and called our church. We have heard of people getting help and also of people receiving vehicle donations from the church, so we thought we'd go this route first. This was quickly a closed door, as we were informed that we were one of 200 people asking for a vehicle and that car donations had slowed down because of the economy. This was frustrating, but we definitely understood and were determined that there was another way.

So we had a few more friend referrals, one of which seemed viable, the other could help us if we wanted to get into monthly payments - which we didn't. So, we kept the first one in mind, but still wanted to see what our other options were.

Then it was on to Craig's list searching. We looked at vehicles on CL every day and emailed each other with ones that looked appealing and ones that we could afford. We made a list and planned to call the ones we were interested in. So, last week on J's day off, we called and set out to look at a minivan in Rockwall. Yes you read that right - Rockwall! For those of you that don't know, this was an hour drive. Crazy? Maybe a little. But this deal looked good and we thought we'd probably buy it. We were sure that there was little that could make us turn away.

So, it was a great family drive out there. Let me back up and say that when we first called this man about our interest, he was a little rude on the phone to J. He basically didn't want to have his time wasted and let us know that he lived in a nice neighborhood and didn't want to mess around. We didn't let this phase us because we figured that it could still be a great vehicle, even if the owner wasn't friendly.

Later we found out that this guy had his dealer's license and was retired, and his interest in selling the car outweighed his need to know anything about the car. Seriously. Through the course of the time we were there, this man tried to get me to not buckle in Noah because it was a short drive (I was having a hard time fitting the carseat into the captain's chair), didn't know how to work anything (moving seats back and forward, how to work the dvd/vcr player that was apparently broken we figured out), shrugged off the fact that there was a broken headlight, a not working tail light, and a nail in the tire, and told us there was a spare, which there wasn't. Again, this man didn't actually drive this car since he was only selling it, however, don't you think you should know something about the vehicle (or anything else for that matter) that you are selling?

Well, what's funnier is that he tried to tell us that the dvd/vcr probably worked and that we probably didn't know how to work it, so we should take it to the mazda dealer and find out that way. He also said that the nail in the tire wasn't a big deal because it wasn't obviously affecting the tire pressure. Did he not know that the tire could blow at any time, and that we'd be stranded without a spare? Haha! And he wouldn't budge on price, saying that that's what you get with older cars. :::Sigh::: We told him we'd discuss it over lunch (down the street) and that we'd call back. ....... And if it wasn't already obvious to you, we did not take the deal. :) Although all of those things I wrote about were not as blatantly obvious until we were able to bring it all to each other's attention over lunch. But basically this man wanted to sell this van to get it off his hands and he didn't know/didn't care about the condition of it.

Again, we were not shaken. We knew that God had us go there for a reason. Even if that reason was to know what we were looking for... and not looking for. :) We went home, enjoyed some sno cones, and enjoyed the rest of our night.

So the next day, after I came home from Bible study, we set out to go to 3 other places we spotted on CL.

The first place was a local salvage yard. This was our first indication that we probably weren't interested. That and the fact that the lady on the phone was more rude on the phone than the guy the day before! J test drove this one without me because 1. It was a little beat up on the outside, indicating it had been in an accident, 2.It was SUPER hot outside and I didn't want to take the kids out of the car. So I got J to look at it and test drive it while we waited in the car.

After talking with the lady some more and taking it for a spin, we told this lady the same thing - we were going to decide over lunch. I don't know about you, but I always think more clearly when food is in my belly! :) So, we got to talking and the interior of the van needed major major professional cleaning, but J said that it drove awesome. However, they had just put a new engine in it (which made for a smooth ride, but questionable as to why they'd have to change it out already). When he asked the lady why, she was pretty sarcastic and side stepped the issue altogether. He also asked her if it had been in a wreck before. She told him that whether it did or not does not have any affect on how it drives today. Okay! Talk about avoiding important information! While we were a little undecided, we made the decision that if we were supposed to get it that it would be there the next day.

On to our next stop, a nearby car dealership. When we got into this minivan, we could literally taste the cigarette smoke and there were burn marks on most of the interior. It drove alright, but not that great (wasn't real smooth), and we decided to keep looking.

Okay, I promise you there is a point and I'm getting to it pretty quickly. Thanks for sticking with me this far!

So, knowing our last stop wasn't for a few hours (we were waiting on this man to get off work) we drove up and down the same road and found other dealerships with cash cars and we test drove 1 more. It was very clean and drove alright. But it just wasn't right. We didn't know why.

So, our last stop was in the evening. We were tired, HUNGRY (there is a whole 'nother story here, but I'll just say that we looked for somewhere to eat and then ran out of time), and just wanting to be done.... and so were the kids!

This van isn't my ideal color, is a '98 and doesn't look too special. In fact, the only thing that we found to be appealing was the fact that it looked clean on the inside (from pictures) and that it only had 38,300 miles on it! Yes, and it was a '98! So we wanted to know the story and why it was priced so low. Again, there is a long and great story here, but to shorten it, this guy was the second owner. The first one got into a tiny fender bender that left the front fender damaged and decided to get another vehicle. This man, working at the dealership that the first owner took it to, asked to take the van from him as a fixer upper. The man obliged, gave him the van and bought a new vehicle. So, the new owner fixed it up and was so proud, only to find that his wife and kids wouldn't be caught dead in this minivan. haha! So, he was told that if he didn't get rid of it, she would.

After a test drive and after finding out some funny and crazy things we had in common with these people, and realizing that this was too good of an offer to refuse, we took the deal. (Enter Hallelujah chorus here)

While there were many things that made us laugh - (for instance, Bekah calls cats "meow meow"s and when we went into their house she naturally said "meow meow!" The little boy said to Bekah, "That's his name! Really!" Also, J and this man's wife have the same profession.) we just felt peace about it altogether. Not only was this van well taken care of and with low mileage, but everything worked on it and our family fit comfortably in it!

We know that God worked it out for us, and we are grateful and beyond relieved that our problem is resolved. Who knew it would happen this way? Two rough days of car shopping were definitely worth our treasure of a find. Thank you, Lord!

Now, for pictures!


paint still looks good.


The seller had replaced the hubcabs on it with some wheels from a Dodge Grand Caravan.




It was so clean, and it still smelled new!


No cd player, but not a big deal. We are just thankful for a great engine, a working radio and cold a/c!

The Lord was faithful to answer our prayer, and we are so blessed to have a new-to-us minivan for our growing family! We are so happy that we don't have to stress about this as we wait on our newest addition to get here!

Do you have a faith story where God showed up in a way you didn't expect? Please share! I wanna hear!