We’ve been thinking/talking/dreaming of getting a new car to replace our very old, on its last legs, Pathfinder. Three years ago we started conversations about timing (it’s really been 8 years or more since we’ve had a car payment!). I even went out and test drove a new 2004 Subaru Forester. We’ve always found reasons to put it off, and the Pathfinder was still running — so that was a blessing.
Every time Howard would start talking about what we should get — words like 6-cylinder engine, new, maybe a truck, automatic, good gas mileage, etc. — would flow. My thoughts on what we could afford and what we should get were a little different than what he thought (and this will be news to him when he reads this). I sent him some listings and information on cars that I figured we could afford, but there was always something wrong with them — high mileage, too old, wrong color, etc. I specifically remember one day where I was flustered and I just prayed. I prayed “God you know what car you want us to have — so I’m trusting you to make it happen and for Howard and I to agree on it.”
I’d actually forgotten about that prayer until we decided to start car shopping on July 7th. I made sure Howard fed me first (to explain this will take yet another post), and then we stopped by a Honda dealership. We’d never owned a Honda, and we weren’t sure what kind of car we wanted. We figured we’d stop by a few dealerships and test drive some cars. We thought it would be another month or two before we were actually ready to buy anything, but God had other plans.
When we entered the dealership, we were seated with Uncle Ben (seriously that was his nickname). When we told him the monthly payment goal we’d set, I honestly thought he was going to laugh us out of the dealership. We asked questions about what the new cars run and it was about twice the monthly payment we were trying to get. Uncle Ben was very patient though and said we could look at his computer for certified used Hondas (evidently better than just “used”). Side note: It cracks me up how they call them pre-owned instead of used now.
He went down a list of cars, and passed one that was red. My immediate thought was let’s see that one. He mentioned a few others, but they were either 2-door (not gonna do it!) or white (Howard’s got a thing against white cars) or mileage too high. So he came back to the red one. It was 4-doors (check). It wasn’t white (check). It was red (Howard’s fav color — double check). It actually had low miles for a 2003 (check). It was in our price range (check, check, check).
We told Uncle Ben we’d like to test drive it, so he got the keys and we walked onto the lot to the car. When we got to the car, Uncle Ben noticed a problem. The window sticker on the car was $4,000 more than what was in the computer. He asked if a manual transmission would be a problem, and I told him that I actually preferred a manual (easier on the transmission I think). He left us to look at the car and went back inside to talk to his manager. Howard and I talked about the car — it was nice, we aren’t ready to buy yet — so let’s just test drive it to see if we like Hondas. Uncle Ben returned to tell us that someone made an error when they put it into the computer, but that they were going to honor the error if we wanted to purchase that car today.
Both Howard and I took it out for a test drive. The car was really nice:
- the radio worked! (Pathfinder speakers are blown)
- the driver’s side visor actually stays up (Pathfinder one falls down constantly)
- a console that folds down in the back for drinks (Callie’s out of a seat now so this was really nice!)
- it drove quietly (Pathfinder has so many noises we can barely hear each other talk)
- it had power — especially for a 4-cylinder
- it gets great gas mileage
We got back to the lot and Howard called his brother-in-law while we were checking out the car some more. He looked up the blue book value of the car and the trade-in value (which is usually a lot less than what you can sell it outright for) was $1,000 less than what we could purchase it for with the computer error price.
God also blessed us with wonderful financing and monthly payments that came within $10 of our goal. He blessed us with a much nicer car than I ever thought we could afford. He blessed us with a super easy car buying experience — I’d already built it up in my head: dealing with pushy salesmen, trying to get the best price for the car, deciding which car we liked best. God took care of all of that! And on the anniversary of our salvation too 
Whenever someone comments on our new-to-us car, we tell them God really blessed us with the car!
