Those of you who know that we are expecting child number 5 probably also know that we need a new vehicle to provide enough seating for us all. Since it is illegal for any of our disruptive-in-the-car children to ride in the trunk that meant purchasing a van.
Although we have maintained all along in this process (as we have in many other processes) that God will provide for us at the right time with the right solution, van shopping has been difficult. There appear to be two types of vans on the used market today; 1) Out of our price range, and 2) Affordable reliability risks.
Deborah and I are striving to adhere to a self-imposed code of spending based on the principle that our money is best used helping those with less opportunity, rather than on buying the newest or best for ourselves. This concept; which we apply to everything from cloths for the kids to minivans, usually challenges our committment to this lifestyle. However – with the exception of coffee purchases by the self proclaimed coffee-snob of the Schroeder household – committment to this principle usually wins; often as a result of an odd combination of spousal gridlock, patience, and factors outside our control. Once again, this story was repeated in our quest for 7-passenger seating.
After a few weeks of research we concluded that vans from 1999 or newer were far out of our peice range. Most of the 1998-1997 ones were marginally affordable, while the rest were comfortably in our price range. Truth be told, because of the generous offering of loans from our parents, we could have “afforded” any vehicle. However, the guiding financial principle explained above, and the thought of owing our parents money for the next several years led us to searching the lower end of the minivan market.
One day in October I saw a red Pontaic Trasnport on the way home from a meeting out of town. The price seemed right ($4,000) and the miles were low (96,000) considering it was a 1995. I was ready to test drive and buy that day, but the self proclaimed procrastinator of the Schroeder household was not ready for the van shopping experience to begin. (We have great marital balance that way!)
The months went on, some vans were casually viewed, but it was not until mid-January that Deb was finally ready to look and drive. The red Pontiac Transport was still there, and Deborah actually test drove it, and later made a ridiculously low offer (on advice from the mechanic) which was subsequently rejected. Oh well. As my mother says, “There will always be another sale.”
There were other sales, which we investigated. But we never found one that was a great fit for us. Too coostly, too many miles, too much risk, too cramped, too etc. Then one day in February we got a call from some friendds that changed the course of our searching, and provided an answer to our prayers.
Our friends Al and Karen called to ask if we were still looking for a new van. As the story goes, they were buying a new van, and the dealer was not going to give them much for it since it was 14 years old, and had close to 170,000 miles on it. But they went on to explain that except for some quirky air vent issues, and a sticky door, it was still in very good shape. (the engine ran great, they had kept it well maintained, and it was very clean.)
We talked about it that night and decided that at the very least it would provide us with some temporary relief from the search, and – because of the condition – would be a worthwhile, inexpensive chance to take. So we agreed to buy it from them.
I met Al at the vehicle license bureau, we got the title transferred, and I was ready to pay him for it when he said, “Put your checkbook away.” Very confused, I knew what was coming next, and started to protest. But the response I got back included a counter to every argument I could muster. Finally, Al’s claim that if the vehicle broke down they would feel terrible for having accepted any money for it turned the argument in his favor, and he broke me with the one point that I could not counter – that he and Karen wanted to do this for us, and that all they ask was for us to do something similar whenever we can manage.
So, after $27.50 we were the happy owners of a new (to us) 1990 Chevrolet Lumina with only 169,754 miles. We don’t know what the future will hold for this vehicle – It could last us 2,000 miles or 50,000. What we do know is that – once again – we feel God has provided us with exactly what we need at the right time, and I’m not talking about the van. Thanks Al and Karen. We love you.