We knew we needed a minivan by November. We knew that some day one more thing was going to need repair on Jeremy's car. That one more thing happened and we started looking seriously for a Honda Odyssey. With Jeremy's car retiring with 315,000 miles on it and my 2001 Accord having 157,o00 and going strong we knew that a Honda was what we wanted. We shopped on various internet sources to find out what the price ranges were for Odysseys and figured we could afford a 2001-2004 and that would come with 100,000+ miles on it.Last weekend we came across a local dealership listing a 2000 Odyssey with 66,000 miles on it. They listed only the Kelly Blue Book price (lower than we thought possible!) on the site. We went to that dealer on Monday and did a test drive. The condition of the car was amazing. Not only are the upholstery and floors spotless, the engine and belts look practically brand new. Of all things, Aliza was heart broken that there was not a cassette player. She has fallen in love with some old children's story cassettes. She threw a fit the entire test drive.
Tuesday some financing options were looked into. Financing an old car is a very difficult task. Even if it is in great condition. Jeremy went back in to talk about price. He checked the internet again and they had taken down the Blue Book price and put in their price. Of course higher than the Blue Book price. We were a little miffed. Maybe they forget they were dealing with a computer guy that would pick up on these things? We forgot about it while we enjoyed celebrating our anniversary.
Today we planned to spend the day just being together. That ended up including a visit to 2 banks. We ended up with some not-so-generous financing options. Such as 11.9% interest! Ummm......no! I was ready to cry because this van seemed like the perfect provision for our need and something we could afford without overextending ourselves. It seemed like we were not being rewarded for being responsible. Anyway, about the time we walked out of the the 2nd bank Jeremy's phone rang. The dealership got a quote from our first choice bank for 3.74%!!! An hour later we signed papers.
When we got to the dealership our salesman said that no one in the office had ever heard of this bank offering such a low interest rate for any car let alone such an old one. He also said that seeing a car as old as ours with such low mileage and in such excellent condition was unheard of. He complimented us on making a responsible purchase given that Jeremy's owns a business etc. etc. We've been praying about purchasing a minivan given that it is truly a need at this point in time regardless of what the economy is doing to small businesses. Finding this car and getting the interest rate we got truly confirms to us that the Lord provided for our need.
Jeremy played 9 holes of golf while I rode along (I made a few cheering blunders. lol). That was our originally planned anniversary date. Then picked up the children in the van. We made sure that we put a portable cassette player by Aliza's seat. When she saw that she could listen to Jungle Jams she was pleased as punch. Josiah loved being able to see out the window. When we got home he said, "Keep riding."
1 comment:
so glad that you got something that was needed and that seems to be perfect for your family!
Post a Comment