Cars and Counsel

I drive an antique vehicle. It’s a 2002 Ford Mustang V6. Well, it’s not an antique by the official definition, but it is a classic by most definitions. It is 15 years old this year, and if I could get an antique plate on it I would.

Jen and I purchased it a few months after we were married in 2003. She was going to drive back and forth to Gainesville to work everyday, so we needed something reliable. That, and she always wanted a Mustang of her own (It really was and is hers. She would still drive it if she could, but we can’t really tote all her photo props and equipment and three rowdy boys in that car, so I drive it to work. But she did let me pick the color, which is that really cool Tampa Bay Buccaneers pewter color. Officially it’s “mineral gray.”).

We got a good deal on it I think. We told them $14k out the door, taxes, tag and all. So the purchase price was about $12,700. We paid nothing down and our payments were something like $280 a month for 5 years. I really can’t remember now. (On a side note, I said to Jen tonight that we have bought two vehicles and a house and paid nothing down on anything. That’s probably not a good thing.) We paid it off, a while back of course, and it has been a terrific vehicle.

In the last several years it started acting up a bit. A couple of years ago I took it to a local mechanic who my brother-in-law recommended as having done well for him. The folks there fixed it right up and called me to let me know it was done. I went to pick it up, paid about $450 for the parts and labor, and proceeded to drive away. But, wait. It’s still not fixed, I said to myself. So I turned around and let the boss man know. He said it was better, but sometimes when you fix one part you realize there are other issues as well. They told me the catalytic converter was clogged and that they don’t work on exhaust. I thought, what difference does that make because you’re not touching my car again.

So after having spent that kind of money to get the thing running smoothly with no success (Thanks a lot for the recommendation, Greg. No worries, though. He won’t be reading this.) I decided to do nothing for a while. After another year or so it was bad enough to the point that I figured something needed to be done. So I Googled “exhaust repair habersham county.” I chose the first one that popped up, Chip’s Service and Exhaust Center, and gave them a ring. The long and short of it is that Chip and his crew repaired something, asked me to come drive it, I did, and then I told them it was better but not fixed. So they repaired something else that I think they had never heard of (camshaft synchronizer?) and all was well! It was a beautiful thing to cruise around in the ‘Stang again at full strength.

I don’t remember when that was. It was last year sometime. I remember it was over $500 for the repair. So we had invested over $1,000 in this thing by now. Fast forward to last week. I was driving home from work, and the engine started shaking so bad that I thought it was going to fall out. I took it to Chip’s today. The verdict? $582. Maybe that’s not a lot to you guys, maybe it’s just a month’s car payment or something. For me, that’s insane. I’m supposed to pick it up tomorrow.

That was a quite lengthy story. It really was just the backstory. Are you ready for the real story? Do you need to take a break and get a drink of water, or stretch your legs maybe? It really stinks driving old vehicles sometimes. Our other vehicle is a 2006 Honda Pilot that we bought used in 2009. We love it. It fits us perfectly and does everything we want it to. It’s been a great car as well. It also has 197,000 miles on it, and it burns oil. John (that’s my father-in-law), if you happen to be reading this on your iPhone 4, don’t worry, I check the oil frequently.

The problem is that over five years ago when we overdrafted our checking account and had nothing in savings (did you catch that...nothing), we decided we were making a change with our finances. We agree with Dave Ramsey. Debt is dumb. Cash is king. Borrower is slave to the lender. So I really, really, kind of a lot, do not want to have another car payment.

Full disclosure? I’m jealous. I see all you people driving those fancy SUVs around. I want one of those. Or maybe a truck like my friend Kyle’s. It’s a nice, gray Ford F-150 with a crew cab or something. (Kyle, the new wheels add a nice touch, too.) So, yes, I want one of those vehicles. But…     But, what I don’t want is one of those $500 or $600 payments for 5 or 6 years. Not only do I not want it, but we can’t afford it.

The reality that we have set a goal, or made a determination that by May we will have to purchase another vehicle. I suppose it’s a pipe dream to think we could ever pay cash for what we need. So herein lies the struggle. We planned to run as far from debt as possible. And now the reality seems to indicate that payments are headed our way. This is at the same time that we will be sending Jase to private pre-school and TJ to a private 5th grade next fall. Yep, we could not do those things, but our priorities and convictions lead us to those decisions. (Did I mention we’re going to Disney soon? I can’t remember if I did. We’re going to Disney soon. Just thought I’d throw that in there. I know it seems a bit odd to be complaining about the car payment when we’re headed to Disney, but we have our reasons.)

So, I’m crossing my fingers that the $582 fixes the Mustang for now. Jen has worked really hard to build her business, and that income has been a blessing for us. We will, when we purchase, at the very least have a large down payment, and we will get a good deal as we search patiently. We will also keep both of the old vehicles. One of our goals has always been to own three vehicles so we can loan to those who are in need. We hopefully won’t borrow for 5.5 years like we did with the Pilot. In fact, I hope we can pay it off within 1-2 years, whatever we purchase.

The moral of the story is this: we all have struggles with things that are in conflict, ideas that cannot coexist. We don’t want debt, but we might have to use it. I think God would prefer we don’t borrow. He warned against it in His Word, not because it’s a sin, but because it’s not likely a blessing for us.

This morning before work I noticed that I had posted the following on my Facebook page four years ago:

Listen to the right one…

There are many devices in man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. Proverbs 19:21

That’s really what I want; it’s what we need. I have my own thoughts and plans and ideas and things I want to do and not do, and so do you. But what I need is the counsel of the Lord. That, my friends, that shall stand.