It was a rushed day as often they are on a farm, I was already late when I headed out the door for town. Eggs in tow for a customer and a couple of quick errands to run before returning home to hunker down during this Corvid-19 crisis. I had a small handful of almonds with my coffee that morning and being after noon I planned to drive-thru the local coffee shop for one of their keto friendly frozen coffees & call that lunch. Come on, it has protein powder & much needed caffeine!
The cruise control was set as I rolled toward town and I found myself thinking with gratitude that there were still customers that were supporting the farm during this trying time & we were able to provide them with great products.
Nearing town there was a car going slow so I switched lanes to pass but their speed was erratic & cruise control wasn’t cutting it. Noticing a couple of vehicles getting closer that would want to pass, I gave it the gas, passed the car & returned to the right lane. There was another vehicle that I was quickly approaching as I coasted down the hill so I passed it as well. Switching back to the right lane I realized there was no power steering.
The truck had died & wouldn’t start. Still coasting I was able to ease into a parking lot at a local hardware store. The store just happened to be across the street from the Dodge dealership, thanks God. I went to the service desk & explained the situation and went to the waiting area for them to try & fit it in between appointments. Calling the hubby I knew I’d have a while to wait, he was at least 1.5 hrs. away.
Jokingly I told him I’d go look at new trucks while I waited. The manager who I knew slightly because he’d purchased an animal from the farm kindly showed me the inventory. Let me interject, moving to a small town area of southeast Texas has been a joyful return to an often gone way of life, all the trucks were already unlocked. Who does that! After chatting & looking at trucks for a bit we returned inside so he could give me a price I’d asked for out of curiosity to see what trucks are going for these days.
I was really getting hungry when I noticed a lady come in with a big box in her hands, being curious I watched to see what she was pulling out of it. It was candy, the kind the kids sell for fundraisers. Approaching her I asked if I could buy some, she said she’d already purchased it all & insisted on giving me a box. Another blessing!
A little while later Stu arrives & we see the guys are across the street looking at the truck. They were able to push it to the shop, so no tow fee, yay again! We chat with the manager & I joke about the new truck I liked before we gathered the eggs & went to run the errands I’d gone to town for in the first place.
Stopping to make the egg drop, a friend came out to get them for her boss. Hearing about the truck she offered that her mom’s van was home if I needed to borrow it since she was staying home due to the Coronavirus. I’d offered to loan her our car when hers was in the shop a while back & now she knew I’d be without transportation since our daughter had the car in New York.
Speaking of NY, how good is God that while the state is sheltered in place & our daughter has been laid off from work due to Corvid-19 we know she has good transportation & doesn’t have to worry about the car note since we are owner financing it! Are you seeing the pattern here? We couldn’t see what was coming, but God knew all the while. Everything was already set in motion, these are not mere coincidences.
Our next errand was to stop by the local nursery & buy plants. We really didn’t need plants, but they had ordered a bunch to support the local Master Gardeners at a festival that was cancelled due to the virus. This was just a way to support our local small businesses during this time & bring a little beauty to our place while we spend most of our time home.
Out of curiosity we drove by the used car site for the dealership to see if there were any used trucks, but we didn’t see anything that would work for us. After all, we didn’t need a new truck anyway. All the while I’m thinking it’s the same electronic thing that went out several years ago on the truck & was fixed for a couple hundred dollars.
Returning to the service area we were shocked to learn the engine on the truck had seized up & was irreparable. In what could have only been the perfect storm of circumstances it had overheated to the point of no return so fast the light on the dash never came on!
Now we return to the manager to look at trucks from a need a truck point of view. Let me just say, when it’s need vs. want, you become a whole lot more flexible about color, features & ultimately the bottom line. With only an engineless trade-in, and the stock market tanking our retirement savings this is certainly not a time we planned on spending like this. There’s a catch 22 here, we aren’t supposed to be traveling unnecessarily & the two biggest towns near us that may give us broader options & may be a bit less expensive both have confirmed cases of Corvid-19. I’m not going there! Besides, we’re supposed to be supporting our local businesses.
Reaching a price on the best deal on a truck that met our needs, we walk out with pricing scribbled on a sheet of paper by the manager, I love that! It’s been a long day & we’re going home to look at what we need to do to make this work & go back the next morning to do paperwork & financing.
Speaking with the manager the next morning I decide to call our credit union to see if they have better interest rates than the dealership. Joking on the phone with the lady from the bank I say, “I guess we’d just have to pass the paperwork back & forth through the drive-thru”. That’s when she said they weren’t passing paper back & forth due to concerns about the virus. That was a bit of a reality check for sure. Here’s the blessing though, their rate was only 1/10 of a percent better than the dealership. Thanks again God.
We already believed we were getting a fair price on the truck, but one of the rebates was gone because we weren’t finance with the manufacturer. So when I called back to have them prepare the financing paperwork I asked again if there was anything else they could do on the pricing. The manager spoke with the owner and the price dropped more than just the rebate amount. Still not seeing the pattern here?
Let me wrap this up here. We were blessed to get a new vehicle that totally wasn’t in our plans & put us out of our comfort zone with financial resources. But, it is undeniable the favor we have received in our situation. What’s going on in our world right now makes no sense, but it’s no surprise to our Heavenly Father & I’m going to keep on trusting in Him & praising Him for His goodness!
