A few weeks ago, Courtney's parents asked us if we would had considered getting a new car. The one we had at the time was great and we were very happy with it, but the reality was that it probably wasn't going to get us through our years pounding up and down the interstate to Kentucky. We told them we hadn't really thought about it and it wasn't really in our budget to get a new car at the time. They then told us that they were willing to gift us their current car for whatever we were able to sell ours for! It was a huge gesture of generosity and love. We put up our car up for sale at the beginning of the month with the hope of selling it quick. So off we went with Kijiji and Autotrader!
Neither of us had ever sold a car before, and unsurprisingly, there were quite a few things we learned in terms of processes, legalities, sales, and how to honour the Lord through it all - in the end, it was a good (though trying) learning experience. Here’s some of the lessons I took away:
It pays (literally) to take good care of your car - get on it!
I’m not big on cars. My father-in-law, brother-in-law and I enjoy going to the International Car Show in Toronto each year, but aside from that and trying to take care of my own car, I don’t have much interest in cars. I can definitely appreciate a nice car when I see one, but I don’t dream of big engines or low fuel economy. Along with that, I also don’t know very much about cars and aside from a basic understanding of what to do in a few emergency situations, I am pretty useless. (If anyone has read “Humility” by CJ. Mahaney, you might remember one of the opening chapters describing the extent of his mechanic skills – I can sort of identify). My father-in-law, on the other hand, really knows how to take care of his vehicles. He's one of those Q-tip cleaners, where the dashboard of his vehicle would be a perfectly usable eating surface and should you have to dig beneath a seat to find a dropped item, your hand would emerge dust, crumb, and odour free. Since he was the original owner of the car that we just sold, and the owner of the one we just received, we have GREATLY benefited from the way he takes care of his vehicles. The good stewardship of our old car helped us sell it for much more than other cars of the same age and model. It was very encouraging to see just how far non-lazy, intentional, preventative car maintenance went!
It can be tempting to freak out - fight it!
There are so many things that can go wrong with driving, owning, and selling a car. Every scrape and squeal that can cause you to make a trip to the mechanic can end up costing a whole lot of money. We were very fortunate that we never had to do anything to our old car other than fill up on gas and change the oil, and patch a few tires. As soon as we put it up for sale, though, our problems started. We quickly became good friends (out of necessity) with our trusted mechanic as we ended up spending almost $1000 on the car the week we put it up for sale. This very sudden hike in the "car maintenance" part of our budget took us both by surprise. Since we only own one car, simple tasks like getting to work suddenly became complicated (my parents really helped with that though!). We also grappled with the question of "what is the right thing to do - get this fixed, or just cross our fingers that the buyer won't ask about it"? It all seems so silly now (as it often does...). The Lord blesses faith, and continues to provide us with our daily bread. We hope to hold more firm to the promised goodness of the statues of the Lord and be less swayed by stress the next time around!
There are so many things that can go wrong with driving, owning, and selling a car. Every scrape and squeal that can cause you to make a trip to the mechanic can end up costing a whole lot of money. We were very fortunate that we never had to do anything to our old car other than fill up on gas and change the oil, and patch a few tires. As soon as we put it up for sale, though, our problems started. We quickly became good friends (out of necessity) with our trusted mechanic as we ended up spending almost $1000 on the car the week we put it up for sale. This very sudden hike in the "car maintenance" part of our budget took us both by surprise. Since we only own one car, simple tasks like getting to work suddenly became complicated (my parents really helped with that though!). We also grappled with the question of "what is the right thing to do - get this fixed, or just cross our fingers that the buyer won't ask about it"? It all seems so silly now (as it often does...). The Lord blesses faith, and continues to provide us with our daily bread. We hope to hold more firm to the promised goodness of the statues of the Lord and be less swayed by stress the next time around!
It can be tempting to lie - don't!
There are so many opportunities to lie in the sale of a car - it is so easy to omit information, be deceitful, and to right out lie. It's easy to answer questions like "does the car have any accident history?", or "have you had the breaks replaced recently?". But when you get asked questions like "how long do you think these tires will last?", do you admit that they're pretty much done and that they probably won't last through the summer? Maybe the hardest question of all to be asked is, "is there anything else I should know about that I am not asking?". Two of the things the Lord hates are a lying tongue and a false witness that breathes out lies (Proverbs 6:16-19). It's in situations like these that our integrity, our honesty, and our willingness to reflect to purity and the integrity of the Lord is put to the test. By God's grace, we had the money and the integrity to pay for the tweaks our car needed to be in tip-top shape, and the courage to answer the buyer's questions honestly.
Two things I found helpful in maintaining integrity are:
- Maintain a clear conscience - Knowing that there was nothing wrong with the car and having a clean conscience that we were selling a car we would otherwise have been very happy buying ourselves, protected us from the temptation to be deceitful. Even if there had been some problems with the car, the Lord calls us to complete honesty and transparency.
- Fear the Lord - If the fear of man (who can choose to buy or not buy) becomes greater than the fear of God, we will compromise our integrity over a few bucks or over avoiding an honest (and likely awkward) conversation.
It can be an opportunity to give (TAKE IT)
In the end, we found a buyer who was very happy to pay what we were looking for for the car despite the specks of rust, the low tire tread, and the faint break squeaks (all of which he quickly noticed and commented on). The man was very honest and open, but very knowledgeable and keen, which is why we were amazed that he was still willing to pay what we wanted for the car. For us, this was a confirmation of God's faithfulness when we choose to live in His ways.
When closing the deal, the buyer mentioned that he lived about an hour away and was wondering if we would be willing to drive the car to his place as part of the deal. We told him it would be hard for us to do that (being that we only have one vehicle and commitments nearly every night of the week) so he finally agreed to pick up the car. A few days later, he called back to see if there was any chance we would reconsider and drop it off at his house, as that would be a huge help to him and his family. This was not part of the deal we had made though, and Courtney and I were under no compulsion or pressure to take a few hours out of our evening to do this to save him a few bucks. We decided (semi-reluctantly, but with a clear conscience) to do him this favour, and "give" to him in this way. It wouldn't have been wrong for us to stay put on the original deal, but it was a blessing to him for us to do this and he drove us home afterwards. We ended up having a meaningful conversation with this near stranger and did not regret our decision. It is very hard to do favours and to "give", especially in business deals when it costs us something. As Christians though, if we are to count others as more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3), and if we are going to love our neighbours as ourselves (Matt 22:39), we will find ways to be selfless and to give of ourselves to others.
When closing the deal, the buyer mentioned that he lived about an hour away and was wondering if we would be willing to drive the car to his place as part of the deal. We told him it would be hard for us to do that (being that we only have one vehicle and commitments nearly every night of the week) so he finally agreed to pick up the car. A few days later, he called back to see if there was any chance we would reconsider and drop it off at his house, as that would be a huge help to him and his family. This was not part of the deal we had made though, and Courtney and I were under no compulsion or pressure to take a few hours out of our evening to do this to save him a few bucks. We decided (semi-reluctantly, but with a clear conscience) to do him this favour, and "give" to him in this way. It wouldn't have been wrong for us to stay put on the original deal, but it was a blessing to him for us to do this and he drove us home afterwards. We ended up having a meaningful conversation with this near stranger and did not regret our decision. It is very hard to do favours and to "give", especially in business deals when it costs us something. As Christians though, if we are to count others as more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3), and if we are going to love our neighbours as ourselves (Matt 22:39), we will find ways to be selfless and to give of ourselves to others.
