By Reb van Noppen
The Big Blue Whale—a Dodge Ram full size conversion van—was one of Dave’s bucket-list finds at a local auction. It suited his height, his desire for vehicle space, and fit our family of seven just perfectly, along with dogs.
It was our home away from home on wheels and took us on all kinds of road trips to the southern states, eastern and southern Ontario, and housed our son during a summer of tree planting in northern, bug-infested, Ontario. With comfortable “captain” seats, a theatre system, and lots of room for luggage, we were happy to cruise from destination to destination. Its last road trip was to a beautiful church in Portland Ontario carrying our oldest daughter Mercedes, and her bridal attendants; a fitting last trip for a vehicle that was such an important part of our family.
The Whale was just one of almost a dozen vehicles we have owned over the last 34 years. Every one of these vehicles has come to us in different ways, and out of all of them, we would say we only bought one dud. We have been given cars, and we have bought used cars, mini-vans, a truck, and most recently a brand new Nissan Kicks—all with cash. Buying brand new is sometimes frowned upon because of the “depreciation” factor, but the depreciation is not relevant when the plan is to keep the car more than 7 years—which has always been our plan. We will save that math for another day!
On our radio show today, we talked about car shopping, and Dave even threw in a dad joke for good measure. It has taken us over 400 episodes to finally get talking about one of the most frustrating and joy-filled financial expenditures we experience in Canadian culture. You can be sure there is another podcast or two on this topic in the near future, but for now here are a few tips. As a retired automotive technician, Dave brings his expertise into his experiences and conversations as a financial coach.
- Know your need. Do you need a car or do you need transportation? Your location will often dictate the answer for this. Be aware that shared driving, busing, or uber rides may be a short term solution, if not a long term one. So, include these options in your processing.
- Know your numbers. Get aware of what you can manage financially each month for a vehicle expense whether you save in advance or get financing. Debt is a burden, and you want a plan that gets you out of debt as fast as possible. Also research your insurance as part of this planning. You don’t want that to catch you by surprise.
- Save and save some more. Save as much as possible each month (according to your plan) in anticipation of needing a vehicle, and give yourself a goal and deadline, then pay cash.
- Slow down the decision making process. There will be a tendency to rush in, headlong, but take a breath. If you don’t know your needs, or your numbers, take time to figure out how much you can set aside each month to save for a vehicle or pay for a vehicle. Remember, there will always be a deal of some kind so don’t let marketing or advertising push you into a decision you aren’t really prepared for.
- Make Every Spending Decision a Spiritual One. This might be the most important thing to do at the beginning of your thinking about vehicle purchases. Invite God into the discussion. Pray and wait. Tell God what you would like and see how he orchestrates the answer. Sometimes He gives the money to buy, sometimes he provides the vehicle for free from someone else. Sometimes He says wait while you save. For every season of vehicle ownership there is an answer.