A Steward’s Guide to Car Buying Part 3: Doing the Math
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I returned home from a business trip this week to a few options for our good used minivan purchase. We had a private offer of $16,000 for 2015 Honda Odyssey LX (33,300 miles), originally asked price was $17,500. This was a great deal.
In addition to this, a close family friend told me about a used car dealer friend who would give us a great deal. The bottom line is that we ended up buying from this dealer friend. To be honest, I am happy with our purchase now but I wasn’t as ecstatic first. I thank the Lord for this minivan. It was a good purchase.
We ended up buying a 2014 Toyota Sienna LE with 35,600 miles for $19,000 in cash. We traded our beater 2000 Toyota Sienna with 160,000 miles for $600 in discount. This beater minivan had a missing seat in the middle row, a non-working sliding door on the passenger side, a non-working driver’s side window, engine oil and steering fluid leakages, and many bumps around the vehicle. We usually gifted our old car to others who are desperate but we really felt uncomfortable giving this one away because it had so many issues.
$19,000 included the price of the vehicle, a black box, the $600 credit for the old van, fees, taxes, registration and all paperwork with the DMV. According to KBB.COM, a fair purchase price for this car with these specifications listed for $18,962 from a dealer before taxes and fees. So I knew that paying the total price of $19,000 for this 2014 Toyota Sienna from a dealer was a great deal. And I thank the Lord for it.
The same or similar minivan could have been purchased privately for around $17,000, and I would have paid $1126 in taxes, more on registration and done all the paperwork myself at the DMV for license plates as well as for my auto insurance paperwork. But I know that I would have paid another few hundred dollars to get the minivan checked out with my mechanic. After all additional fees, I would have saved about $500 if I had bought an equivalent vehicle privately and done all the paperwork myself.
All in all, because we had been saving up for this car for the past 5 years and could write a check on the spot for the car, we were positioned well. Because we didn’t need the car urgently, we were not desperate and positioned well. Because we had a clear budget of $20K we were committed to, we knew where our line was.
To be honest, when we first bought the minivan, I thought I didn’t get a great deal so I wrestled a bit internally. But the more I thought about it, did the numbers, I knew that the dealer was more than generous with me and my wife. I’m still relearning to be thankful.
Last week, we thanked the Lord for our beater 2000 Toyota Sienna. Today, we thank the Lord for our new used 2014 Toyota Sienna. Our kids were complaining a long time about our minivan situation. They complained a lot about wanting a better minivan for the past several years. We had been telling them to wait and pray for the past 2 years or so, but now, we get to thank the Lord for this van.
When we picked up the minivan from the dealer and drove it home, our kids were so excited and we drove around the neighborhood. We paid in cash and we didn’t owe anyone anything for this car. We reminded them that we had been saving for many years, we chose to stay within our means, and now are enjoying the freedom the Lord gave us. We prayed together that evening in our new minivan, thanking the Lord for this gift.
Our hope and prayer is that we show our children how to be content in all circumstances, whether we drive a beater 2000 Toyota Sienna with all the inconveniences or drive a 2014 Toyota Sienna with everything working and having no payments, we want to be able to say we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Are you ready to get started? Contact me at paul@jangfinancial.com if you want to help disciple your congregation as God-honoring stewards from a biblical perspective, or if you yourself want to grow as a steward seeking to practically manage the finances better to hear from our Lord upon his return, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21, 23)
Questions to ponder:
1. How long do you have until you will need to replace your current car? How much do you want to spend on your next car? How much do you need to save monthly to do so?
2. If you are married with children, how are you training your children as God’s stewards? What are they learning from you?
Paul Jang
Pastor | Personal Financial Coach to Individuals & Financial Stewardship Ministry Consultant for Churches
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