On Friday I went looking to buy a used car. I’d been impressed driving newer cars at work to and from the airport delivering them to the rental car company. And I’d been impressed driving newer cars at work in a local car auction. The value I experienced driving these newer cars was a motivator to buy a newer car.
I took my minivan to the car wash and got a delux exterior wash and vacumed the inside. Then I drove home and and took warm water and soap and rags to the interior. It looked a lot better. I took miscellaneous objects in the door seats and center console and set them out of site in the glove compartment. I took out the throw rug that covered the running boar in the back of the minivan. It was ready to trade in for a newer car. The last thing I did was take the title to the minivan I owned clean and clear in my name and set it on top of the objects in the glove compartment. I was ready to trade it in.
The first car dealership I went to was where I bought the minivan. I parked and looked around at their inventory and was not satisfied with what I saw. I drove to another local used car dealership, parked and was greeted by Jose, a salesman on the lot. I had a good feeling about Jose and he showed me about 10 cars before I found one I liked. I told Jose I was looking to trade in my minivan to offput some of the sales price on a used car.
The car I liked is a white 2019 Kia Soul hatchback with 53,000 miles on the engine. I went on a test drive with Jose and the car felt good to drive. The sticker price on the car was $14,999. I wasn’t prepared to buy the car but I was prepared to finance a car.
After talking about the car I liked with Jose and test driving it I was sold on the idea of applying to finance the car. Now was time for negotiation on the price. I told Jose I’d like to trade in my minivan for $2,000. While an employee of the dealership drove my minivan and had a mechanic check out the condition of the engine I sat in Jose’s office and we talked money. I asked if he could take $500 off the asking price. Jose said he could as his boss.
Soon the employee returned with my minivan. They liked it and they wanted to finance the Kia Soul to me. They wouldn’t budge on the sales price of the Kia Soul but they did offer me $2,500 for my minivan in trade in value. I agreed with Jose to finance the Kia Soul and the employee who worked in finance at the dealership checked the numbers and prepared the paperwork for me to sign.
It took a while for everything to be finalized but I was in no hurry and didn’t need to be anywhere else. I agreed to put $1,000 down on the Kia Soul and with the trade in money going to the Kia Soul it took another $2,500 off the $14,999. I have a good credit score and employment history working for the same company for almost 5 years. And I receive SSDI for my disability. And I had zero debt before financing the car.
Nick who works in financing calculated a 72 month finance agreement with monthly payments of $229.98 at 11.9% interest and a requirement that I keep full coverage insurance on the car.
Before I went looking to buy a newer car I called a local credit union and they said they would be able to get me a 5.9% interest on financing a used car in the price range I was looking to buy.
I agreed to finance the car and signed the sales agreement Nick gave to me. I gave my minivan key to Jose and took everything in it out. Jose gave me the key to the Kia Soul and I put everything in it.
And that was it, the car is financed to me in my name. Saturday morning I met with a lender at the Credit Union to refinance the Kia Soul and after checking out the details of the existing financing Randy confirmed with me that she car refinance the hatchback with a 5.9% interest rate when the car is registered to me. I’d already paid the dealership to register the car to me. It might take a few weeks or a month. When I receive the plates and registration in the mail I’ll make an appointment with Randy at the Credit Union to refinance the car.
About the minivan. I bought the minivan when I was living at a Gospel Mission for men in recovery from having been homeless. I had been homeless for 6 years prior to being accepted into the Gospel Mission. After living in the Gospel Mission for several months my application for SSDI was accepted. I received a lump sum payment and am receiving monthly payments since. With the lump sum payment I put most of it into buying the minivan. My mental health had improved since moving into the Gospel Mission and I still had improvement to do. I had the idea that I would live in my minivan. I planned to move out of the Gospel Mission and into my minivan. Before making the leap at the last moment I was offered the option to rent a room in an apartment in town. I was so very relieved. I accepted the offer and moved into the apartment.
I’d already given away the middle seats of the minivan because I thought I’d need the space on the floorboard to sleep on. When I traded in the minivan at the dealership the sales team were surprised and curious about why it was missing one set of back seats. They didn’t make a fuss about it and still gave me a good price for the minivan.
It’s a relief not owning the minivan. I’m not a father. Many people look at a minivan and say that’s for a soccer mom or a dad. The minivan was more automobile than I needed. Yes it was reliable and I was able to do all my errands with it and even drive 3.5 hours away to the coast twice. But comparing the minivan to the hatchback, the hatchback is a better fit for me.
Financing $11,796 with the Kia Soul is a big responsibility. $229.98 monthly payments is a significant monthly expense. Full coverage auto insurance is costing me about $50 more per month. I’ve taken on more financial responsibility with the Kia Soul.
I feel confident I can make the full monthly payments for the Kia Soul on schedule. The newer car gets better gas mileage! The newer car has a lot of life as they say in it. The newer car is easier to park. I’ll feel more comfortable going on road trips in the Kia Soul.
Driving an automobile and a motorcycle is a big responsibility. I’m more confident driving on four wheels and that’s what I stick to. None the less, driving on the road is a big responsibility. Safety first.
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