My truck had 330,000+ miles on it and I really needed to replace it.I was determined to pay cash so price was a big issue. I was driving a pickup but it didn’t fit my needs that well and they are very expensive here.
A Suburban seemed a better choice, large roof line for kayaks, towing capability, the are plentiful and much cheaper than a pickup. Plus they’re easy to customize since they share a lot of parts with the pickups and I wanted something different this time. Not just a run of the mill vehicle.
I had been looking for about two years. One day I was praying, or really just talking (whining) to God about finding the right vehicle when I hear this small voice say, “Wait till you see what I give you!” Needless to say that caught me by surprise!
Not long after I found a beautiful customized red Suburban on Craigslist. The ad sounded too good to be true. The price was more than what I had saved but it looked perfect and thought this was the one! But then the same small voice said, ‘No.’ Hard as it was I didn’t respond to the ad.
Later on an older Suburban came up for sale. It was lowered, mechanically new, newer paint and nice wheels and tires. If I had built one this is very much like what I would have built. I talked to the owner and we arranged to meet.
I spotted it coming down the highway and it looked awesome! But, when I stepped out of my car I knew I didn’t want it. It was everything he said it was and it rode and drove excellent. I just knew it wasn’t ‘the one’ I had been promised.
Back to Craigslist and the Red Suburban is still there. I tried to ignore it but it just kept being re-listed. I decided to email him a question and if I didn’t get a positive response I would take it as confirmation to the ‘no’ I thought I heard. After all, I might be wrong. But my answer was clear, no response! Not convinced a week later I sent another email and still nothing. OK, that is a pretty obvious answer.
More looking and still nothing, I wouldn’t mind doing the work myself but my shop space is tied up with the Chris Craft so I really needed to find one with the major work done. But, I had only seen two modified Suburbans that I would consider. That kept nagging at me and the red Suburban just kept showing up. Finally, I HAD to go see it! If I didn’t I would always wonder what I missed.
I contacted the owner and he seemed up front. He had a financial issue and needed to raise money quickly. He gave me his no haggle, bottom dollar price and it was exactly what I had saved. Instead of being excited, it scared me. I had been hearing ‘No’ every time I prayed about this vehicle and I didn’t want to be mislead and buy someone else’s problems!
My wife and I made the two-hour drive. One thing you need to know about my wife is she is very conservative and never impulsive! While we don’t always agree I have learned to listen to her feelings. When she tells me something doesn’t feel right, I listen and today I wanted all the input I could get!
As we drove up we spotted the Suburban sitting in his yard. As we got closer we were both surprised, it looked almost new and it was 20 years old. As we pulled in the driveway she said, “If you don’t buy this one, you are an idiot!” That is totally out of character for my wife!!
The Suburban was everything he said it was. My wife told me if I didn’t want it she would take it! I was amazed no one had bought it and I guess I should have bought it on the spot. But I knew if it was mine, it would be there for one more day.
We drove home and prayed about it. I kept thinking about all the ‘no’s’ I heard. Weighing that against “Wait till you see what I give you.” This vehicle fit the later perfectly. But why has it not sold?
My wife said “This is the vehicle you were promised. You just had to wait till he lowered the price so you could buy it.” So, the next day I bought SoLo.
I started cleaning my truck and another car I had bought to resell but had been driving. It took me a couple of days to get them ready. Once I was finished, I parked them in the yard, but I never expected to sell them that way. I live in a rural area and not very many people would see them. So that night I posted ads on Craigslist.
I came home the next day at lunch to find a note from a neighbor saying “Consider the truck sold!” I was floored!
I had tried to sell the car before but only had one phone call and no lookers so I had been driving it. I was a little concerned about how fast it would sell but if this was God I knew it would sell, but I didn’t expect it would sell quickly. The next day a neighbor stopped and said he was interested but I didn’t think much of it. He brought me a check three days later.
Amazing! Both vehicles sold in less than a week and both brought more than I had expected. Enough that I was able to replace the money I had saved and still have enough left over to do the one thing that had not been done to SoLo, installing a good stereo.
Looking back I am still amazed at how everything worked out perfectly. The only hard part was waiting on God. I could have bought something a long time ago but I kept waiting on the right vehicle. When the time was right, it all worked out perfectly and quickly and left no doubt this was my promised vehicle.
