3 V's: Bye Bye, Scoot Scoot

Last Monday morning at 8:30 I got a text from Robert asking me to call him ASAP. Why did I need to call him? Because he had gone outside to head to class only to realize his scooter had been stolen. When catastrophes occur I tend to be sad more than angry. I went back to my desk feeling rather mopey about the missing moped. Robert filed a report with the town police and the Seminary security. Neither one really provoked much hope. I have a feeling finding missing scooters isn't exactly a hire priority. Needless to say, Robert missed his class.

Happier scoot scoot days

Throughout the week we were blessed with great friends who let us borrow their cars so Robert could get to work and school. I secretly imagined myself driving home and seeing someone driving the scooter. I'd make a u-turn and follow them while calling 911. Then I'd get out and tackle the person and hold them down until the police arrived and we got the scooter returned safe and sound. Still waiting on that scene to occur.

The scooter getting stolen has been especially frustrating since we had it locked up in the parking lot. We had asked that Robert be able to keep the scooter on our porch, but we were told that isn't allowed. It turns out dozens of cars in our complex were broken into on Sunday night. I'm going to be honest, when I say that I don't feel too badly for people when things are stolen from an UNLOCKED car. You're pretty much asking for it. I also think it's bologna to say that maybe somebody else just needed it more than us. I can't really think of somebody else who could need it more than a poor graduate student who doesn't own a car and uses the scooter to get to school, church, and work. And finally, I think it's ridiculous that a university doesn't have security cameras in the year 2014. Don't even get me started on that one. I will win the argument every time. Trust me.

Since this happened on a Sunday night we weren't able to go car shopping on Saturday as Robert and I have conflicting schedules all week. I'm busy all day. He's busy all evening. Perfect. So we headed out on Saturday morning. We had done extensive research. We're working with a limited budget because, well, who has a stash of "just in case my scooter gets stolen and I need to buy a car at a moment's notice" fund? Craigslist, Auto Trader, Car Max, car lots. Can I just tell you how frustrating it was to hear the rep at Car Max say the following? "We don't have cars in your budget because we only sell the finest cars, but that sounds like the perfect amount for a down payment." No, thank you. I know he's probably required to say that, but come on! We're trying to get debt free, people!

So Robert had found a super super dorky car on Craigslist. Here's a picture of the car:

I thought it looked ridiculous, but Robert was hooked on the possibility of driving a conversation piece. We went to the owner's house on Saturday. The pictures on Craigslist had obviously been taken a long time ago. The car was super dirty on the outside. The inside had random wires dangling around. And here's the kicker - it didn't even have a battery in it. I'm not a car expert, but I hear it's pretty difficult to take a car out for a test drive when it doesn't have a battery. That car got a big X and got scratched off of the list.

Next up - a car lot. We found a steal of a deal for a Ford Escort. The website made it seem like it was a once it a lifetime deal. We got there and of course there was a catch - it has been flooded and had a salvage title. Plus, they charge a dealer's fee of $600 on top of list price. Uh...no, thank you.

We were left to our last choice. Our music minister had given Robert the name of a friend who is into cars. The man is totally adorable. He retired many years ago and decided to build his own auto shop behind his house. We ventured out there. It was about a 45 minute drive. I was really afraid it wasn't going to be worth our time, but then we stumbled upon this gem on the way there:

We made a pit stop for a photo op and then continued on our way. The man, Nelson, is awesome! He started out showing us a car that ended up being over budget, and I got majorly bummed, but then he showed us another one. It was perfect! Nelson buys cars that are a bit beat up on the outside but solid inside, tinkers around to fix them up, and then sells them for what he paid without making a profit just because he enjoys it and likes to help people in need. He said, "I like to keep your money in your pocket and out of Obama's." Works for us! He wasn't quite finished with it yet so we couldn't test drive it, but we got to check it out inside and out and we were able to turn it on. It sounded great! Nelson said he'd finish up on Monday so we could come back on Tuesday to do a test drive and make a final decision.

Robert and I left talking about how we could see God all over this thing. Here we were about to buy a car that was way nicer than we ever imagined we could afford. If Robert hadn't joined the band a year ago then he wouldn't have known Michael and we wouldn't have heard of Nelson. What if we hadn't joined Faith two years ago? If either of the first two cars would have worked out we would have missed out on this great opportunity. The list could go on and on.

This Thursday we were able to pick up the car, and it couldn't be better. We are so thankful for God's provision. We had planned to buy a car after Robert graduates, but for some reason God saw fit to speed up the process, and now once Robert graduates we don't have to think about buying a new car.