The Devil Made Me Do It

The Devil Made Me Do It

(Disclaimer: This is just a title. I am fully aware that the devil never “makes” us do anything. He might tempt us, but it is our choice to succumb. However, having given that disclaimer, I do kind of feel like it right this minute. Haha)

Living the lives that we have lived and the limited income that we have always had, our version of impulse buying is whether we settle for the regular size of M and M’s or go for King size. And if we are really daring we might get M and M peanut, rather than plain.

Therefore, I find it completely outside our realm of experience to have made the impulse purchase that we made on Tuesday. We just felt like making a “dream come true” for our second son, Peter. We often have talked that one of his dreams is to own a double cab pick-up. Well, we have these really clear memories of enjoying going to the auto auction 20+ years ago when we lived in PA and how cheaply one could get vehicles there.

We went to the auction site the day before and checked out all the double cab pickups. Some we rejected for various reasons. Others looked really good. We set a mental limit on our money. Well on Tuesday night we were there early. Everything that was good was way beyond our price range. It was pretty much the end of the auction and this little Chevy Avalanche c1500 showed up. I had rejected it earlier because it is a short bed pick up and I knew Peter would not like it, so we had not even examined it. Well, here it was at the head of the auction lane. It was the end of the evening. I had nothing to take to my dear son…..It was going for just $1400. I couldn’t stand it and before I knew it I raised my hand!!! And of course, ended up with it, sight unseen. The minute that I had bid, I thought, “What have I done???”

As Rick and Purity went to the atm to get the money, I went out to look at our “new” vehicle, a 2003 Avalance.  As I walked around it I could see the 3 places where PA winter rust had eaten into the body. I hoisted myself painfully up into the seat and turned it on. The brake pedal went clear to the floor. And worse yet, after I turned it off the radio kept going and the dash lights were still on. What was I going to do? How long before the battery would wear down? There must be a button here somewhere to push. Where was Rick with the answer, anyway? (Well, I solved the last problem by opening the door and of course everything then turned off…..do you get the picture of how ignorant I am about cars? I live with subways and bicycles and we have only owned about 4 or 5 cars in our 46 years of marriage.) We had to get a PA license plate etc., even if we were driving it to SC, but then took it home.

After sitting with it, praying for it, putting brake fluid in it, driving it a bit, we decided that even though the brakes were “soft” but worked, kind of; one head light was out; the driver’s window would not go down; and the a/c was questionable, we decided that we still were just going to drive it from PA to SC and then deal with it so we had Peter’s expertise and more time. Therefore, we spent the whole day today driving. I drove our van and Rick drove the truck. He had absolutely no problem and says the engine sounds great and has lots of power. Brakes didn’t even give any problem although it was a bit unnerving to have the pedal go all the way to the floor.

I prefaced my presentation to Peter by “the devil made me do it” and then told him the whole story. He was confused and rather taken aback. At what point did his parents suddenly start doing impulse buying like this and stick him with the results? He is fully aware how out of character this is for us. Anyway, does anyone want to buy a Chevy Avalanche, cheap? We would love to off load it. (You think I am kidding, and I am not.)