After Mr. Gryce began working remotely in 2021 due to Covid, we suddenly had very little need for two vehicles. In fact, ever since our daughter was born, we joked that we really only needed one-and-a-half vehicles. However, now that he was working from home, and I was homeschooling, both Civics sat untouched in the garage all week long, except when I went out for groceries.
Last fall, we re-evaluated our budget and our lifestyle, and realized we could save a fairly significant amount of money by only having one vehicle. Only one set of snow tires. One oil change. One car to insure and maintain. So when his boss gave up their office space and permanently made everyone's job remote, we decided to give it a trial run. We kept both vehicles but took Mr. Gryce's newer one off the road for the entire winter.
With the arrival of spring, it became imperative that we start using the other car, just so that things didn't start seizing up and costing us more in the end. I had half-jokingly suggested selling my car a few times before, but I truthfully dreaded it. The fact is, I don't like change. "Speedy," as our daughter had affectionately named her, had been with me since 2009. I knew it was completely impractical to keep a car simply for nostalgia, but it did have sentimental value to me. It was the first car I had bought brand new off the lot on my own. I learned to drive standard in it. It drove us home from our wedding.
Like the Dierks Bentley song says:
So there was that. But dang, was she ever good on gas! Not to mention faithful! My first car was a Dodge Neon and I'd replaced the brakes, the radiator, the tires, and after just 6 years and only 65,000 km, the transmission crapped out. Speedy had only gotten new brakes, tires, a new battery, and her air conditioning repaired. At 145,000 km, she was still going strong. It seemed like a shame to get rid of her now. However, Mr. Gryce's Civic was several years newer with 25,000 less km. She too, was going strong. And so, after dragging my feet for a while, in the end, I reluctantly agreed that it made the most sense to part with Speedy.
We did some google searches for comps, and checked out the current estimated value. We were delighted to learn that Hondas hold their value for much longer than most cars. If I could get my full asking price, that would be a good amount of money to invest and start a nest-egg for when it was time to trade up Mr. Gryce's car. This spring was also the perfect time of year to sell, given that many students would be looking for their first car. Given the rising price of gas, a fuel-efficient Civic would be a much sought-after vehicle. If I could not get my full asking price, well, then, Speedy just wasn't meant to leave us quite so soon after all. 😉
And so, one day, I went ahead and snapped a few photos and went ahead and listed her. Immediately I began getting lowball offers, which were promptly declined. Most of the Millennials were immediately scared off because of the manual transmission. Over a couple of weeks, I had two individuals actually come and take a look. One offered me $1000 less than asking which I declined. He continued messaging me throughout the week, and we finally agreed on a price. I went ahead and cleaned out all our personal effects, notified my insurance agent, and took old Speedy for one last trip to town that Friday to get groceries. Only a few hours away from handing over the keys, I checked my phone, only to discover that he was backing out of the deal at the last minute. I was furious. Who does that? I fumed.
However, as I drove home from town, I was relieved I didn't have to sell Speedy to some punk kid who would not appreciate her and probably drive the snot out of her. Silly as it may seem, I had been praying over the past few weeks that I wouldn't just find a buyer, but the right buyer. I had only been home for a few minutes when I received another message about the car. A lady named Debbie wondered if it had cruise control (it did) and if so, she was very interested. She could not come see it that day as she was at an appointment out of town, but would I like an e-transfer to hold it for her in the meantime? I can't explain it, but I immediately had a good feeling about this lady. Something was different about her. When I made sure she knew it was a manual transmission, she replied, "Yes! We love standard!! 😉😃😃Our kid's first vehicles were standard. They learned quick! 🤣🤣🤣🤣" I loved this woman already!
Late that evening, we firmed up the details of when she would come. I told her I was not in a rush. As we chatted, I learned her husband Dave had stage four non-lymphoma cancer with 80% in the bone marrow. They were looking for an economical car to take them on their hour-and-a-half trip to his medical appointments for the next while. Wow. In my heart, I knew Speedy would be perfect for their family. I mentioned that any time of day was fine, as we homeschooled. She said she had homeschooled all five of her children. As we messaged back and forth with little details about our lives, I sensed a kindred spirit.
So, Monday morning Debbie, Dave, and two of their daughters showed up in none other than their daughter's Civic! They took Speedy for a test-drive, were happy with her performance and we made plans to meet back at Service Ontario to complete the deal. Meanwhile, we had been playing "Dutch Bingo," and realized we knew a whole host of the same people, including my massage therapist, and my small-group leader! (It really is a very small world sometimes!)
All this time, I had suspected that their family was one of faith, but this was confirmed as we chatted further. Upon returning to our home from Service Ontario to change the licence plates, Debbie proceeded to pray for our family, right there in the driveway! To say I was humbled, was truly an understatement.
I sincerely believe that God brought my ad on Facebook Marketplace to Debbie's attention for such a time as this. (She had in fact, not even been looking for a new car, rather a dining room table set!) Call it coincedence if you want, but the fact that they showed up on-time, there was no haggling or guilting me about the asking price, and that they were a family who really needed her, were all direct answers to prayer. As I was recently reminded by a friend, God cares about the seeminly unimportant and mundane things in our lives, just as much as the big stuff.
While Mr. Gryce had only met Debbie and her family in passing since he was working that day, the first thing he asked me later was, "Are they Christians or something?" When I replied, "Yes," he remarked, "I knew it! There was just something about them."
We continue to receive updates from Debbie on her husband's health since we're facebook friends now! 😂
Debbie and Dave, it was a pleasure meeting you both and we pray that Speedy is just as good for you as she was for us all these years. 💕
