Regular readers will know that back in August 2020 I got some unwelcome news about my beloved car. After being with me on my journey for 10 years, the garage staff advised me that it was time to let it go. The news sparked my car fund challenge which saw me aiming to save up enough to buy a used car in cash.
In May I finally let go of my little Snoopy car, an unexpected addtion to my Year of Letting Go challenge. I’m not a person who gets attached to material possessions, but letting go of my car hit an emotional nerve for me for many reasons.
It’s easy to become sentimental about objects and the car that I was saying goodbye to had so many memories attached to it. I’d bought it at a transitional point in my life when I’d become a solo homeowner and was finally standing on my own two feet. The car was a sign that I was doing ok, I’d not crumbled after my 10-year relationship fell apart and I was actually thriving.
After my previous car’s engine blew up on the motorway, little Snoopy was the first ‘expensive’ car I’d bought. I wanted something that felt solid and safe and it was symbolic of prioritizing myself and my own safety, something that I hadn’t always done.
It was a quirky looking car and I loved it, so saying goodbye was hard.
The Search – Procrastination
At the beginning of May, following a discussion with my fiancée, CP, that went something like “Vicky, you’re starting to get water in your oil tank – this isn’t a good sign”, I decided to start looking for a new car. Honestly, it was a rather half-hearted search – it just felt like another thing to do when life was already far too busy. I’d spend an hour here and there scrolling through Autotrader and various dealership websites, but I’d end up not seeing anything that I liked and would come away feeling overwhelmed.
After my third unfruitful search, I realised that I was wasting time. My car searches had turned into procrastination and I didn’t feel invested in the process. Sometimes it’s easy to convince ourselves that we’re being productive when instead we’re being busy for the sake of it. I realised that I either needed to stop searching or make a commitment to go and test drive some cars. But it felt like such a mammoth task when part of me was reluctant to let go of my old, faithful car.
Upon reflection, I realised I wasn’t being specific enough in my searches. Yes, I knew the type of car I wanted, but I hadn’t created a clear vision of what I was really looking for. In fact, I’d hit a point of decision fatigue before I’d even started.
Finding clarity
After a few discussions with CP and family members, I started to clarify my thinking. I got specific (and realistic) about the price, age range and mileage of the new car I was looking to buy, as well as the fuel type and road tax cost. Basically, I went from one extreme to another – vague to detailed.
Amazingly, this time the search returned three cars that ticked all of the boxes, so I listed them according to distance and we arranged to go and view.
Having a plan
Before the viewing day, I researched what my car was worth and decided the minimum price I was willing to accept for it. I also decided the top price I was willing to pay for each of the cars I was viewing.
I had a chat with CP and we came up with a plan, she’d take a good look at the vehicles through a ‘mechanics’ eyes (it’s always hand to take someone in the know with you when looking at cars) and I’d do the bargaining. We also came up with a phrase that we’d use as a signal if something didn’t quite feel right. Yes, it really did start to feel like an undercover mission!
It turns out that we didn’t need to do any of that, as the first car we viewed was immaculate and the dealer gave me more than I expected for my car, resulting in it being well below the price I was expecting to pay. So it’ll come as no surpise that I ended up buying it.
How to buy a used car – lessons learned
For anyone out there who is looking for a new car, here’s a quick run-down of the lessons I learned along the way. Hopefully these tips will help you in your search:
- Get specific with your search criteria – Consider they type, price, age, mileage fuel type and even the maximum road tax you’re willing to pay. The search filters can be your best friend and save you loads of money, use them.
- Know the value of your vehicle – A quick search online using a website such as webuyanycar.com can give you a rough estimate of what your car is worth. Remember – the dealer may offer you more or less than this figure.
- Have a budget and stick to it – Part of my problem when I did my initial searches was that I kept increasing my budget just in case I could get a better deal. Don’t let FOMO make you overspend. Set a budget and stick to it.
- Play the game & be prepared to walk away – Don’t get dressed up when viewing a new car – you don’t want them to think you have money – so dress casual. Also be aware of the maximum price you’re willing to pay for the vehicle you’re interested in and be prepared to walk away. I deducted the value of my car from the total car price and knew that was the maximum I was prepared to pay.
- Don’t forget about extras – Some dealers won’t budge on price beyond taking your car in part-exchange. If this is the case, then consider whether there are any extras you’d be willing to accept. You could ask for a full tank of petrol, a free service & MOT next year, new wiper blades, car mats, car care kit etc. Dealers are more likely to throw something in rather than give you extra money off your purchase.
Magical Manifestation – A Twist in the Tale
Now for part two of the story, and this is something that I still find very difficult to believe myself, so if you think I’m slightly mad for recounting this tale then I completely understand.
A few months ago I signed up to a 12 month course on abundance, astrology and the moon cycles. As part of the course we were encouraged to experiment with moon manifesting. For those of you not familiar with this term, basically, at every new moon you decide what you’d like to bring into your life and write it down. These are your ‘new moon wishes’. You then put them to one side and let the moon work its magic. It’s a kind of wish-list that you don’t obsess over.
Dutifully, I wrote my manifestations down each month, set them aside and forgot about them. Well, I did most of the time. During the first new moon after I’d bought my new car, I was feeling a bit uninspired when trying to come up with my new moon manifestations, so I decided to cast my eye over my previous ones for some inspiration. I was gobsmacked to find that on my first set of moon manifestations I’d written down:
I will buy a new (to me) mini for less than £7,000 with less than 40,000 miles on the clock.
The car I’d bought fell within both of those criteria! Ok, full disclosure – it had 41,000 miles on the clock but it was under the £7,000 mark. At the time of writing it, I’d intended to buy a used car in August, so I’d completely forgotten about my criteria.
Now for those of you who are thinking that my ‘wish’ was maybe floating around somewhere in my subconscious, which is perfectly plausible, I’ll go on to share part-two of my car manifesting tale…
The Power of Visualisation
After buying my car, I realised I hadn’t been transferring my monthly Car Fund Challenge figures from my budget tracker to my blog page. I headed over to the page to update them and to say that the challnge was now over.
But something caught my eye – the car image I’d used at the top of the page was almost identical to the one I’d bought! The same colour, trim and style – even the photo on the dealer’s website was visually similar to the one I’d used on my post.
Now I’d not picked the image because it was the type of car I was looking for, but because it was the most visually appealing image I could find of a mini. And yet somehow, I’d ended up buying a car that was virtually identical.
So what does this mean? Well the sceptics may say it means nothing, it’s purely coincidental. Or they may say that my subconscious mind was at work along the way, seeking out a car based on these long-forgotten criteria. It’s a possibility. But if that is the case then surely it suggests that we should protect our thoughts, wishes and the visual stimuli we choose very carefully, as we literally bring these things into existence.
What do I think? Well, I like to think that there’s a bit of magic at work beneath the surface of our lives. I don’t try to explain it or understand it, I just know that at adds an exciting twist to our mundane day-to-day existence.
Create Your Life
In the future, I’ll be mindful to ask for what I want and let the unseen forces work their magic and nudge me along on my journey. Because maybe, behind our day-to-day dreams, desires and aspirations, there is an unseen force that wants us to succeed and receive everything our heart desires.
In a world that teaches us that the odds are stacked against us and hard work is the only way to achieve success, it feels like a breath of fresh air. So I’m willing to embrace this supportive force and ask for what I want because, if nothing else, it will help me clarify my hopes and aspirations and move forwards towards my goals.
Image courtesy of NeOnbrand on Unsplash.