For almost a year, I have been shopping for a new car.

We owned two cars, a 2014 Chevy Equinox (with only 65,000 miles) and a 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser (with only 78,500 miles).

We bought the PT Cruiser 10 years ago when the two cars we had then both had more than 160,000 miles on them. They were on their last leg.

We needed a new car but we were committed to not borrowing money for a car. Our family prayed about this situation. Then we inherited $10,000 out of the blue. It was a Godsend. We decided to give $1,000 to the church and hold back $300 for title, tax, etc.

You can’t buy much of a car these days for $8,700.

I found this PT Cruiser at a Chevy dealership in Oklahoma City. It had 17,000 miles and was priced at $12,000 but it happened to be on an Internet sale for $10,000.

I called the dealership and told the salesman I would like to buy that car – sight unseen – for $8,700. He spoke with his sales manager and they said no. They had paid more than $8,700 when they took the car as a trade in. I thanked him and hung up the phone.

The next afternoon, the sales manager called me and said, “Mr. Biggs, if you can bring me a cashier’s check for $8,700 this afternoon in Oklahoma City, I will sell you that car for that price.”

I ran to the bank and my friend Bill Bickerstaff drove to OKC and I bought that car.

Anyway, we have saved money specifically to replace the PT Cruiser. We wanted a new car – preferably a 2019 – and I set my sights on a Buick Encore. The Encore is a much nicer car than the PT Cruiser. The suggested price is about $26,000 but General Motors is offering great discounts because they didn’t sell enough 2019s this year.

In August, I test drove one at a local Buick dealership. I was ready to make a deal but in order to get the heavy discount, you had to finance the car with GM. I wanted to pay cash. Plus, they badmouthed the PT Cruiser (it was really in good shape) and only offered me $1,200 for a trade in.

I said no and kept looking.

In September, Buick got more desperate and offered similar discounts without the requirement to finance with GM. So, in the last week in September, I contacted some Tulsa area Buick dealers plus two in Oklahoma City.

I emailed them and said that:

1. I was going to pay cash.
2. I was not going to trade in a car.
3. I wanted a 2019 Buick Encore.
4. And I didn’t want a white one or a black one.

The four dealers around Tulsa came back with about the same bid. But two of the cars were demonstrators, one had 2,500 miles and the other already had 5,000 miles. I consider those used cars but they called them “new.”

Another Tulsa dealer wanted to sell me a white one.

One of the Oklahoma City Buick dealers was a little less but again, he wanted to sell me a white  demonstrator.

But Hudiburg Buick in Oklahoma City sent me an email with a price that was $3,000 lower than any other offer. I couldn’t believe it. Plus, they had a red car with only 12 miles on it. I asked them to email me a price so I could get a cashier’s check and drive to Oklahoma City to buy the car.

They did.

I was a little nervous. I almost bought a used car from a Chevy dealer in Oklahoma City one time. They weren’t very honest. The car’s air conditioning didn’t work and it had body damage. Had they told me the truth, I wouldn’t have wasted a trip to OKC.

We arrived at Hudiburg Buick and they did exactly as they promised. There was no pressure. They told us about options we could add but it was easy to say no.

This may have been the most pleasant buying experience I have had in the 50 years that I have purchased cars.

In fact, the salesman told me he admired us for paying cash. He said he was a big fan of Dave Ramsey (and so are we). It’s disturbing to see how many people – especially young people – get upside down on car payments.

We drove the car home and it is great. The next day, we put a for sale sign in the PT Cruiser. A neighbor down the street called and asked to test drive it. He did and the next day he paid us cash (almost three times the trade in offer) and we put that money back into savings.

I wish I could have made a deal in Tulsa. Most of the people I dealt with were very helpful. I called them to tell them about our new car purchase.

So, with the sale of our car, we bought a brand new Buick Encore for about half of the stickered price. That’s an answer to prayer.

Funny T-shirts…

• You matter (unless you multiply yourself by the speed of light squared…then you energy).
• Hedgehogs: Why don’t they just share the hedge?
• Back in my day…we had nine planets.
• Never trust and atom – they make up everything.
• Lettuce: The taste of sadness.
• Let’s eat Grandma. Let’s eat, Grandma. Commas Save Lives!
•  Always give 100 percent (unless you are donating blood).
• “That’s too much bacon.” – Said no one ever.
• How many Lowe’s could Rob Lowe rob if Rob Lowe could rob Lowe’s?
• There is a fine line between numerator and denominator.
• Merry Christmas! (You filthy animal).
• Always be yourself (unless you can be Batman – then always be Batman).
• “By Grabthar’s Hammer, you shall be avenged!”
• Zombies hate fast food.
• I’m not with stupid anymore.
• Addicted to placebos.
• I’m not sure how many problems I have because math is one of them.
• “I” before “E” except after “C.” (Weird).
• The following statement is true. The previous statement is false.
• What I if told you read this wrong?
• Everything is either ice cream or not ice cream.
• Entropy is not what it used to be.
• Never judge a book by its movie.
• Now go do that voodoo that you do sooooo well.
• Either you like bacon or you’re wrong.
• Go step on a Lego.
• Buenas Tardis (El Doctor).
• I’m confused, oh wait, maybe I’m not.
• Misuse of “literally” makes me figuratively insane.
• I can leap off tall buildings with a single bound (once).
• I am not crazy (my Mom had me tested).
• Amatuer Proorfeader.
• Raisin cookies are why I have trust issues.
• I may be crazy but at least I have each other.