October 23rd, 2007 
NCN
Our new-to-us minivan arrived today – and my wife and kids love it! It’s a little smaller than our older van, but it has built in booster seats for my kids and it has Sirius satellite. My wife says it drives more like a car than a van – and we love the bright red color. I must admit, I was a little very nervous about buying an automobile “sight unseen” – but it looks like everything worked out just fine. I drove it to my local mechanic – he looked it over and gave it the thumbs up. The tires are new, the upholstery is clean and paint job is scratch-free.
The guy who delivered the van works for several automobile dealers and delivers cars and trucks all around the country. He brought some paperwork with him – I signed the papers, gave him a check, signed the back of the title from my old van – and he was on his way. (I took the tag off of my old van before he left, and I’ll transfer the tag once I receive the title from the dealership. They’ll mail it once the check clears.) I called my insurance agent – and the he is out of town. So, I called the main telephone number and they told me that I have 30 days to add the van to our policy. Of course, I’m not going to wait that long – but this is good information to have.
I will confess, I didn’t “like” handing him that check – but I just bought an automobile for cash! If you would have told me three years ago that I could purchase an automobile that my wife liked, with low mileage and a good safety record – for cash – I would have fallen on the floor laughing. If you are new to my site, or new to personal finance in general, let me assure you, “it” can be done. I am an average dude who makes an average salary – but three years ago the “light came on” and I decided to change my life. It’s been a long time since I attempted to be “motivational” on this blog, so I’ll just put it like this – Being debt-free and paying cash for an automobile – Totally Rocks!
(I’ll now through in a “I’m a dork” for old school readers.)
Posted in 
YAAAAHHHHOOOOOOO!!!!!
Congratulations? You make Dave Ramsey and all of us proud! Doesn’t the car drive perfect when there is no loan attached to it?????
NCN, you rock!
Enjoy it in good health. Wow!
Congratulations! You are truly and inspiration to me and I’m sure to all of the bloggers who are working to become debt free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats! That’s my goal!
My inspiration is my little sister, who just bought a “new” (year-old) car and paid 2/3 in cash. More impressive is that she’s 22 years old. She could’ve gotten a cheaper car and no loan, but decided she wanted a slightly better car and to improve her credit record (she just got her first credit card about three months ago for the same reason–she uses her debit card extensively but responsibly).
(She’s not a financial genius. She has no thought of retirement savings–she was automatically signed up for 401(k) through work, but whatever minimum they assigned is all she’s contributing. I wish I could make her understand the math that she’s better off maxing out right now.)
Star Money Articles for the Week of October 22…
Here are some recent interesting posts from the MoneyBlogNetwork and beyond: Blueprint for Financial Prosperity reminds you to check your asset allocation. No Credit Needed got his van. Get Rich Slowly lists the seven habits of wealth. Consumerism Comm…
Wow, congratulations!!
I’ve always wanted to try buying a car on ebay (but been sort of scared). But more than that, i can’t wait to buy my next car in CASH too! I just hope my current vehicle lasts me long enough to be able to save for the next one.
Good luck and enjoy the car LOAN FREE!!!!
Bas
buildandsucceed.com
[...] NCN bought his van. [...]
Congratulations on your car NCN.
Giving me inspiration to buy a new car now
Enjoy your loan free car.
Heaven
[...] must say, we have really enjoyed our new (to us) minivan. I was hesitant about purchasing an automobile sight-unseen, but everything has worked out, really well. My wife loves the van and [...]
[...] A few months ago, I purchased a new-to-us automobile. I used a version of this letter , designed by Five Cent Nickel, in my email to the automobile dealership. I also followed the advice in this post, from Free Money Finance, for finding the real cost of the used automobile. By combining their advice, I was able to get a good deal and we now have a car that we love. [...]