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As we reached the bottom of the hill my friend looked over at the instrument cluster. Alarmed, he looked at me and said, “Does your car normally get that hot?” I calmly looked down and saw the needle was nearly pegged at the highest temperature level. Now, I almost never paid attention to the temperature gauge so I had no idea what was normal. Not wanting to alarm my friend, I told him it was totally normal, but in my mind I was panicked, wondering if I was about to blow up the engine.
Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. This is episode 673, “Voices in My Head.” My name is Darrell Darnell, Ford sold over 7 million Rangers during its original run between 1983 and 2012. They then discontinued the truck before bringing it back in 2019, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living.
As you may have surmised, it was not normal nor was it okay for the temperature gauge to register so high. It was the car’s way of telling me something was wrong and I’d missed it. I had no idea how long the car had been over heating but I knew that nothing catastrophic had happened to the engine yet because those sorts of things make themselves quite known.
I got the car to my parents house and had my dad look at it. We changed the thermostat and he educated me on what to do if it starts getting hot and what not to do. Unfortunately, a very short time later, it was clear that the engine had indeed exceeded its heat limits and would need to be sent to a mechanic for diagnosis. We hoped it was simply a blown head gasket and not a cracked head. It turned out to be the gasket.
I paid as much for that repair as I had paid to purchase the car. It was an exceedingly costly error to overlook the temperature gauge for so long. Once I got the car back from the mechanic I never made that mistake again.
In fact, when the car started showing high temperatures a few months later, I noticed immediately. We took it back to the mechanic, but he was unable to find anything wrong with the cooling system. I was in a tough spot. I had to use the car to get to and from my job, and I also needed it to come home each weekend for church.
My dad and I kept an eye on it and I was careful to not drive it once it got too hot. But all of that could not prevent the inevitable. One day I pushed it too far and once again the car overheated catastrophically. I was able to drive it to work and back before it would overheat, but that was the limit. Even driving to my girlfriend’s apartment was too far.
Not willing to sink more money into the car, it was clear that I would need to invest my resources into buying something else. I was 21 at the time and responsible for all of my living expenses: rent, groceries, insurance, utilities, internet, all of it. I was making more than minimum wage, but not by much. Finding something I could afford was not going to be easy.
My friend Kelcey had loaned me her Nissan pickup for about a week, and my friend Van had loaned me his Dodge Dakota pickup for several weeks, and I loved both of them. While I had to be cost conscious, if possible, I wanted to get a small pickup.
My dad and I car shopped for weeks. We looked at Auto Trader magazines and nearly every car dealership in town. I also carefully evaluated my financial situation to determine what level of car payment I could afford.
The process was frustrating and disappointing. Finding a pickup in my price range seemed to be an impossibility. I knew that I had to be practical. More important than getting a pickup was finding something dependable.
Finally, we found a good fit. It was a clean, well maintained Chevy Corsica. The salesman did a great job of selling me on all the practical aspects of the car, and we were able to get the car into a payment I could afford. I stood there looking at the car, thinking it over in my mind. My dad looked over at me and said, “Do you like it?” “No, not at all.” I replied. “Then let’s keep looking,” he said. And so we did.
Eventually, we found it! A 1995 Ford Ranger XLT in brilliant blue. It had a five speed manual transmission, sliding rear glass, and aluminum alloy wheels. It was clean, had low enough miles, and most of all, it was in my price range…sort of.
I don’t recall exactly what my price range was, but I know that the truck was at the top end of it. I’d hoped to get something that wasn’t pushing my budget so much. Again, the salesman did a great job of selling me on all the benefits of the truck. Finally, he reminded me that I could sign all the paperwork and keep the car for 48 hours. If I changed my mind for any reason within that time frame, I could bring it back, no questions asked.
That was the determining factor. We went inside and signed all the paperwork and I drove the truck home. I was excited…and terrified. I barely slept at all that night.
Here’s what I learned.
As I laid there staring at the ceiling unable to sleep, my mind was consumed with the weight of the responsibility I’d just taken on. Sitting out there in the parking lot of my apartment was the largest financial commitment I’d ever made. My stomach was knotted and I couldn’t shake the fear.
Whether it’s buying your first car or some other decision, we will inevitably find ourselves in a situation that has pushed us and stretched us into an area of discomfort. Maybe it’s stepping out on stage for a performance, perhaps it’s starting a business, maybe it’s preparing to start your family.
Stretch moments are a part of life. Or at least they should be. If you’re not finding yourself in stretch moments, then you’re not growing. But that night, shrouded in darkness and haunted by my thoughts of doubt and fear, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d stretched too much and put myself in a foolish situation. I was glad I had 48 hours to undo my decision.
I thought and prayed all night, asking God to give me wisdom and thinking through all of the other financial commitments I had. By the time daybreak came, I’d made a decision.
So what did I do? What do you think? Did I keep the truck, or return it?
I kept it.
While the monthly payment was at the top of my budget, it WAS in my budget. I’d carefully considered all of my financial commitments and my current income. It certainly made me more uncomfortable than I wanted, but the numbers told me I was not taking on more than I could afford.
Could I take it back and find something cheaper that I liked less? Yes. But the more I considered that option, the less I liked it. I felt like I’d be making a compromise that I’d later regret if I took that path. Looking long term and looking practically, I decided keeping the truck was the right decision.
And it was the right decision.
A few months later I got a promotion at work that brought with it a raise and more financial margin. Not only that, the truck was awesome! It was dependable, stylish, and fun to drive. I ended up keeping the truck for 12 years and I loved it.
I pulled my wife’s car with it when we moved to Texas and it turned out to be pretty durable, even after I got rear ended by someone who forgot what a yield sign is and sideswiped by someone who lost control due to a medical emergency.
The fear was real. The panic was real. The terror was real. But so was all of my planning and thoughtful consideration. The voice of fear and the voice of reason sat on each shoulder that night playing out their scenarios in the theater of my mind. In the end, I listened to the voice of reason, and I never once regretted that decision.
I’m Darrell Darnell, and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.
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