My wife's old van was falling apart and needing immediate replacement...and then I drove my car into a flooded area and then watched as the flood waters rose to the top of the steering wheel...and a student car was needed before school started for my son to drive to early morning seminary and to school.

I wish I had been driving my wife's old van instead of my car when I ran into the flood. That would have been a financial blessing instead of a disaster.

My sons ended up with a really crappy bare bones car instead of the one I had ruined (which was a much much better model) and, due to lack of remaining funds, I ended up buying the used rental car I was using after my car was ruined instead of the getting the much nicer car that I had been planning on for years.