For the next week or so I drove past it twice a day and kept looking and thinking ‘that really is a good looking car’. Eventually I gave in and stopped at the garage to have a look at it (I used the excuse that I was right next to it anyway, in the queue for the level crossing). It looked in really good condition from the outside, so I went to the sales office and asked to look inside. Again, it was very clean and looked great. I spoke to SWMBO who immediately said ‘NO, you only bought your Mondeo in July’ and that was that.
Two days later we were both sat in it test driving it around some Dorset lanes. I was loving it, my wife said it rattled too much and why was I changing to a much older car.
Another three days later I was sat in the sales office signing the paperwork for it.
I picked it up last Friday and spent the weekend giving it a wash and a coat of polish (between the showers). Then my boss kindly despatched me to Slough via Trowbridge on Monday, covering 250 miles and making it all dirty again. To cap it off I had to quote for a structural survey of a steel building in a gravel quarry on Tuesday, so after that it looked more beige than maroon!
It is a bit cleaner now, and the few days I have had it have allowed me to draw up a (long) wishlist of things to do, first of which is to think of a suitable name for it.
For now, here are a few photos of my as yet unnamed new pride and joy:
Provided the weather is reasonable this weekend I plan to take the doorcards off and try to eradicate some really annoying rattles. I’ll let you know how I get on.