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Oh, goddammit.
Aug. 3rd, 2005 01:51 pmThe history
I inherited Mum's Fiat Uno when I graduated; it was a 6 year old D reg at the time. I ran it for 2 1/2 years until it started deciding to stop on motorways... (though I always managed to get onto the hard shoulder before grinding to a complete halt, and it would start again after a 10 minute nap.)
So I traded it in for a 3 year old Astra. I loved it. Top of the range, 1.6l, electric almost-everything, went like a thoroughbred with ginger up it's tailpipe :)
Except now it's 10 years old (albeit with only 76k on the clock), is cripplingly high insurance because it's prime joy-riding material (not being garaged), is only doing 30mpg, the heat shield over the exhaust manifold is so rusty it's developed a resonant frequency at about 1500 rpm, and it's starting to worry me cos 1990s Vauxhalls aren't known for their reliability. So I started looking for a replacment.
The options
Well, haviing spent all my savings on living whilst on insurance, I started looking at things that would last me a couple of years while I saved up for a Proper Car. I'd like a Celica. I'd sell my Gran for a Ford Capri (Mk1) or a Dodge Charger. I'd sell my house & live in the back seat for a V8 Vantage... But I'll settle for a 5-6 year old Mazda / Corolla / Civic or another Astra.
Apart from the dealerships being flooded with Peugeots (tells me something I suspected) and hardly having any Japanese models, I didn't think I was being too picky. But in the whole of central / south Manchester & Stockport, I found two things I'd consider. Both Mazda 323s. One was a 1.8 S reg, the other a 1.5 X. Unfoortunately, the X reg wasn't only £4.5k, it was also automatic (and I like driving too much to want a point-and-steer car). So I looked at the S reg.
The issue
Looked good; test drove nicely. Pants part-ex value offered for the Astra, but *shrugs* the Mazda was cheap, and would likely last longer than the Astra will.
Unfortunately, the AA car data check turned up the fact that, despite the odometer reading 65,000, the DVLA had registered a mileage in February of 78,000.
Buggrit.
The garage promised to check up for me - and actually did, to my surprise. I had a call on Saturday saying they'd squeezed a refund out of the person they bought it from, and would pass this on to me in full. So I said I'd take a couple of days to think, and would get back to them by Wednesday.
I thought and decided that it drove well, so losing 13,000 miles wasn't too much of a problem, and I'd give it a go.
Strangely enough, they sold it on Sunday. I think I need to find a phone number for traing standards.
And another cheap middle aged car.
Bloody car salesmen.
I inherited Mum's Fiat Uno when I graduated; it was a 6 year old D reg at the time. I ran it for 2 1/2 years until it started deciding to stop on motorways... (though I always managed to get onto the hard shoulder before grinding to a complete halt, and it would start again after a 10 minute nap.)
So I traded it in for a 3 year old Astra. I loved it. Top of the range, 1.6l, electric almost-everything, went like a thoroughbred with ginger up it's tailpipe :)
Except now it's 10 years old (albeit with only 76k on the clock), is cripplingly high insurance because it's prime joy-riding material (not being garaged), is only doing 30mpg, the heat shield over the exhaust manifold is so rusty it's developed a resonant frequency at about 1500 rpm, and it's starting to worry me cos 1990s Vauxhalls aren't known for their reliability. So I started looking for a replacment.
The options
Well, haviing spent all my savings on living whilst on insurance, I started looking at things that would last me a couple of years while I saved up for a Proper Car. I'd like a Celica. I'd sell my Gran for a Ford Capri (Mk1) or a Dodge Charger. I'd sell my house & live in the back seat for a V8 Vantage... But I'll settle for a 5-6 year old Mazda / Corolla / Civic or another Astra.
Apart from the dealerships being flooded with Peugeots (tells me something I suspected) and hardly having any Japanese models, I didn't think I was being too picky. But in the whole of central / south Manchester & Stockport, I found two things I'd consider. Both Mazda 323s. One was a 1.8 S reg, the other a 1.5 X. Unfoortunately, the X reg wasn't only £4.5k, it was also automatic (and I like driving too much to want a point-and-steer car). So I looked at the S reg.
The issue
Looked good; test drove nicely. Pants part-ex value offered for the Astra, but *shrugs* the Mazda was cheap, and would likely last longer than the Astra will.
Unfortunately, the AA car data check turned up the fact that, despite the odometer reading 65,000, the DVLA had registered a mileage in February of 78,000.
Buggrit.
The garage promised to check up for me - and actually did, to my surprise. I had a call on Saturday saying they'd squeezed a refund out of the person they bought it from, and would pass this on to me in full. So I said I'd take a couple of days to think, and would get back to them by Wednesday.
I thought and decided that it drove well, so losing 13,000 miles wasn't too much of a problem, and I'd give it a go.
Strangely enough, they sold it on Sunday. I think I need to find a phone number for traing standards.
And another cheap middle aged car.
Bloody car salesmen.
