Oh how I wish I'd hung on to my Xm and not listened when swmbo and the kids were nagging me to get another "more modern" car. It has cost me a fortune and they have so many sensors on them they are a nightmare. I started a while ago now by buying a Fiat Multipla 115JTD with all the whistles and bells. Drove nice, got lovely ice cold a/c in the summer. But remember last winter? I have to be in work by 6am, luckily its only 5 miles away but it was then that I found out the Multi's shortcomings! The heaters are absolute crap! Designed for balmy Italian evenings and not much else. The handbrake also has a clever knack of freezing on and the gearchange cables freeze up. I joined the forum and it appears every car is the same. Ones with good heaters are few and far between.
In March this year I p/x'd the Multi for a Grand Scenic 1.5dci. That was a gross backward step! As mistakes go it was a real biggy. Its saving grace was its economy, 48mpg round town and 60mpg on a run. It started having electronic faults and recently died on the road. No limp mode, just died. It had to be recovered, twice. Had it trailered in to be sorted. £300 sir thank you very much. Then I spoke to a few people who owned or had owned one, and everyone ended up spending, it had to go. I got frightened to use it after hearing some real horror stories. A couple of weeks back I bought a '96 plated Nissan Micra 1.0L. Loads of history with it, it's a really pleasant little motor car. It's purple! The doors drop an inch when they're opened and the rear shock mountings are shot and sound like a machine gun on a bumpy road But I really like it. If it blew up tomorrow I'd lose 500 quid, but the engine and box are lovely. It has what the Reno will never have......Character.
Today I went to look at a Kia Carens auto diesel with 30k on the clock. Lovely car, not too many electronics to screw you over and after a test drive I bought it. He gave me £3300 for the Scenic p/x. I lost £1700 on the Reno but at the end of the day I've got rid of it. We have to be thankful for small mercies when we get them.
And the high light of the day? Talking to the salesman I explained my love for old Citroens. He took me and my son through to the back of the garage to be greeted by a sight for sore eyes. A black Traction saloon, a black Traction convertible with a dickie seat (decap?) and a maroon Traction saloon. All had been retrimmed in beige leather and were in really nice condition. Apparently in another workshop they are restoring a DS and have a Traction big 6. Seeing those classics was a real treat for me. Sharing the space was a (very) modern Bentley and a Lotus Exige. The salesman showed us a neat trick on the Bentley, if a door is ajar it's like an invisible hand reaches out and locks it! I wonder if they can do something for the Nissan?