I need a new car. I currently drive a green Peugeot 306 estate, rather like this one, with a big, turbocharged diesel engine and want something different. But I need to persuade my wife I need one first. Why do I need a new car? How many reasons do you want?
- It’s due a service and MOT which I’m convinced is going to cost me more than the car is worth.
- It uses too much petrol.
- It costs too much to tax.
- It’s ugly by modern standards.
- It’s just too damn big now that we’ve got the Picasso. I originally bought it because it was big – I don’t need a big car anymore, it’s only for running back and forth to work.
- It’s got an annoying oil leak which no-one seems to be able to stop and is making a mess of the road outside my house.
- The electric window controls haven’t worked for a couple of years now and I’ve been quoted £300 to fix them. Thankfully, the sunroof still opens.
- The ‘door open’ light has started flashing constantly, so I’ve had to turn it off. If I get in the car in the dark, I can’t see anything.
- The central locking has started playing up. This morning it took me ages to lock the car. The doors were all unlocked but when I locked the driver’s door (the remote locking key needs a new battery) it ONLY locked that door. I opened the two rear doors to lock them manually, but couldn’t lock the front passenger manually while the door was open. So I had to open the driver’s door, lock the other from the inside, get out again and lock the driver’s door with the key – at which point the other three unlocked again. I wasn’t happy!
- I just want a new one, okay?
So, what sort of car do I want? I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it, I need to bring my wife around to the idea of having a new one first, and that may take a while.
