Cars

It's been a while since I talked about cars on here. My reader may or may not be aware that I was driving a Mitsubishi L200 pickup truck for four and a half years until March 2021. It was a faithful old girl and I really miss her, but I had to get shut because she rotted beyond all economical repair

When I bought her

A couple of years later

I was hoping to show pictures of the rot on the tub when I sold that truck, but I don't seem to have saved them. One of the wheel arches was held on with gaffer tape as all the metal underneath had disappeared

I couldn't find a replacement tub for love nor money and the costs to have it repaired would have been far more than I was willing to pay, so I bunged it on ebay

I was very surprised to get £1000 for it from someone who exported it to Bulgaria. A couple of months after the sale, he emailed me pictures of the now repaired truck

Now a Bulgarian resident

Without the pictures to show the extent of the rot, it's difficult to understand the amazing job the guy did of repairing it, but he's clearly given it a new lease of life. Welding must be a lot cheaper in Bulgaria than it is here

Anyway, after the truck went I decided to get something different. This one took my fancy and because of a rather half arsed ebay description, I managed to get it for £800

Get yer top off!

Ok then

As I've never owned a convertable or a Merc, I figured a convertable Merc would make an interesting change

It certainly did and the car is an absolute pleasure to drive, particularly in the sun. It's also in cracking condition for its 23 years

The trouble is, it's the most impractical, useless thing I've ever driven. No more trips to the tip or B&Q for certain. Not much of anything really, other than squeeze in and drive it. And it's totally useless in even half an inch of snow

I've had it for about a year now and I'm always undecided as to if I regret buying it. The answer is no when the top is down and the sun is out, but yes when I need to pick up a bit of copper pipe or take a bath to the tip

And over the last couple of months she's developed a fault. She uses far too much fuel. I'm fairly certain she isn't leaking, as I can find no evidence, but I've tried loads of stuff to reduce her consumption and nothing has worked. I'm completely out of ideas and have it booked in the garage on Friday

So I've finally decided the cons outweigh the pros and I've bid on another Mitsubishi L200. As I write this, there's an hour left to go and I'm the high bidder, but I'm at the maximum I'm willing to pay

If it doesn't work, I'll probably just buy a big Volvo. I've owned enough cars now, it's probably time to settle down