Got it!

Well, yesterday was the big day. The trip from home to Southampton was an eventful four -and-a-half hours, via London in the rush hour, the less said about which the better.

As I mentioned, I had settled on the 2001 2.0 'S', which was for sale with Nicholas Johnston Cars. I had a bit of trouble last week because Nick was keen to get his hands on some money, and was being pressured by another buyer who wanted to turn up with cash the next day.

The Coupé was ready and waiting when I eventually got to Southampton, so after stopping for a coffee and to sign some paperwork, I was off. Nick Johnston was a nice guy, with half a dozen or so cars he was selling from home. He's serviced and MoT'd the car, including replacing the timing belt, and it's been thoroughly cleaned both inside and out.

The bodywork is in fantastic condition for a six year old car. There's a tiny fine scratch on the driver's door, and a very small ding to the nearside rear wing, but it's small enough that you can only see it if you look carefully along the wing - from head on you'd never spot it. Inside is clean and tidy, the upholstery is in great condition and all the switches and buttons work. The passenger door trim is a bit loose and the trim on the inside of the driver's door mirror has been removed and inexpertly put back, but otherwise it's immaculate.

The 130 mile drive back from Southampton was effortless, taking only just over two hours - a pleasant change from the train down. It was long enough to find a comfy driving position and to get used to the controls and the pedals, but it was motorways and dual-carriageways almost all the way so I can't really comment on the handling. I'm sure I'll find an hour or so in the next few days to check out some of the quieter country roads around home.

So, after fur months of waiting and over two of blogging, I've finally got a 406 Coupé. And here it is.

Apologies to Nick Johnston for pinching the picture off his website, but since the car is sold I don't suppose he needs it any more...

What a Week!

Well, I finally got a call from Potential Future Boss #1 last Friday, telling me that I would be offered the position we had discussed. So, time to stop faffing around and actually buy a car.

I've been looking at used car adverts for three months, so now was the time to leap into action and buy myself a shiny Peugeot 406 Coupé.

The first car on my list, mentioned here, had been sold, as I predicted. The next one, I noticed just as I called the dealer, had red leather upholstery (why??!).

The next three all had sunroofs. None of these were mentioned in the text of the advert, nor were they visible on the photographs. In one case,the advert ran to eight lines of description of the car, including the surprise news that the car had power steering, but failed to mention the sunroof. As I established a while ago, sunroofs are a no-no.

By yesterday, I had narrowed the choice down to two vehicles:
A 2001 (Y) 2.0 S, cloth interior, 73,000 miles. Advertised at £3800 but £3500 agreed.
-or-
A 2000 (W) 2.0 SE, electric heated leather seats, cruise control, etc. 97,500 miles. Advertised at £3500.

My scoring system penalises the 'SE' for the extra 24,500 miles (~£600) and the extra year (£700), but gives it £600 for the extra kit. So, in order to be of equal value to the 'S' model, it would need to be reduced to around £2900.

I called the dealer, Rude Car,this morning and offered £3000 cash, which they politely declined. The car had come in only yesterday, so they weren't willing to drop the price at all. No sale for them today.

I've arranged to collect the 'S' from Southampton next week, once it's been MoT'd. The dealer serviced it and replaced the cam belt when he received the car, so no worries there.

I've also got a nice quote for the insurance by changing the car on my existing policy and taking out a new policy in my wife's name for the Astra. Net cost, about £490, which is £200 or so less than I'd thought.

The LPG conversion is also provisionally booked at Essex LPG for two weeks' time.

Full speed ahead...