27-06-2021, 06:46 PM
(This post was last modified: 27-06-2021, 07:00 PM by David Stepney.
Edit Reason: Like all dyslexic wizards, I can't spell.
)
To cut a long (and very tedious) story short, I have been obliged to use the RP as my 'daily' since the back end of April, when the Polo came off the road for an engine overhaul. I estimated between 4 and 6 weeks to do this, but, given that:- (a) the Polo is now 34 years old and (b) we have had 'Brexit' imposed on us, the required parts have been somewhat difficult to come by. The work is therefore still ongoing with no firm end date in sight. I therefore bought myself a Fiat Panda 4x4 to take the pressure off the Seven.
Literally, no sooner than I had taken delivery of this new car, my grand-daughter-in-law (bless her) wrote her Nissan Qashqai off, and , given that she has three children, the youngest of whom is disabled, I lent her the Panda whilst the insurance company sorted her out. Whilst in her care, the Panda developed a growly front wheel bearing, so yesterday, we took the Seven to Birmingham to enable her to pick up her replacement car, choosing a route that did not involve motorways. It took us 7 hours to go to Birmingham and back from Bala, and poor Paula had already traveled 60 miles from Anglesey to me in the morning and then traveled the same distance in her new car back. So we were both exhausted by the end of the day, Paula finally getting back to her home at about 11.00 pm.
I have spent today fitting a new front wheel bearing to the Panda.
To be fair the Seven, in the 2000 or so miles it has covered in the last six weeks or so, apart from servicing, the only replacements have been a propshaft fabric joint and a speedometer cable and has risen the the challenge of being a daily driver admirably. Indeed, it has proved itself more dependable that the 'moderns'. Not bad for a motor car that has just celebrated it's 88th birthday. What was the advertising slogan? " You buy a car but you invest in an Austin"?
Oh, yes. Again for various complicated reasons, the Panda went to the works for me to repair it (no press at home), so the Panda is now at home and the Seven is at work. So I shall have to catch the bus in from Bala to Cefn Mawr on Tuesday (when I am next in) to retrieve it. And, guess what? Being (as it turns out) quite badly autistic, I HATE buses!
Literally, no sooner than I had taken delivery of this new car, my grand-daughter-in-law (bless her) wrote her Nissan Qashqai off, and , given that she has three children, the youngest of whom is disabled, I lent her the Panda whilst the insurance company sorted her out. Whilst in her care, the Panda developed a growly front wheel bearing, so yesterday, we took the Seven to Birmingham to enable her to pick up her replacement car, choosing a route that did not involve motorways. It took us 7 hours to go to Birmingham and back from Bala, and poor Paula had already traveled 60 miles from Anglesey to me in the morning and then traveled the same distance in her new car back. So we were both exhausted by the end of the day, Paula finally getting back to her home at about 11.00 pm.
I have spent today fitting a new front wheel bearing to the Panda.
To be fair the Seven, in the 2000 or so miles it has covered in the last six weeks or so, apart from servicing, the only replacements have been a propshaft fabric joint and a speedometer cable and has risen the the challenge of being a daily driver admirably. Indeed, it has proved itself more dependable that the 'moderns'. Not bad for a motor car that has just celebrated it's 88th birthday. What was the advertising slogan? " You buy a car but you invest in an Austin"?
Oh, yes. Again for various complicated reasons, the Panda went to the works for me to repair it (no press at home), so the Panda is now at home and the Seven is at work. So I shall have to catch the bus in from Bala to Cefn Mawr on Tuesday (when I am next in) to retrieve it. And, guess what? Being (as it turns out) quite badly autistic, I HATE buses!