Possibly the most unusual page on the site (for anyone that knows me at least).
I've put this here because I have this odd thing about wanting to remember the cars I've driven and their registrations...
Car 1: White 3-door Vauxhall Astra, Reg D791 XLY
Dates owned: 2000 to 2001 (I think)
Notes: Bought from a dodgy dealer in Stapleford, Notts. Didn't work when I got it (carburretor was dodgy and the swanky digital dashboard was screwed up). I wish I'd got the blue Astra from the garage by the rail depot. First car though, bought to allow me to easily get to work when I was working with Mastercare/PC ServiceCall.
Fate: Part exchanged for Car 2
Car 2: Red 5-door Ford Escort, Reg M326 CFW
Dates owned: 2001 to 2002 (I think)
Notes: Bought because girlfriend at the time said I should get a car that was more family friendly (cos she had kids). It was the best of the second hand cars I've had, and got through its MOT without any work needing done. I liked this car.
Fate: written off when a Volvo driver crashed into it whilst it was parked outside my Chilwell house on a Sunday morning. I love telling the story of the alarm going off and waking me up to the thought "if that alarm starts going wooooooOOOOoooo then it's mine". It did. Then I locked myself out the house. Used the insurance money to buy a bicycle.
Car 3: White 5-door Volkswagen Golf Driver, Reg G186 PBD
Dates owned: Jan 2004 - ?
Notes: Bought by mum (yes, I paid her back) so that I would be able to travel between home and Derby to visit she-who-would-become-my-wife. Automatic gearbox (which was lovely). Nice inside and well-maintained and probably the most hard-wearing of cars. A testament to German engineering.
Fate: A broken axle and several other things wrong with it meant that it was going to cost over £500 to get it fixed and MOTd. Subsequently, advice from others convinced me that it was beyond economical repair and to try and sell it. I tried to sell it for £100 but no-one would offer me anything for it, and I eventually had no choice but to give the car away. I hope that the bloke who took it tried to repair it, but I have a funny feeling he was taking it to a breaker's yard to get some money from it.
Car 4: Blue 5-door Kia Cee'd gs, Reg FH08 JFX
Dates owned: July 2008 - 16th August 2011
Notes: Anne's first mobility car and the first time I ever drove/owned a brand new car. The Cee'd is a nice car to drive - remarkably quiet and smooth. It's also a very reliable car and over the three years I drove it nothing ever actually went wrong with it that wasn't down to wear and tear. I didn't like the gearbox, as for the entire time I owned the car I felt that it had a different ratio to any other car - where I was used to changing to 2nd at 20mph the Kia demanded change to 2nd gear at 10mph. Other than that, a lovely car though. Interesting point was that the indicator and windscreen wiper controls were on the opposite sides to normal.
Fate: Exchanged for Car 5 on August 16th 2011 at Bristol Street Motors Renault, Derby
Car 5: Extreme Blue 5-door Renault Grand Scenic Expression, Reg FP11 UNL
Dates owned: 16th August 2011 - present
Notes: Diesel automatic 7-seater family bus! I've never been a big fan of MPVs but the size of the family and Anne's needs dictated something with more seats and that sat higher up from ground level. My health issues dictated the automatic gearbox, as sitting in traffic with constant clutch use was really affecting the psioratic arthritis that was beginning to take hold of my left knee.
Fully electronic dashboard is nice, I just hope the connections hold out. It has an electronic handbrake, which you activate by pulling a little switch and deactivate by pressing the accelerator - it's weird, and probably going to take a while to get used to. Push button ignition is nice, and the key is a big chunky card, which is going to be hard to lose. Must get bigger pockets...
Fate: Exchanged for car 6 on August 20th 2014 at Bristol Street Motors Nissan, Derby
Car 6: Red Nissan Juke 1.3, Reg FH14 RVX
Dates Owned: 20th August - Present
Notes: Petrol automatic 5-seater. We've always wanted a Juke since they came out because they look nice and have the same name as our dog. Again, a higher ride height was needed for Anne, so the Juke was ideal.
Nice to drive, but vastly underpowered for the weight of the car. Not a great car for driving on the motorways, because trying to do 70 in it on an incline leads to pulling about 5,000 revs. The cruise control in these conditions is ridiculous - struggling and whining to maintain the set speed.
Inside, the front is nice and it's comfortable to drive. There's not a lot of room in the back, though, so my rather tall son is NOT enjoying being a passenger in the back.
Fate: Will be exchanged for another car at the end of the 3-year lease.
Appendix: Other people's cars I've used
Dad's Cars
Mum's Cars
Other cars: