h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Sheesh at long last I have ifnally got the cheque for the "pre-accident" value of my car and can get a new one.

Got the auto trader today and there are a couple of promising leads so fingures crossed.

What kind of car do you want to buy? What was your old one? Does the 'auto trader' mean you're going to be buying a second-hand car?

Last time I bought a new car was - gasp! - more than twenty years ago. Haven't had a car since.

My first ever car - when I was 19 - was a second-hand 1968 Mercedes sedan. Gorgeous! British racing green with tan leather seats. A total lemon, as it turned out. Ended up trading it in for a little Honda civic about a year later.


az

I want to buy a Vauhall Astra 1.4 from K-P reg, so between 8 and 12 years old. My old car was a particularly rubbish Ford Fiesta.

The 'auto trader is in the UK the definitive weekly classified 2nd hand car magazine. There are about 4 or 5 this week I am interested in so I am quite hopeful!

Hondas are nice cars but a bit out of my price range as I only have about £700.

I have got a L reg Vauxhall Corsa and it is very nice.

Do you mean you have the new car now?


az

I am hugely pised now

But aye, I *have* bought a new motor.

Urrggghhhh!!!!

I feel rotten now.



Damn s

Wimp!


az

FB - good news about the car

Have just got back from Prague - I haven't got your email address at home, but I'm of work tomorrow. If you mail me at my work address, you'll get my auto-reply which has my home email on it, so then you can mail me at home and I can give you the lowdown.

Quality!

On a note I crashed my new car this morning.

How much of a bummer is that?

Damn! What's the insurance / blame / financial upshot of it all?

Well it was my fault, but I was doing about 5mph and there is vitually no damage to either car.

I have asked her if she minds me just paying for the repairs to her car rather than going through the insurace so I will see how it goes.

Basically the pedals are *really* close together and I am not used to it. She braked and I went to brake but my foot slipped and hit the gas making me jump forward into her.

I cannot belive on the first day of driving my new motor I crashed it!

BTW I have not got your work email.

Mine is ferrettbadger(at)hotmail(dot)com

I reversed into a Ford Capri in Islington last summer - I was going back about 100 yards to a parking space, and she wasn't there when I looked the first time. Then I started reversing, was looking in my door mirrors to keep on a straight course, assuming it was still clear and suddenly there was a honk behind me, I hit the brakes, but didn't quite stop in time.

And there's a tow bar on the back of my Citroen, so I clobbered her front bumper and number plate. I just apologised for the whole thing and offered to pay to sort it without doing the insurance thing, and I think she appreciated my honesty in admitting it was all my fault and didn't want the hassle of dealing with insurers. It came to just over £200 - and seeing as the excess on her policy could well have been half that, it probably made the most sense all round.

I was sweetness and light to her. I made a big point of admitting it was my fault, saying sorry and asking if she was ok. So hopefully she will be much the same and allow me to just pay.

It was a 1996 fiesta she was driving so hopefully it will be relativly cheap to repair. And I was late for work as a result.

Dang!

Well the mechanic phoned me up and said it will be £160. I will go down tomorrow and see if I can get him down a bit by offering cash.

Ho hum that could have been a *lot* worse so I am relativly chirpy. Seems strange to me that having to pay £160 actually seems like good news.