Still Here - Just not doing much typing :{

Hiya all. Sorry for the length of time since my last Blog. Slapped wrist and all that!!! OK I was just being lazy.

The car is great, I have now done over 2000 miles in it and this coming weekend will be taking it for it's first outing with the caravan. We will be going up to Banchory in Scotland. It is just to the west of Aberdeen. It is an area of the country that I have not been to before so I am looking forward to it. It is about 3 hours from where I live (just to the West of Glasgow) so it should be a good run for the motor.

One thing that I have noticed is that I do not get the mileage out of it that I did with the Peugeot. I used to get 2 weeks out of a tank full but this one has to be refilled each week. Not quite the same amount but still noticeably less miles per tank (and it is a bigger tank!!). The Peugeot used to give me about 40 miles to the gallon. The Kia must be about 35-36. Now that does not sound much but when you do over a 1000 miles a month it adds up. OK I am not doing the heavy miles of a Commercial Salesman but that is basically just commuting to and from work plus a few trips at the weekend.

So much for that moan

The weather outside is glorious and I do not want to be in the office. Where I work has no natural daylight and is cooled by Air Conditioning so I never know what it is like outside till I go home.

The weather is supposed to last till the end of the weekend so I should get some benefit with the caravan. What it will be like next week is another matter.

Anyway byeeee for now.

She's done it again!!!

I Hope you all had a good Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year.

Me, I went looking for cars (well 4X4's) yesterday and my WIFE bought one!!!!! Not me, I was the one looking, she was the one who bought. I knew she was contemplating changing vehicles when I did but we were looking at the big 4X4's (I still like the Kia Sorento) and we were walking past the Suzuki garage (there is an area between Linwood and Paisley where there must be about 15 showrooms) and suddenly my wife said she quite fancied the Suzuki Jimny (yes it is Jimny, I always thought it was JImmy). So we looked around the lot and they had some with low mileage that were very affordable. Well we went into the showroom and they had a brand new JLX+ spec model at a much reduced price which was going up at the end of the month. Well, she fell in love with it. We went home, worked out the finances, went back, had a test drive and she bought it!

So I have had my car nearly 5 years and in that time she will have had 3 cars, 2 of which were brand new!

Me, I'm still looking but I had a good look at the Kia Sorento and both my wife and I like the looks of it very much. I am going to lease one in the New Year (most of the leasing places are shut at the moment). The cost is not too bad £199 + VAT (17.5%) per calendar month for up to 3 years. The only problem is that this is for 10,000 miles per annum. I do more than that, nearer 15,000 so it may cost a bit more. The advantage of this is I don't have to find £16,000 - £17,000 to buy one. Ok at the end of the lease period I get nothing back, but it would have cost me that much in the cost of the loan and I would have had to do it over 5 years to be able to afford it.

Also, this way means I can get a brand new car every 2 or 3 years. I'll try it and see how we get on. I then just have to sell my Peugeot 406 HDi Estate car, but there is no hurry for that.

Talk to you again. Byeeeee.

Want a New Motor John?

Whose John? Anyway, It is nearly year end, I am at work on the last day before we finish for Christmas and the last thing on my mind is WORK!! So my mind starts to wonder. Next year I intend to change my car. At present a Peugeot 406 HDi Estate car. I have had it nearly 5 years and it has been a very good runner, but the finance is nearly paid and I have just topped 80,000 miles. It had 12,000 on the clock when I bought it!! So I think it is time to change.

I will be using the new car to tow our caravan so I want a decent size car and have been looking at a couple of 4X4's. A Nissan X-Trail and a Kia Sorento. There are several of both types available at their local dealers (at least according to their web sites) so, in the end it may come down to how much 'bang' you get for your 'buck' :}

Anybody had any experience of these kind of vehicles? I originally looked at Landrover but very quickly dismissed them as the interior was awful and the prices were, in my opinion, high. The other makes are just way too expensive.

I will probably take about a month looking around and searching the web, visiting the dealers to see what they are offering etc. or I may go in after Christmas and see the one I want and buy it! Who knows. Watch this space and I will let you know.

Have a peaceful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Byeeeee.