Andrew Rubotham's Cars

A brief history of cars

I've just got a new car, and I thought it would be nice to have a webby record of my old ones

Austin Metro 1.3 (EVF134Y)

Make/Model: Austin Metro 1.3
Registration: EVF134Y (1982/83)
Engine size: 1300cc
Colour: White
Bought: For £450 on 28th November 1993
Sold: For about £50 to someone at work. On the 4th March 1995. -ish.
Comments: Took it for an M.O.T only to discover that it needed more work done on it than it was worth! So I didn't bother renewing the M.O.T, instead I bought a new car. When I got the new one, this one sat at the top of the garden for ages before I got rid of it. Unfortunately this picture of it buried under a pile of snow is the only one I have.

Ford Fiesta 1.1 Finesse (C437CJD)

Make/Model: Ford Fiesta 1.1 Finesse
Registration: C437CJD (1985/86)
Engine size: 1100cc
Colour: White
Bought: For £1150 on 6th November 1994
Sold: For £200 part exchange on my next car on 30th September 1997. Exchange took place on 10th October 1997
Mileage: Approx 65300 when sold
Comments: Apparently its name was 'Bessie' before I got hold of it and gave it its rightful name of 'the car'. Also earned itself a rather unfortunate connection with Mad Cow Disease due to the registration number!

Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ghia (J311YNO)

Make/Model: Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ghia
Registration: J311YNO (27th January 1992)
Engine size: 1400cc
Colour: Electric Blue
Bought: For £4844 (minus £200 for my old Fiesta) on 30th September 1997. Picked it up on 10th October 1997
Sold: For £300 to a work colleague on 7th July 2003.
Mileage: 36749 when bought, 71339 when sold. For extra details click here.
Comments: I loved this car to bits, but I kept it just a little too long and towards the end it was just dying of death. To be more specific, it was dying of... half-working heated front screen; drivers seatbelt that occasionally stuck; dodgy drivers door handle; rev counter that stuck at 3-4000 revs for an hour or so each journey; engine that overheated if stuck in traffic; nail stuck in rear tyre resulting in a slow puncture; slightly warped front brake disk causing brake judder; inoperable rear wiper; dent in front bumper and missing passenger wing mirror.
Alas, poor Fiesta...
Technically, the last two were my own fault, as shown in the account of the numerous (well, four) accidents this car has suffered.
Accident 1: There I was, sitting at a T-junction when I nudged forward to see if the road was clear. It wasn't quite clear enough for my liking, but the bloke behind me obviously thought it was, cause he carried on straight in to the back of me.
Accident 2: There I was, a car behind one sitting at a roundabout. The car in front nudged forward to see if the road was clear. It wasn't quite clear enough for his liking, but I thought it was and, looking at the roundabout traffic and not the car in front, went straight in to the back of him. Mmmm, sounds familiar. The guy turned out to be an off duty copper as well.
Accident 3: It was a slippery day, I took a rather sharp corner a little too quickly and I ended up grounded on the side of a ditch. Fortunately a tractor driver spotted me. He called one of his other tractor driving mates, who wasn't far away and who he knew would have some chains, and this other guy came along a few minutes later and pulled me out of my unfortunate position. Yay for tractor drivers! Fortunately no major damage, just a rather large dent in the lower front bumper.
Accident 4: Picture the scene. I'm driving along a narrow street, there are cars parked on the left, and traffic coming towards me on the right. 'There's enough of a gap for me to squeeze through there' I thought to myself, but I was proved horribly wrong as my passenger side wing mirror came flying off with a clunk. As did the drivers side mirror of the car I was passing in fact. Being the law abiding citizen I am, I stopped to see if I could find the owner of the car I had just defaced, but on hearing the bang, the guy was already out of his house, and it was all settled very amicably

By the way, nice easy to remember number plate, y'know!

MINI One (AP03KMK)

Make/Model: MINI One
Registration: AP03KMK (24th June 2003)
Engine size: 1600cc
Colour: Chili Red
Options / Extras:

SALT Pack
Cloth Kaleido Interior
15" 8-Spoke Alloys
Manual air conditioning
Visibility Pack
Sports Seats
Multi function steering wheel
Trip Computer
Alarm
Six-disc CD autochanger
Bought: 26th April 2003 / 24th June 2006
Actual car price with options as above: £12255
On-the-road: £12760
Paid £1000 deposit on 26th April before the car was even built, then had to wait till the 24th June 2003 before I paid the rest and drove the car away.
Sold: £7250 part-exchange value on my next MINI on 1st June 2006.
Mileage: Bought with a grand total of 6 and a bit miles on the clock. At the end of it's 1st birthday (for which I got a birthday card from Lind!) it had clocked up 6177 miles. Currently sits at just under 19000. If I don't get my new one soon it'll be even more!
Final tally; 19896 miles
Comments: It's a Mini adventure

MINI Cooper (AP06HVS)

Make/Model: MINI Cooper
Registration: AP06HVS (29th July 2006)
Engine size: 1600cc
Colour: Hyper Blue / Black Roof
Options / Extras:

CHILI Pack
Cloth/Leather Interior
Chrome-line interior
'Lifeshine' paint/interior protection
16" 5-Star Alloys
Manual air conditioning
Visibility Pack
Heated mirrors and washer jets
Multi function steering wheel
White indicator lenses
Bought: 1st June 2006 / 29th July 2006
Actual car price with options as above: £15019
On-the-road with optional insurance: £16038
Grand total, taking into account part-exchange: £8788
Paid £1500 deposit, still awaiting delivery.
Estimated date of delivery was 30th June 2006. Now they estimate the 3rd week in July.
Now have it! Picked it up on 29th July 2006
Sold: N/A
Mileage: 15 miles when collected
Comments:

	Make/Model: Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ghia Registration: J311YNO (27th January 1992) Engine size: 1400cc Colour: Electric Blue Bought: For £4844 (minus £200 for my old Fiesta) on 30th September 1997. Picked it up on 10th October 1997 Sold: For £300 to a work colleague on 7th July 2003. Mileage: 36749 when bought, 71339 when sold. For extra details click here. Comments: I loved this car to bits, but I kept it just a little too long and towards the end it was just dying of death. To be more specific, it was dying of... half-working heated front screen; drivers seatbelt that occasionally stuck; dodgy drivers door handle; rev counter that stuck at 3-4000 revs for an hour or so each journey; engine that overheated if stuck in traffic; nail stuck in rear tyre resulting in a slow puncture; slightly warped front brake disk causing brake judder; inoperable rear wiper; dent in front bumper and missing passenger wing mirror. Alas, poor Fiesta... Technically, the last two were my own fault, as shown in the account of the numerous (well, four) accidents this car has suffered. Accident 1: There I was, sitting at a T-junction when I nudged forward to see if the road was clear. It wasn't quite clear enough for my liking, but the bloke behind me obviously thought it was, cause he carried on straight in to the back of me. Accident 2: There I was, a car behind one sitting at a roundabout. The car in front nudged forward to see if the road was clear. It wasn't quite clear enough for his liking, but I thought it was and, looking at the roundabout traffic and not the car in front, went straight in to the back of him. Mmmm, sounds familiar. The guy turned out to be an off duty copper as well. Accident 3: It was a slippery day, I took a rather sharp corner a little too quickly and I ended up grounded on the side of a ditch. Fortunately a tractor driver spotted me. He called one of his other tractor driving mates, who wasn't far away and who he knew would have some chains, and this other guy came along a few minutes later and pulled me out of my unfortunate position. Yay for tractor drivers! Fortunately no major damage, just a rather large dent in the lower front bumper. Accident 4: Picture the scene. I'm driving along a narrow street, there are cars parked on the left, and traffic coming towards me on the right. 'There's enough of a gap for me to squeeze through there' I thought to myself, but I was proved horribly wrong as my passenger side wing mirror came flying off with a clunk. As did the drivers side mirror of the car I was passing in fact. Being the law abiding citizen I am, I stopped to see if I could find the owner of the car I had just defaced, but on hearing the bang, the guy was already out of his house, and it was all settled very amicably By the way, nice easy to remember number plate, y'know!