Bangin’ New Car! (Blog 324)

As I said in blog 323, I have a new car! A bangin’ new car! But what was it like sorting everything out? First up, the car salesman sounded exactly like Michael Caine, at least at times. Not all the time, that would have been great, but just enough for it to be funny. After the purchasing, I was asked if I wanted to do a test drive. Driving a car that didn’t look it was stolen from a negligent hobo was a huge relief. That’s what my old one could have been mistaken for. Before the drive though, the salesperson had to squeeze the vehicle of interest out of a VERY cramped crowd of other cars. The way he manoeuvred the thing was genuinely amazing, there was a three millimetre gap on both sides if that. I was thinking ‘this cockney’s got skills!’ Not only was he gifted, he was kind too. Two hundred pounds were taken off AFTER the car was bought. If he took the cash off before I bought it, fair enough, that would be manipulation for me to want it even more. So yeah, afterwards shows kindness and compassion. Having said that, that was rather strange behaviour from someone who gave multiple stories about how he wasn’t always 100% honest to his customers. A bit of a head scratcher so let’s stop thinking about it.

When test driving the car, I was reluctant to go over 40 mph (so I didn’t). I guess I must have looked like a learner driver the way I was concentrating on driving so much. However, there was no learner plate, so it could only mean one thing (apparently): Idiot. I’m not an idiot just cautious, that’s all. The salesman was in the back and whilst I couldn’t see if he was scared by my driving, I didn’t hear any fear in his tone of voice (I checked) which was something. After I got the car home all for myself, I soon drove it to the shops and made the most out of the 50 mph sign. Yep, I got the Dutch courage in the end. (Sorry, after Googling the phrase, I don’t mean Dutch courage because that means confidence from drinking alcohol. I’m glad I checked that. I meant NORMAL courage). So smooth at such speeds! The main reason I bought it however was because Toyotas are supposed to be some of the most reliable cars you can get. As pointed out before, I always thought it was the Germans who loved efficiency. I mean, I’ve just done some car-based Googling and immediately found the phrase ‘BMW EfficientDynamics’.

Sorting out the tax and insurance at home was pretty straightforward if boring. Actually no, it wasn’t boring, it was so simple it gave me a boost if anything. For the tax, I was given instructions by the seller beforehand, and I entered them on my computer. In about a minute that was done. But don’t get too excited, I only had two instructions. Still though, very grown up and mature. When I phoned the insurance people, I basically just said I wanted to give my previous policy to my new vehicle. The guy said ‘to your Toyota’? and I was like ‘yeah!’ That was pretty much it. The insurance website I visited prior to the call said only to phone them if essential but having tried to create an online account, I thought ‘screw that’. But at the end of the day, the insurance WAS essential. In the grand scheme of things. Maybe not at that precise point, but if that was an issue, the site should have made that clear. Having to wait 8 or so minutes on the phone wasn’t too much of a big deal for me. Just another win in a very short space of time.

I’ve really been enjoying my car, I have to say. One striking thing about it, is the way it makes fast speeds seem slower, I guess because the vehicle is a bit taller than my old one. At first I was thinking ‘Wow, I’m a man who knows no fear… (When it comes to cars). I’m doing 50, but it seems like 40. The sky’s the limit… Time to join the army.’ Sadly however, my dad also pointed out how the car seemed slower. A bit of a buzz kill, but I guess it’s best to be down to Earth or people get annoyed. On a completely different note, I was surprised to see Ozzy Osbourne singing in the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony. He sang ‘Paranoid’ which I guess is a heavy song for such an event, but it would have been so much better if he sang the song ‘Black Sabbath’. The lyrics go ‘What is this that stands before me? Figure in black which points at me. Turn around quick and start to run…’ The great thing is people ran at the games. If only they ran to the song. At bit scary at first maybe, but I think that would make people run faster. When doing the pole vault, ‘Jump’ by Van Halen could play! (Making people jump higher). That’s it! Bye!