The Phone call.........
The intention was to send away the defunct ABS pump for reconditioning and replace it on the Astra. The all-in quote came to £435 - just less than half the £900 at which I valued the car. Yesterday morning, I received a call to say that the unit was beyond repair and that they would have to get another one for reconditioning - the cost would go up by another £100.
The decision .......
That latest news would have put the repair cost at above half the car's value (my arbitrary criterion) and, given a few hours thought, I decided to scrap it. The garage offered me £100 and said that they might give it some attention and use it as a courtesy car; I must admit, I was fearing a bill for the work that they'd done on it so far.
The 'what now?'.......
At the age of 68, I have never really seriously had to think about 'playing the field' and buying a car. I rode a motorbike until, at 26, I was given a company car - I didn't seriously consider choice as I would only have to live with it for a few years anyway. When company-car rules changed, I bought my old Mondeo estate from the firm at a cheapo price and, when the Mondeo died, I bought the Astra from a mate as he was retiring from his job. So, what will it be??? I quite like that tone of red that Ferraris come in but, then again, they aren't much use for taking rubbish up to the tip.
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