We have a car!
When Steve and I first moved to Scotland just over two years ago, his company provided us a rental car for the first three months. However, when it came time to buy our own we opted to go without. Steve could bike to work, and he had decent bus service during the snowy, winter months. When we moved from the bungalow to this apartment, we were closer to both Steve's work and the city centre. A car was even less important. We would rent a car when we needed one - like when we had company or wanted to go see the family for the weekend. And we were content with that arrangement.
We decided the time had come to resume the driving lifestyle. It took us a couple of months to fine tune our expectations/desires and find a central meeting place. Steve wanted a used BMW. He likes the quality of the machine and the nicer finishes. He works hard for his money, so he deserves to have a car that doesn't feel like it's made by a 3D printer. But I'm a novice driver over here. The notion of navigating a mid-size car along the tiny Scottish roads made me uncomfortable. So we compromised: We bought a Mini Cooper.
We didn't go with the usual three or five-door coupe. We went with the "estate" or "station wagon" version - the Mini Clubman. The car is not quite a year old. It's a former demonstrator model with so many bells and whistles it's a bit unreal. We're quite pleased. Steve wishes the automatic gear box was a bit more responsive, but in general he's happy. And the car is small enough that when I finally get behind the wheel (I have my provisional licence and I have passed the theory test, so it's just a matter of time), I will be relatively comfortable.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Winifred, aka Winnie the Mini:
In her spot in front of our porch. One neat aspect of the Clubman is the split rear door that open to the side, rather than up like a hatchback. I popped open the back to demonstrate.
So far, we've taken her on some local adventures. The first night we had her we just went driving. Having the freedom of a car is something we so often take for granted. And while we didn't really mind not having one the past two years, it does feel life-changing being motorists again. Now, we aren't slaves to the bus schedule. Now, when we need cat food, we don't have to buy a day pass because we need four busses in total to make the round trip to the pet store. And, because we used Compare the Market to get our car insurance, we now have 2-for-1 movie tickets every week for the next year. And we have a car to take us to the cinema! Yep, definitely life changing.
We decided the time had come to resume the driving lifestyle. It took us a couple of months to fine tune our expectations/desires and find a central meeting place. Steve wanted a used BMW. He likes the quality of the machine and the nicer finishes. He works hard for his money, so he deserves to have a car that doesn't feel like it's made by a 3D printer. But I'm a novice driver over here. The notion of navigating a mid-size car along the tiny Scottish roads made me uncomfortable. So we compromised: We bought a Mini Cooper.
We didn't go with the usual three or five-door coupe. We went with the "estate" or "station wagon" version - the Mini Clubman. The car is not quite a year old. It's a former demonstrator model with so many bells and whistles it's a bit unreal. We're quite pleased. Steve wishes the automatic gear box was a bit more responsive, but in general he's happy. And the car is small enough that when I finally get behind the wheel (I have my provisional licence and I have passed the theory test, so it's just a matter of time), I will be relatively comfortable.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Winifred, aka Winnie the Mini:
Even though she's a used car, our salesman, Arron, set her up in the display area and had her covered with a sheet when we arrived. The car was shipped up to us from Glasgow and we hadn't seen her in person yet.
My view from the passenger side. That plastic screen you see is the heads-up display. Like I said, lots of bells and whistles.
In her spot in front of our porch. One neat aspect of the Clubman is the split rear door that open to the side, rather than up like a hatchback. I popped open the back to demonstrate.
So far, we've taken her on some local adventures. The first night we had her we just went driving. Having the freedom of a car is something we so often take for granted. And while we didn't really mind not having one the past two years, it does feel life-changing being motorists again. Now, we aren't slaves to the bus schedule. Now, when we need cat food, we don't have to buy a day pass because we need four busses in total to make the round trip to the pet store. And, because we used Compare the Market to get our car insurance, we now have 2-for-1 movie tickets every week for the next year. And we have a car to take us to the cinema! Yep, definitely life changing.
Comments
Post a Comment