The Road

I’ve been looking around at some cheap cars. I’m not earning enough to buy one but it’s nice to dream. Three things I’ve noticed this week: Firstly, all those who work in the motor trade have a look in their eye that seems to say “I am a crook and I’m going to rip you off.”
Secondly, cars for sale online never look like their photos on the website. (They’re like people on dating sites in that respect) And thirdly, the amount it costs to buy and run a car is LUDICROUS. I’ve looked at tax, insurance, petrol, servicing, tyres, parking, cleaning and all the other crap you feel obliged to pay for, and with what I calculate to be my annual outgoings, I could be paying off a mortgage on a decent house.
Trouble is, no matter how decent that house was, I couldn’t use it to get to work, or to take girls out in. And therein lies the rub. What is a better use of my money? A small house that I can sit in on my own, or a small car that I can get out and start dating in? It doesn’t sound great if you ask a girl out and then say “I’ll pick you up at 8. Can you be at the nearest bus stop? I’ll be in the double decker.”
Philippa tells me her brother has a Mini One for sale. He’s advertised it for six grand but ‘might let it go for five-and-a-half’
Not to me, he won’t.

RC 20-3-10