Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Seat – The Next Generation
by Russell Turner - 16:44 on 15 May 2017
Practicality beat sentiment. On Friday, Son of Seat will be handed over to the good people at Arnold Clark in Inverness in part exchange (a very small part) for Grandson of Seat – a black 1.2 TSI 110 SE with Technology Pack, if such details matter to you.
After some online browsing to establish prices (which were all outrageous) the search began this morning at Hawco, where Son of Seat was purchased around five years ago. Nothing caught the eye so next move was to Bannerman, the Seat dealer, where a salesman caught me lurking on the forecourt and explained why all their cars were the cheapest and their finance deals the best.
I’d already decided that I’d have to sacrifice low price for low mileage so he steered me towards a red 2014 Leon 1.2 with 22,500 miles – a snip at £8,500 – and a grey 2016 Ibiza 1.2 estate with only 4,500 miles for £13,500. Son of Seat, a 1.6 Leon, had cost around £3,000 with 36,000 on the clock. Times have changed.
I retired to ponder and meet Matchgirl, who joined me for a second wander around Bannerman’s, then across the road to Clark’s for another forecourt safari where we were accosted by saleswoman Sian – the very person from whom Matchgirl had bought her Sunshine Citroën just a few months ago.
Inside her lair, a few taps of her keyboard revealed a plethora of pre-owned Leons (Ibizas having been discounted for lack of legroom and not being wide enough to accommodate a bass guitar case on the back seat) at prices from hefty to ridiculous. However, one did stand out – one year old, 1.2, 16,000 miles, and competitively priced at roughly what I earned last year.
The only drawback was that the contender was sitting on a sister forecourt and unavailable for a test drive. Sian had nothing to hand, but her old boss was now in charge of Bannerman’s across the road…
After some sweet-talking on the phone (by Sian) the red 1.2 I’d already examined was delivered the short distance to Clark’s and shortly after that I was able to make a brief road test with Matchgirl in the back and a Clark’s minder in the passenger seat. Impressions were all favourable.
Grandson of Seat – coming soon to The Rural Retreat
Back at Clark’s, the deal was done, most of Son of Seat’s trade-in being turned into a hi-tech dirt-repellant finish on the paintwork and seats and two years of free servicing to go along with the two years of warranty still on the car – Grandson of Seat. For the first time I’ll have a car that’s newer than Matchgirl’s.
I’ll have to make the most of it, though. The downward trajectory of 1.9 Señor Seat followed by 1.8 Mr Ford, 1.6 Son of Seat and 1.2 Grandson of Seat means that in ten years’ time Great-grandson of Seat will likely have a 500cc engine, unless we’re all using driverless Google cars by then.
For anyone wondering why I didn’t go with the cheaper Bannerman’s 1.2, I could cite its extra miles, its two extra years of age or its slightly inferior spec. But the real reason can be summed up in one word. Red. Maybe I’ve more in common with Matchgirl than I realised.
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