Blog Archives - Liz Turner

Our new car!

9/29/2012

We've just been to collect our brand-new Mini One Diesel from Wellsway Mini Bath. It was one of eight Minis going out today - and it felt like it. The saleslady still managed to take time to sell us some extra insurance though.
It's a nice little car, but we're still not sure it's the car we should have chosen. Here's hoping it won't end up on my list of How Not to Buy.
Click here to see the full torrid tale and the list.

Insuring our new car

9/28/2012

Our buying car saga continues. Another hurdle - getting insurance? It's all gambling - if we trash the car, we win. Should we protect the no-claims? What about a courtesy car? Personal injury cover? We were almost lured to one deal by a free toy meercat. In the end we stuck with our usual insurer Aviva, partly because they had all our details while the other lot had a complicated online form that kept crashing. Also because it did include no-claim protection.
Good tip from Carole re buying gap insurance from our own insurer rather than the dealer. See her comment on Buying our car story below.

Off Corsa

9/26/2012

Hideous seats, cheap plastics and faux metal, jolting ride, gearbox with fishfinger in custard precision. Slow. Steering wheel offset to the left so my back was twisted and aching after two hours. Passenger headrest blocked my view at junctions. No I didn't like my Vauxhall Corsa hire car. (2012 1.4 model with 9498 miles on the clock). The steering was nice, though.

No more gender bias

9/25/2012

There are downsides to gender equality. The EU says insurance companies can no longer offer better rates to women drivers.
The main reason women were offered better rates, however, was that we usually drive fewer miles. I'm sure insurance companies will get round it by offering limited-mileage policies.
I did always feel sorry for young men who hadn't crashed yet but were quoted premiums higher than the cost of a car.

How we bought a car

9/24/2012

Hey, I used to work for What Car? surely buying one for us would be easy!
Or so I thought. Click here for the full story.

How not to buy a car

9/24/2012

Never buy a car in the dark from a man called Mad Mick, and other ways I've bought cars in the past.
Click here for my list of shame

Booked

9/19/2012

I was very pleased when this colourful tome thumped on to my doormat. I was one of a team of 13 writers bashing out sections, including Sue Baker and General Editor Simon Heptinstall who put the whole thing together. I thought I'd have to buy one.
   I did about 40 entries – you can spot them from my initials. I remember they included some Hummers, the Maybach 62, Morgan Aero 8 and Renault Avantime - oh yes, and the Mazda MX-5. I fought to get the Ford Streetka to make sure no horrible male journalist was mean about it.
   I should point out I don't get royalties before saying it looks very good - a perfect Christmas present for that difficult uncle/nephew. I actually think you could die happy without driving a lot of these (Kia C'eed?) but it's a fun book to dip in and out of. Lots of lovely pics sourced by Giles Chapman.
   If you have any complaints about cars you feel absolutely should or shouldn't have been listed, feel free to rant on the comments form.
   Click here for details on Amazon.

Reporting from the Goodwood Revival

9/13/2012

I'll be working at this year's Goodwood Revival, scurrying around writing blogs for the new social media site, FortyOneSixGoodwood, launching any minute.
I'll also be putting up my own blogs, all from the view of a punter - I don't have any special passes or access the other fans don't. I probably won't have time for a picnic, though.
Click here for the Revival Blog and Dan Gurney interview
Click here for the Breakfast Club report

Biba at Goodwood

9/13/2012

I'll never forget stepping into the lush, darkened ground floor of the big Biba store in Kensington High Street. I was one of many who went and hung around, touching expensive things and occasionally handing over money for something very cheap. I'm looking forward to seeing Biba at the Goodwood Revival!
Click here for more.

Vauxhall teaser

9/5/2012

Teaser shows a svelte two-door four-seater

It's called Cascada, see what they did?

The previous model (ish)

Vauxhall has released teaser pictures of a four-seater convertible. They say it’s mid-sized, but longer than an A5 – that sounds quite big to me. It’s called Cascada, Spanish for waterfall. (Why? Does it leak?)
   Vauxhall’s Chairman and Managing Director, Duncan Aldred, said: “Cascada, along with ADAM and Mokka (other models with strange names), will bring a fresh and exciting dimension to our product line-up for customers.”
   Poor old Vauxhall, it needs something fresh, exciting – and stylish. The brand exudes reps, yawns or oiks in souped-up hot hatches. I wonder how many more Vauxhall VX220s, would have sold if they had been badged as Opel Speedsters.
    In the press release they’ve tried to stop us remembering the previous nasty Cavalier convertible – developed by IAD, stressing that this is the first all inhouse ‘mid-size’ convertible since before World War II. They talk instead about one of the last large, convertible-bodied cars built by Vauxhall, the OE-type 30-98 (another snappy name), which could be specified with the company’s own Velox body (see pic left). The 30-98 was the UK’s first catalogued 100mph car, and a serious competitor for Bentley’s 3-litre models in its day. I’m sure it could give Chitty Chitty Bang Bang a run for its money, too.
   All this strangeness aside, Vauxhall’s Astra droptops have been very successful and this one looks rather swish. I’ll look forward to seeing it – and wish it every success when it goes on sale next year.