TwyRob's general rambling

[TwyRob]

 

Hi all,

This year has been disrupted car wise for me, to put it mildly!

To save money, I ordered a leased VW ID.3 in October 2021. I still don't have it, ETA is Apr 2023 apparently. Since then I have been trying to plan around ever moving car delivery dates, which started as Feb 2022...

I decided quite quickly that I would need to sell my 2.8 Saab Turbo X to make way for the ID.3 and that my 1971 Beetle would also need to go so that my second car slot was taken by something I would actually use. The Beetle was lovely but it was bought just before COVID so it mainly sat deteriorating over that time, my work was fairly intense most of the way through.

Having sold the Beetle I bought an NC Mazda MX-5 1.8. I needed that because two wheel bearings went on the Saab almost as soon as I'd sold the Beetle and the ID.3 was suddenly delayed well into the summer of 2022. The MX-5 lasted about 2 weeks. On the day the Saab was fixed, the Mazda spun a bearing in the engine. It had been an OK example but, looking back, there were signs that this might happen including the thermostat that got stuck and the smoke at idle when cold.

Following the eventual departure of the MX-5 (annoying ebay buyer) I waited 3 months and then bought a 2006 Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible after the ID.3 was delayed into 2023. I am a serial Saab owner, by the way, writing in the Owners Club magazine etc. Almost immediately after buying that I won the roffle 406! I suddenly had one too many cars.

I SORNed the Turbo X and drove the 406 mainly for a bit until the MOT was a failure. As has been discussed on here, I didn't want to repair it but another member did! That car was great but surplus to requirements at the time.

After the 406 went the convertible was written off shortly afterwards. A deer ran into the side of it and values are so low for standard Saabs that it was a total loss. I didn't want the salvage, my wife rightly did not like the idea of my 9 year old going in a car that had potential structural damage. Also, l'm not allowed to do heavy car work right now. The car looked a bit bent to me. UKSaabs members were quite vocal in their opinions on this, disagreeing with me even more than you guys did when I was offering the 406 for scrap value!

For the last two weeks I have been using the Turbo X. Which has rewarded me with a bad NSF top mount and a few rumbly rear bushes. It was off the road for 35% of 2021 waiting for exhaust parts too. This car is a bit annoying.

Therefore, rather than fix it right now, I have bought another MX-5. A 2.0 Sport this time with an immaculate MOT history that looks and drives great and because it's November my insurance payout from the Saab covered it all. Fingers crossed that the engine doesn't go pop!

The Saab Turbo X can then go to a garage for repair without interrupting my commutes before I finally sell it.

Those Saabs are worth £7k+ as they are a special limited edition. However, that is when they are working properly! I might offer it for a bit less over on UKSaabs and see if anyone wants to fix it themselves.

If that happens I'll be Saabless for the first time in 8 years, a worrying prospect. In those 8 years I've had 6 Saabs, a reasonable turnover!

I'm now onto car 6 of 2022, which had better be the last one this year! Car shopping day is like Christmas day for me usually but not so much now with the increasing regularity of it and the stress when cars break. Now I just have a nagging doubt about whether this one will be a lemon too. I have lost confidence, despite being a reasonably confident car guy. I know we can all get caught out sometimes but this year has been trying. The engine failure was a particular low point.

My daughter loves this MX-5, she had her first trip in it this morning on the way to climbing lessons. Her smile and enthusiasm helps me feel better!

Photos of the 2 current cars attached.