My poor car is starting to get a bit worn around the edges. It’s been in and out of the garage over the past few months and is costing a few pennies to keep running. I can’t complain as it has been a reasonably well behaved vehicle for the majority of its life and it was bound to start racking up some repair bills at some point.

Whilst I’m sure it still has some miles left in it, I’m starting to think ahead to the next model that might take its place. When it first went into the garage, back in March, I immediately started pondering what it would be like to have a new one come back out again.

I don’t know much about cars or the car buying process, but I think the next one I get, I would like to do properly. The whole thing - finding a nice garage, going for a few test drives, sticking to the prescribed service schedules, even filling in the history books like you are supposed to. I suspect that last one is like when you are a kid and you get new school shoes. You swear you will keep them nice and clean and neat and in the box, but that lasts all of two days before you’re kicking them off and scuffing up the heels.

I’ve owned two cars in my life, the first came from within the family and the second was an impulse buy. That turned out to be a well timed decision, but I certainly hadn’t been expecting to buy a car when I walked away with the keys and a hefty bill. So, this time, it’s fun to look around and ponder the purchase process from the very beginning.

I know three definite facts about the new car that I want:

1. It should not be a Peugeot. They were mean to Franck.
2. It should not be a Toyota. Also mean.
3. I don’t want a diesel. I hate putting my foot down and having nothing happen.

I’ve had a brief look around the car market at the moment, and there a few that catch my eye.

Fiat 500

Seems nice, compact, with no weird bits sticking out.

Nissan Micra

Because, well… to be honest… it looks exactly the same as the Fiat. As an aside, I love the concept of the Nissan Leaf. It’s just not practical for me at the moment, but it looks great and it’d be interesting to do a comparison of the price - how much you would save on fuel versus electricity prices. Presumably fuel will keep going up and up, whilst electricity will have a less drastic upwards curve.

Mini

Who doesn’t love a Mini? And they sponsor Crashed Ice. Win! Although I had no idea there were so many different types of Mini. The website is baffling!

So, those are just some early thoughts I have about the potential for new cars. By the time I am in a position to be buying one there may be all sorts of new and exciting things out there. I’m keeping my eye on the market now though, and I might keep a blog-type record of my findings.