The end of the road...

I had an appointment with the We Buy Any Car branch at Kettering at 12pm today, so I steeled myself to sell my beloved Audi A4. I had debated with myself time and time again about keeping it and spending money on it, but it needs a lot of work - the air conditioning is kaput, the volume switch no longer works, I can't connect my phone, it has two scrapes on the front wheel arches, the driver's side carpet is torn and ominous bubbles have started to appear on the bodywork. It's completed 185,500 miles and I've had it since 2013, so the time has come to say goodbye. The impetus which finally made me sell was the appearance of the airbag icon on the dashboard, so there's obviously a fault there, which is serious. Also, there's the nuisance of squeezing three cars onto the driveway, which means we're unable to close the garage door!

I'd had it washed on Wednesday and this morning, I emptied it out and assembled the logbook, the service history and all the paperwork I'd received when I bought it from Audi in Northampton eleven years ago. Sophie came with me while Keith drove the VW, as she wanted to pop into Tesco afterwards to get some shopping.

I had difficulty finding the tiny cabin but eventually, we found the branch and parked outside. The man running the place had nipped off for a loo break and was very apologetic when he returned. I had visions of driving the car back home! 

Sophie sat in the VW while we went through all the paperwork and the man inspected the car. I knew it wouldn't be worth a lot, and the scrapes, rust bubbles and airbag problem all contributed to the lower cost of the vehicle. Frankly, I was pleased to get anything! He explained that the car would go to an auction which We Buy Any Car is affiliated with, and would be sold as seen. I just hope a little dealer buys it, tarts it up a bit and re-sells it. I'll keep an eye on it by looking at the gov.uk page so it'll be great to see it re-taxed with a renewed MOT after August.

We agreed on a price and the branch manager said the money would be in my account this afternoon. They would deal with the DVLA and the change of ownership and I was impressed with how easy and straightforward it all was!

I tried not to look at my car as we drove off as I knew I would start to cry, so I kept my eyes averted and we made our way, in heavy traffic, to Tesco. Sophie was going to Laura's house this evening and was taking some nibbles, so she did her shopping, I bought some toiletries and treats for my Mum and Dad and we drove over to the care home to drop them off.

My Mum said she had a sore throat which sounded ominous, but at least I kept away when I had covid. It seems to be rife at the moment! We didn't stay long as we needed to get home and have lunch but I said I'd take my Mum out on Thursday.

Back home, we had cheese on toast for lunch and pootled about. I went upstairs and watched The Tour de France before falling asleep! Sophie got ready to go out and Keith and I gave her a lift to Laura's house.

Back home, Keith watched the golf while I looked at Airbnb places in L'Escala for next year. I spotted a beautiful house not far from where we were before so added it to my wishlist!

We had smoked mackerel, salad and brown bread for dinner and watched Gone Fishing with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse. The programmes were so relaxing!

At 10pm we headed back to collect Sophie and then it was home to relax and have a good chat! Sophie loved the house in Spain, so we'll have a proper look tomorrow!