We are buying a car

After twenty years of driving vans we have decided that we would like a car. The main reason is that we would like to be able to take our grandchildren out or even just collect them when they stay with us rather than them having to be dropped off. The disadvantage of vans is that we can only have one passenger.

The thing is neither of us has any interest in modern cars. Suddenly it came to us that what would suit us is a classic, vintage, car. We only need a car for local journeys, for fun and for collecting the grandchildren. It doesn’t need to be a workhorse as we have the vans for that.

We started looking through classic car magazines and my husband was taken with the idea of getting a morris traveller. He found a garage an hour away that works on morris travellers and rang them. It just happened that the man at the garage services a morris traveller for a lady that was thinking of selling hers so he put us in touch with her.

The lady was ready to sell her car after owning it for ten years. Her and her husband had just bought a camper van. They had retired and wanted to travel and she no longer drove her car which she felt was sad for the car. She wanted £5000 for it which was very reasonable if it was in good condition. She said we could go and see it on Saturday.

As we had no lunches to deliver on Friday, giving us an unexpected day off, we decided to to visit a classic car garage that we had found in the magazine that was also an hours drive from us. It didn’t have any morris travellers but had some really lovely cars.

I totally fell in love with a black A 30. It was small which I like, sort of like a bubble car and in good condition. It had spent a long time in someones garage and was in the process of being brought back to it’s best and was also £5000.

I could have bought it there and then but I knew my husband really wanted a morris traveller and we had one to look at the next day so we said that we would bare it in mind.

On Saturday we went to see the morris traveller and it was in really good condition. The lady had looked after it and had all the paperwork for it’s history. It is 52 years old and had had an M.O.T. each year, most recently just a few months ago. We said that we were really interested but would like to think it over for a few days and then would give them our answer.

We thought about it and decided that much as we liked the A 30 this car was much more practical for us. It had more space and the seats fold down to give loads of room in the back. We could even deliver our vintage afternoon teas from it.

The timing of them wanting to sell and us wanting to buy felt like fate.

We contacted them and agreed to buy it but the couple are away for a week and we have a busy spell coming up so we agreed that we would set a date to collect it when they return from their trip away.

Our drive is narrow but long so the plan is to move the pots from in front of the wall to above, in front of the windows and put the morris close to the wall and then my van in behind it. We will buy a water proof, breathable, cover for it.

Our vans

My van is on the right and could pull further up the drive to leave a space behind it, although it would be the other way round because I would park my van behind the morris, but it gives you an idea of the space.

Vans from the other direction

Looking from the house you can see that we have space for another vehicle. At £5000 we feel that we can’t lose on it. Parts are easily available and inexpensive and classic cars have such simple workings under the bonnet that they are easy to fix if there is a problem. We also have joint AA membership.

We are feeling quite excited at the prospect of owning a classic car. I will photograph it once we have it. We are looking forward to it.