Eunos Chump

It's rained virtually every day for the past couple of weeks and according to the forecast the following week will be no different, so I've tidied up the garage to allow the MX5 to return to hibernation. So this is the long hot summer, is it? I've racked up 850-odd miles in the BMW now, including 2 trips to Gloucester in the past couple of days. Driving through the countryside in a fancy car at double-time plus 40p per mile is an awful hardship, but somebody has to do it. The only fault has been a blown brake lamp bulb. When I opened up the panel to replace it, I found a frightening amount of ECUs and wiring, much more than the entire electrical system of the Mazda. Sadly, that means in less than 10 years probably all E39s will be a financial liability suited only to the brave or stupid... anybody who says they've already reached that level is very wrong and will be put on the sex offenders register.

BMW returned yesterday after having a new fuel pressure switch, low pressure pump and filter. It's all lovely now, I have to keep going out to drive it. It's got incredible handling and with 300lb/ft of torque is very swift too, it could possibly keep up with the Mazda on a B-road (no chance on a track though!) It requires absolutely no skill to drive quickly however, you just mash the pedal and point it. You'll see the traction-control light flashing occasionally and feel the ABS now and again, but you're aware all the hard work is being done for you. So there's no chance of the homicidal MX5 becoming obsolete. Yesterday saw the last of the Benz too. As I drove away, a couple of traders were crawling all over it... it reminded me of that scene from Ghost when Carl gets dragged away by those demons... No! My sills will pass another MOT, honest!

I was at a bit of a loose end last night, so thought I'd might as well fix the MX5. I'm an expert at head gaskets/timing belts on these things now, it could be an alternative career! It would have been completed in about 5 hours had Partco not sent the gasket I'd ordered back to the supplier. I got one from another factor but had to wait a couple of hours for delivery; this gave enough time for an enormous mixed grill at a pub with Mrs B. Car seems fine now, needs re-tuning but I'd forgotten I'd SORNed the bloody thing the other day so that's going to be a problem.... The Benz has returned temporarily, come back Blue Whale!

The Beemer is back with the dealer and not due back until Monday. It stopped on me and wouldn't start again for a few minutes, apparently the diagnostics show an intermittent fuel pressure problem so it's having a new pressure switch. So I'm back in the Benz tomorrow! Still no enthusiasm for fixing the Mazda.

It's here (eventually)! 530D SE with fat bloke spec (auto, cruise). We've had a trip to the New Forest this evening for dinner and everbody enjoyed Abba through 10 speakers. Mazda remains broken and forgotten.

I couldn't get a gasket for the Mazda, but it doesn't matter because I've got a new girlfriend now and I've lost interest in it. This new bird is quite hefty at 2200KG but she caresses my bottom in a most pleasing manner. She also likes autobahns and the fuel of the refuse truck. Hopefully she'll be moving in tomorrow which means the end for the Benz, which has a long list of faults I can no longer be bothered with.

Head gasket has gone on the Mazda. It's supposed to be in the New Forest tomorrow, Swansea on Tuesday, Weymouth on Wednesday, and Norfolk on Friday. Yet I am calm... if Partco have a gasket in stock tomorrow, I'm going for a record single-day replacement. Been considering another car today, something to replace the Benz (you might think the MX5 would be in the firing line, but no... I've not even started punishing that thing). I've considered much, and it keeps coming down to a BMW 5 series or Smart ForTwo, which gives you an idea of how warped my reasoning is. But I really like the Jag S-type interior (horrible outside, granted), and they're proper value. Hmmmm.