Here at Car Articles we believe in looking after the environment. We also like really nice cars. Much like everyone else though we are money conscious at the moment, given how delicate affairs seem to be. Obviously if money were no object, we’d be in a Ferrari or Lamborghini or whatever the hell your favourite supercar is… probably blasting down Stelvio Pass in Italy (if you don’t know what it is, look it up and you’ll see why we mention it).
Given that money is an object, as are environmental concerns, I have set myself a challenge. I am going to keep my trusty car running (a Renault Megane petrol 1.6 VVT) going as long as possible. Whilst it might not be a car that you lust after, it has done something pretty damn special. My Megane – Lola as she is affectionately called by the wife and kids – has managed well beyond 100,000 miles. In fact we’re not that far from half way to the moon in terms of the distance that my car has now covered.
So where does the environmental factor come into it? I am a firm believer that something already here must surely be better for the environment than creating a new thing – with the various processes and raw materials that go into making the new car. My car is also still here and I highly doubt that every single last piece of it will be fully compatible with today’s recycling systems.
With all this in mind, until Lola gives up completely (new engine, damage to frame etc) I will continue to look after her by means of regular trips to the garage. I will spend cash on her to ensure her oil remains topped up and her suspension happy rather than groaning. The old adage of ‘look after a car and it will look after you’ is absolutely my motto. In turn, Lola has after all looked after me – for better and for worse. How many others have took you half way to the moon?
My question to you is this: do you see your car as a throwaway commodity, set to be changed when you no longer care for its’ looks or lack of some gadget? Or has it become so synonymous with your life that even when it comes time to change for a genuine reason, you feel a real tug at the heart strings when it becomes time to change? This, I would suggest, is the true sign of a petrol head. Look after your car folks, and she (or he) will look after you…
Had this conversation with my local garage recently about our Fiesta runaround. It needs a chunk of work to keep it roadworthy but more than the value of the car. My usual thinking would have been that there’s no point spending £800 on something worth £500 but the garage were saying that’s a strangely UK way of thinking and on the continent the norm would be to keep your car running as long as possible.
Hi Fraser, I guess the real question is how long that £800 is going to keep the car on the road for? A car worth only £500 fettled is still I’d argue a better proposition than a car worth double or more that value but an unknown quantity in terms of mechanicals!