It was one of those unsolicited phone calls that we’re supposed to dread, block, avoid …. The car dealership where I had bought my current car, getting on for three years ago. Would you like to review your account with us (meaning – would you like to trade up, presumably?)

Usually I’d say no, pleasantly, and put the phone down – but why shouldn’t I? A bit of a daydream, imagining myself behind the wheel of a new car, with that wonderful smell inside that takes some of the sting out of having parted with a lot of money, and seen the value of the new purchase drop like a stone as soon as you drive it out of the dealership!

So, a few days later sees me sipping a coffee, talking to two energetic, smart young men about how it would really be cheaper to get a new car (more economical, packed full of gizmos), and didn’t I deserve it, after a lifetime of toil… (that’s me talking!)

A brief look around, and sit in, a new model showed that the direct replacement car would feel very much like the current one (that’s a plus for me!). It’s got a bigger engine, bigger screen for accessing loads of functions (most of which I haven’t used yet or can’t imagine the need for) better lights, smoother lines etc. etc.

Then there’s the drama – the salesmen disappear into the ‘office’ section of the showroom, accessing the systems that work out how much it would all cost. Time passes… The first computer ‘prediction’ is way too expensive. Another is set in motion, still way above my current payments but £100 a month cheaper, and only a brief summary provided– not the details of where the ‘discounts’ have come from…..

Where will this drama end? Still thinking about it…..

At this stage of life one is tempted to either:
• stick with the current car, leaving a bit more income every month with which to spoil myself and my wife in other ways, or
• SKI (spend the Kids Inheritance), such as it is, and take out a long term finance deal with a large amount to pay off at the end of the deal (thinking that I might be dead before then, and the unpaid bit would be void!)

Decisions Decisions….!