While I was thinking about replacing it with another car, I couldn’t find anything that was hassle-free, solid and small! Maybe a Mini? Who knows?
BHPian Sedate recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
After a long break and annual visits to the Ford service center, his 14th birthday present arrived. The 2016 Michelins were showing signs of age (or obsolescence). It was time for new tires. Since my vacation was relatively short, I couldn’t drive into town. Since the car is mostly idling, the tires have become hard and cracked. 4 new Yokohama Earth 1 E400 went in and the Michelins out. The car now feels like a go-kart again.
It’s time for new filters, oil and regular maintenance. The cosmetic damage from the parking lot is a pain to fix. The gate sometimes opens into the car, leaving scratches. It’s time to repaint the bumper and tailgate. Funnily enough, the right passenger door now has a colony of bees living in it. The colony was ceremoniously removed and rehoused, but there is some beeswax stuck in the door latch in the locking/unlocking mechanism.
In 14 years, the car has only done 43,000 kilometers and had 3 sets of tires. With the annual oil change, I feel like I’m unnecessarily polluting the world. It’s almost like changing the oil after only 3,000 km! But the driving pleasure is incomparable. The torque after 3,000 rpm and the hydraulic steering for “aim and shoot” are a dream. Next year is the celebratory 15 years and the 15-year inspection from the MVD to extend the registration for another 5 years. While I was considering replacing it with another car, I couldn’t find anything that was problem-free, solid and small! Maybe a Mini? Who knows?
For now, An Tarbh continues to walk with his new shoes, crouching on the broken streets of Kochi.
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