Driver 1- a retrospective

The Lease Car went back last week. It was a good, dependable and comfortable vehicle and the 71,888 miles covered in its three year stint just racheted up on a daily basis as I went about by work and family commitments. 

It had arrived back in July 2017 on a low-loader, a gleaming midnight blue and with that new car smell that is quite magical. Unfortunately I couldn't even sit in it let alone drive it as I was, at that time, laid up with a bad leg injury from falling down that infamous hole about which I written a lot in the past and will not expand upon that for fear of being shouted down.

A work colleague, very nervously (as he only much later admitted) drove it around the block to our driveway which is from a service road around the back way. 

My wife was the first to use it and rather embarrassingly with me laid out on the back seat as a rather irritated and frustrated passenger. It was quite a head turner when driving in the neighbourhood but not on the basis of looks, after all it was just a VW Passat Estate. 

It drew attention to itself because of an awful clattering noise coming from the engine, over and above the usual tones and drones common to a diesel.  

I arranged for it to be collected, under Warranty, by the local dealership who had to carry out a partial engine rebuild. 

That somewhat shattered my long held perceptions of the infallibility of German workers on the Wolfsburg Assembly Line. Perhaps it was late on in a shift, a bit of a distraction, human error or even a bit of mischief by a belligerent robot. After this major issue my wife used the car to go to a meeting some 30 miles away but rang in a distressed state to say that she was stranded by the roadside with a lot of blue coloured steam and liquid coming from under the bonnet. The protracted process of recovery was back to the dealership who, rather belligerently admitted to not having re-connected the coolant hose. 

The garage repair shop dropped the car off to my office late one afternoon where I had dragged myself via a taxi for my first attendance since my accident. I should not really have driven home as I was barely able to clamber into the drivers seat let alone operate the foot pedals but it was altogether too much hassle to make alternative arrangements with family or friends. 

It was quite frightening over the short 3 mile drive home but I managed it before painfully extricating myself and aching limbs from behind the wheel. 

Apart from the teething issues YS17 VUG gave trouble free motoring with no drama or surprises and I can honestly say that I didn't miss a single days work or family occasion thereafter. 

As with all of my leased vehicles over the last 12 years, three Passats and a Skoda, they were very much exploited and abused. This was usually overloading with stuff to take to the local tip, enthusiastic bulky purchases from IKEA, holiday packing and even a pottery kiln. It coped admirably with anything and everything that could be wedged, stuffed and man-handled through the tailgate or squashed in from any of the other doors. 

As a family transport it was ideal and indeed I was continuing the fashion that had started in 1971 when my Father had taken delivery of a VW Variant Squareback which my youngest brother now owns. In business it conveyed the right sort of understated image as in smart but not flash, modest but giving the impression of efficiency and professionalism. 

Yes, in other words it was quite anonymous, discreet and a little bit boring. Funnily enough, they're what many would say are my personal attributes. A good match there then. 

I didn't ever get to the stage of giving the Passat a pet-name but as far as inanimate objects go we did have a very good relationship and mutual understanding of our roles and purpose as we went about our work and chores. 

In any three year Lease period I regularly cover 25000 miles annually. I was on schedule to incur quite a hefty excess mileage charge but with Lockdown and the car being parked up for 3 months I actually came in well below my contracted 75000 miles. Result. 

It was also gratifying to only have to pay a £160 penalty for damage which was for the battle scars on the front driver side wheel arch from an argument with a beech hedge on a house driveway. 

The Assessor sent by the Lease Company was quite surprised at the good condition of the car after such a high mileage. That was nothing to do with me, really, as I relied upon rainstorms for free car washes and only hoovered out the interior when the accumulated litter and debris constituted a health hazard. 

I was quite emotional when the Passat was taken away. I will try to track its further movements on the Car Auction Sites and in a couple of years time do one of those searches on the MOT website to see if it is still going strong.