LOLA – TO THE DOG BOX!

I love my car, I really do.  More executive than cheeky, more mumsy than sexy, she takes me everywhere I wanna go, in great comfort and style.

She alternates between being a racing car (running late), 4x4 (irresistible mud puddle and embankment), cooling chamber (humid Lowveld day), mobile rock concert (long drive to Jozi), Stuttafords removals van, and the building supplies delivery truck – the last particularly driving Alan up the wall.  He knows the nuclear fallout which will occur the day Lola is damaged by paint or cement spillage!

However, darling Lola Montez is cruising for a trip to the knackers’ yard – recently, fantasies of trading her in for a sleek, cute Honda Z car fill my thoughts.  This is not totally a result of wanting to earn some green credits - the Z is gorgeous and whilst the jury is out on the overall effectiveness of the hybrids, I’ll feel a deeper shade of green cruising around in one.

Nope, Lola’s threatened banishment is largely due to her temperamental behaviour this year. 

Remember, I live in a village nearly 30kms away from the closest Honda dealer, Netstar, panel beater or windscreen company.  In breath stifling humidity.  This is NOT the place to have Madam Lola get temperamental on me.

With 2012 being the year of cosmic change and uncertainty, she chose to take that quite literally and in short order, over the past 6 months, has caused:

-          3 trips to the dealer to sort out a faulty air conditioner relay.  And weeks without aircon.  In 37 deg heat.  She may sashay around in tropical fashion, I merely melt.  And moan.

 

-          3 trips to Glasfit to have windscreen chips fixed.

-          7 days at the panel beaters to fix a minor bumper exchange with a crusty sandbank at Ulusaba.

-          A service, which turned out to be no longer covered by the service plan.  Ouch!

-          A routine tracker test turned into 2 trips to Nelspruit and a 3 hour wait to have a brand new system installed.

Getting backwards and forwards to Nelspruit, and spending days without transport, for a family whose vehicles are 1 Lola and 1 miniscule scooter – difficult, frustrating and entailing calling in of, and begging of, favours from various friends.  Not nice at all.

So for the ‘quick’ jobs – aircon relay, tracker test and replacement, windscreen repair, I went the ‘while you wait’ option.  Urgh, just wonderful to sit in some dodgy workshop, laptop perched on my knees, which were wound around my ears, thanks to the marvellous waiting room furniture – brought in from granny’s flat, probably the lounge suite she and granddad bought when they first got married in 1936!

Lola Montez, I have seen the future, and a trim hybrid is just waiting in the wings.  You have been warned!

 Lola on her way to Catembe - Boat Car

 

POSTSCRIPT 

It slipped my mind to mention the new set of tyres (2 hour 'while you wait') and new set of brake discs and pads.  Probably courtesy of her transformation into driving school vehicle, complete with L plate on the back window!