Foul tempters.

Curse those handsome devils at Leasing Options (the people that supply my Beetle).

I phoned to check when the Beetle goes back (28th Feb) and chatted about new options. I'm not convinced I can run just the Sera as my daily car, and Siani's Scorpio is busy trying to be a money pit as it reaches old age, The Subaru I won't even mention, anyone who has been in it lately knows what it is behaving like. I'm hoping i can trade it in for a deposit on a new car.

They have presented a few options to me:

Mazda RX8 for £199/month - and they have Storm Grey ones, which are dark graphite colour.
Mercedes A150 Classic SE 5dr for £169/month
New Yaris 1.0 T2 for £188/month
BMW 116SE for £235/month
Land Rover Freelander TD4 3dr - £215/month
One Siani likes - Mitsubishi L200 Trojan - £214/month. It's bad enough being an urban pickup driver without it being named after a condom, though, and the hardtop is £1,500 extra.

The days of the £119 Mitsubishi "inoffensive but dull" Carisma GDi appear to have gone - the Lancer Estate, the nearest equivalent, is a terrifying £239/month. They only cost £10K new. There's no logic to the deals, the Maxda prices are helped by depreciation but are actually in place due to a 35% discount (the same applies to MX5s, but a certain number only, as Mazda try to get new ones on the road and visible apparently). It seems that to save a LOT of money, I have to drop to the Fiat Punto 1.2 or a 1.0 Corsa, which I know I just wouldn't drive, ever, if I had anything remotely more interesting around. And yes, Siani's Scorpio is more interesting than those.

I think that if I replace the Beetle, which is still undecided, then it is a choice between the A150 and the RX8. The A150 offers the same sort of package as the Yaris, which I'd be all over if it weren't a mere tenner below the RX8 and at least a tank of fuel a month in terms of reduced cost.

The RX8 could be discounted entirely if the seats aren't good, mind. It's apparently SPORTY.

but darker...

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Ugh, sudden migraine/sickness. I really hate headaches. It's all the temperature changes around the house, I'm sure.

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Blarg.

Sera passed the MOT - I'm told there were a couple of notes, but it passed (I reckon headlamp alignment and possibly lack of mph on the speedo).

Final bill is a frightening £380ish. That includes the Thermostat (which I had collected before Christmas, but hadn't paid for. Forgot that because the engine mounting was on the same bill, and was waiting to be fitted), £61+VAT each for the rear shock absorbers, £61 + VAT for the engine mounting and 2 hours labour at £40/hour (reduced rate) plus a £42 MOT (I don't know if that is subject to VAT or not, probably is).

It all seems quite fair when it's broken down like that - 2 hours labour overall, for fitting the engine mounting AND both rear shocks is very reasonable indeed and reflects a very honest approach to pricing the time - the mounting does take an hour, and I reckoned half an hour per shock absorber would be realistic given that I had removed all of the boot trim in advance, leaving two bolts (one exposed so liable to be horrid) and the spring compressor bit to do per side. The MOT costs what it costs, and VAT is unavoidable.

Just seems like so much money when it is all together *sigh*. If it were a lesser 13 year old car I'd kill it, but the Sera is kinda unique.

The bloke whinging that he couldn't find a manual for £3,000 on the Sera group does make selling it kinda appealing - but no. Even with new cars, I always end up wanting a couple of cars - and I end up buying crap I don't like much. I like the Sera a lot, it is staying for good. I'm sure that if I ever had to sell it, all the people wanting to spend £3,000 would magically vanish, and it'd be worth a grand again anyway.

What it does mean, however, is that the Sera is now good to go until 2007 (I intend, funds permitting, to tax it for a year as well) and has been MOT tested by A Real Garage, so is probably quite healthy. I wonder what it drives like with new rear suspension fitted...

Drank water and the headache has subsided, though it might be the pills working. Macworld Keynote is on Macrumors; I wish they would do live keynote webcasts.

Steve-fix

Get your Steve Jobs Kool-Aid here!

http://macworld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/mw/index.html

Apple's announcements? iMac with Intel Core Duo processors - 2.0GHz dual-core Intel CPUs that Apple are claiming are 2x as fast as the G5 iMac, include PCI Express with ATI x1600 graphics, and are otherwise the same as the previous iMac basically. The clumsily-named MacBook Pro which uses 1.67 or 1.83GHz Core Duo CPU to offer performance "up to 4x" that of the G4 PowerBook (now, that's a shameful admission for Apple to have to make!) and up to 256Mb of Video RAM, PCI Express, 1Gb RAM in the stock 1.83 model, but no more Firewire 800 port.

Interesting that the iBook has escaped the Intel treatment as most pundits were putting forward the iBook for replacement. With the performance claims, I think these leaves the path open for the PowerMac to be refreshed in July, with a mixture of CPUs in the range - presumably some sort of new desktop to replace the low-end G5s, or total elimination of the G5 in favour of a new 'MacLump Pro' or some equally stupid name.

I mean, really Apple. WTF was wrong with just keeping it as the "PowerBook", or even "PowerBook Pro". Way to eliminate a globally recognised product name.

Oh, and Google Earth for Mac has officially been released, and there were some random updates like an iPod FM tuner headset thingy, and there are now so many iPods in the world that every civilised person must own two, so if you can't find yours, check under the sofa.

Did I mention that I think the name "MacBook Pro" is REALLY FUCKING STUPID?

Even what I assume will replace the iBook - a "MacBook" sounds daft.

What next. MacPods?