It’s a simple rule isn’t it? Yet one I ignore every fapping time. Back in December, I bought the first Land Rover I saw and ok, that worked well. Got me through the winter and then delivered me an actual profit. Apparently there was also a blue moon that night.

Next came the Scimitar. I might not have been quite in control of my senses as I let myself believe with this one. Having driven for three hours in the 2CV to view the Reliant, I think I was always going to buy it as long as it looked good. It did look good too, and to be fair, there’s really not a lot wrong with it and I certainly have no complaints for the price paid.

Yet, there are several annoyances that I should have known about before handing over the folding stuff. All of these could have been identified during a nice, lengthy test drive. Sadly, there was no chance for one of those as the car lacked MOT, tax and insurance when I went to look at it. I had to use a degree of trust.

Had I been able to get behind the wheel, I would have noticed the way the steering seems to bind when turning to the right and the fact that the cooling fan seems to run perhaps a little more often than is desirable. I might have noticed the rather poor, unbalanced brakes or the way that the temp gauge and voltmeter tell fibs when lights/wipers are on.

Like I say, no complaints for the money paid, but I am left with an ever-growing list of things that need attention and not much time in which to do them. I think a front wheel bearing is in bad shape, possibly both, though they’re not expensive thankfully. The cooling system needs a flush – dare I say it but that’s a standard situation for many Scimitars. The brakes have already been fettled – one rear brake was so far out of adjustment that (along with the wheel bearing) I’m wondering just how exactly an MOT was obtained.

Anyway, the point that I’m really trying to drive home to myself is that it certainly pays to look at more than one example of a car you’re considering buying – unless it’s so rare that it would be impossible. Scimitars are always on the market and I’m now giving serious thought to purchasing a Jaguar XJ6. Maybe I’m wrong to be worried – I mean, what could possibly go wrong?!