Our Home, Our Cars same same but different.

How much time do you need to purchase a car, especially if you are purchasing cars in one country but living in another. This was the job dished out to our mechanically inept Alison because unfortunately 3/4 of the Travelling Pharts live in Australia.

If we we only needed a nice colour then Alison is the one for you but we needed more, we needed a car that we will be able to drive 20000 miles over some of the most unforgiving roads in the world. We needed a car we can call home for 3 months, a car that will love us as much as we love it but it can't be too good because that would be against the ethos of the Mongol Rally.

So we now have 2 Vauxhall Corsas, with around 100k on the clock and both are around 16 years old and we have spent the princely amount of 500 and 550 pounds. They will have names eventually but we will wait to check their temperament .

I have to do what?

Ron, our mechanical guru

Now, I know some of you don’t know me, so let me be totally honest. I am not known for my technical or mechanical prowess. I am very capable of doing many things but reading a manual and figuring out how things work is not my bag. If something works I’m very happy, if it doesn’t, I phone someone or never use it again.

Now because my fellow Travelling Pharts live in Australia it is down to me to buy the cars. Hilarious yes! Slightly barking. Totally. Especially when the car has to be ‘’a farcically small vehicle of 1 litre or less (we will allow up to a 1.2 if you’re a bit weak) ….and no more that £11.50…’’. You get the drift, an old banger!

After a couple of weeks of looking on Auto Trader and Gum Tree at what looked like very suitable cars I skyped Pete, Debs and Ron and said ‘when I go and look at these cars, what am I looking for?’. ‘Oh just check the engine is OK’ Pete said. My breathing grew deeper, my heart raced and my palms got sweaty. The engine? I thought. That it has one? I could manage that. That it was in good condition? How the hell would I know!

Mmmm…several days passed and we skyped again. ‘Hi Guys, if I’m really honest, I’m happy to buy the cars but I really don’t know what I’m looking for!’ Luckily we have Ron on our team and he is chief mechanical guru. He has a mechanic friend in the UK who agreed to find the cars for us (and breath…). If not, I’m the back up plan! Oh dear!

So after months of research and deliberation we have arrived at a short list of possibilities.

Vauxhall Agila

Vauxhall Corsa

Suzuki Swiss

Nisan Micra

We want two exactly the same so that we only need one lot of spares ad preferably for less than £500 each! Watch this space for updates!

Until the next time.

TTFN

Alison

Looks like we got us a convoy!!

After putting out our message to the official Mongol Rally team page, we have a confirmed an interested team to join us in Iran. It's all go with our Iranian guide (once we buy 2 cars) the other team doesn't have a car either. We still don't have any visas either. A long way to go.