We knew roughly what we wanted and how much we wanted to spend on a first time buy. Early October was end of season so a good time to be looking. We poured over the various sales channels and eventually found the machine that dreams are made of. It was a white, recently converted Ford Transit with go faster stripes on the sides. It had a few minor blemishes but we could see through all that so had a test drive and decided to pay the deposit. There were a few things the garage needed to do to make the van ready (MOT, connect the gas system and get a habitation certificate) so we agreed to return the following weekend to collect it.
Next Friday afternoon we set off on the train to the garage in Ringwood, Hampshire. We were laden with two massive bags with duvets, pillows, cooking stuff etc; we’d ordered a supermarket ‘click and collect’ for provisions and had planned our first weekend van adventure in the New Forest. The weather was set fare – it was going to be amazing.
At the garage, full of anticipation and excitement, we were handed the keys and… disaster, it wouldn’t start!!…. Dreams shattered.
Naturally the garage said they could fix it but at this point we’d lost trust in our “dream machine”. Dejected and slightly annoyed, we cancelled the ‘click and collect’ (obvs) and booked into a pub B&B (priorities) for the night to drown our sorrows, and eventually, sleep on it.
In the event we had a cracking night at The Lamb pub in Ringwood; great locals vibe and very welcoming. After a couple of other decent bars we were hungry and had a very tasty meal at The Koh Thai. During the course of the evening we both revealed that on seeing the van for the second time, sans rose coloured glasses, the “minor blemishes” were actually more significant than we’d first thought. The “go fast stripes” were masking some pretty bad bodywork, the cab looked like the builders had just got out, and the undercarriage needed attention. Stupidly, neither of us actually said anything at the time! Anyway we slept on it.
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