It’s Time to say Goodbye…

…to my dear friend who has been with me on journeys far and wide…

….who has enjoyed picnics with us…

…provided comfort and shelter for us…

…witnessed many highs…

…and many lows…

Yes, I’m saying goodbye to my beloved Ole Jeepy.

After seven years of loyal, trouble-free service, during which Ole Jeepy and I have clocked up thousands and thousands of kilometres together, the intricacies of the French vehicle importation and registration system have forced us to finally part company. The problems stem from the fact that Ole Jeepy was imported from Japan second-hand – something that used to happen a lot in Ireland and the UK. If she had originally been European, there would have been no issue, but because not a single element of her construction has a CE (Conformité Européen) stamp on it and because Japanese emission controls in the 1990s were different to the current French emission controls, it became an exercise in futility. We could have spent €2000 or more, trying to get her through the testing process, and at the end of the day we might still have failed. Given that she’s eighteen years old and her current book value in Ireland is €1200… no.

We briefly considered driving her home and selling her there but, again, it would have cost us at least €1000, between diesel, the ferry, tolls and accommodation en route to get her back to Ireland… no.

So I have agreed to sell her to a 4X4 crazy friend here for parts. She will live on in his Landcruiser… sniff.

Today was the day I collected her replacement.

Meet emmmm…. Jeepy!Not old, not new. Just a genuine Jeep Cherokee Overland. 2003, 148,000 kilometres.

Wish me luck. It’s always a risk buying a second hand vehicle. Fingers crossed that she’ll still be dragging my horses around Provence in ten years time.

And say goodbye to this old lady.