As mentioned in my previous post, we’re carbage running, so I needed a car. The criteria are simple:

• It has to be from 1999 or before
• It has to be worth € 500 or less
• It has to bring us from The Netherlands to Ukraine and back.

After a few weeks of searching the web, I found a ’99 Volvo V40 2.0T and bought it. As to be expected from a car that’s both cheap and old, it does indeed need some TLC. Regular maintenance is long overdue, the timing belt needs to be replaced, there is rust all over and a fender bender screwed up the alignment of the headlights. Apart from the maintenance and the timing belt replacement all of these issues would definitely be a problem at the next yearly inspection (which is due February ’20). And then there are some cosmetic issues like the upholstery coming loose/disintegrating, but more on that later.

We also picked a team name: Fred & Wilma. In memory of our cat Pebbles, who died earlier this year at the age of 20.