19 Jul 07
It really is a great car, which made me even angrier last week when it got damaged through no fault of my own. I called into the BP service station on the A43 at Brackley to use the car wash. Normally, I'd use the jet wash but my clothes were clean and I was in a hurry. The car was dirty, so I thought I'd give it a quick rinse and polish it up later.
But a 'bronze programme' turned into a violent assault. The machine connected with such force that it ripped the casing off the wing mirror. I was forced to speed out of the machine to avoid further damage. I eventually managed to fish the casing out of the mechanism and refit it, but it's damaged beyond repair. I'm now being forced to play footsy with BP's complaints department, which is fun.
The damage has been doubly irritating given that the Focus has run faultlessly during the past year. Nothing of note has gone wrong. The phone system occasionally freezes, but it's fixed by turning it on and off. And that's it. Apart from adjusting the tyre pressures occasionally, I haven't had to touch it. I haven't even had to top up the oil. Not even my long-term Lexus was this reliable.
Next month, a nasty man will come to take my ST away. Maybe I'll run and hide.
