The Roomster

Yesterday, Saturday,31 Jan, Gord and I, accompanied by Pip who rode behind the cargo barrier in Lib's Hyundai, set out on our mission to Tullamarine to inspect a vehicle with a view to purchasing. Lib went to work in Ian's Subaru so that we could take her car better suited to travelling with Pip, as she's confined to the rear and cannot come through and want to sit on my lap which is a distraction.

We met Rob at the MacDonald's on the corner of Wellington and Springvale Roads then picked up the Monash and found our destination easily in an industrial complex not far from Melrose Dve which runs off the freeway. Parkhill Consultants Pty Ltd is the name of company we were meeting, and we looked around the car park to see the 2012 Skoda Roomstar we had travelled to inspect, but no sign of 'John', whom we had talked to on the phone to arrange the appointment. Gord had come across the Roomstar on the internet while researching Skodas as a possible suitable vehicle for him.

Gord sold his Mazda 2 about a month ago to Jod. The Mazda is a little beauty, a 2011 model that Gord bought new and has only done 25.000km. Jod needed a car because his Suzuki Sierra, which I bought new in 1990, needed considerable repairs in the end to keep it running and roadworthy and it was not worth it. Jod gave it to the mechanic who had helped him, and it is still is use as a farm vehicle, a 4x4 motorised wheelbarrow if you like, on the mechanics father's farm.

When his Suzuki was no longer viable as road transport, we loaned Jod Ian's Subaru Forester as a temporary solution till he found another car. Ian approved, happy to help. As he lives in Canada he's pleased we use his car now and again, to keep it in good running order. Gord uses it mostly, as he has a sentimental bent, and he takes it if going to a mall where he was not comfortable leaving his Mazda, as it was damaged once by unknown other vehicle in the car park. It cost him about $1000 to repair. It's a sad fact of life most of us can relate to, the dings and scratches that happen to your car in parking lots while we shop. Also the Subaru is bigger than the Mazda and Gord uses it to take his whipper to the repairman or purchase something large. Just to round off this explanation, the Subaru we purchased in 1998 and Ian bought it from us sight unseen in 2010, when we were about to trade it in to buy our current Hyundai. He was coming to Australia for three months with his son and thought he'd buy a car and sell it when he left. He drove the Subie to Qld and WA but left it with us and returned in 2013 with his other son and used it again. He plans to return in 2016 and use it again. Jod wanted to buy it but Ian did not want that, so we have had this vehicle shuffle, with Gord happy to help Jod out by selling him the Mazda, and look around for something with a little more carrying capacity.

Which is how we found ourselves in Tullamarine yesterday shortly before the appointed noon meeting time.

A man approached after a while and introduced himself as Saintjean. He said that over the phone he just calls himself John as he's tired of explaining every time how his name is spelt, and where the St. comes from. Apparently his grandmother was French. He gave us the keys and said "take it for a drive" which we did. We all liked the feel of it- good firm ride, punchy turbo petrol 1.2 litre engine, 5 speed manual. The car itself is a little odd in its design- small front side windows and windscreen, while the back windows are large and the feeling is roomy. It apparently was designed by two different people in front and back halves which were joined together. Definitely a quirky car, but as the back seats are easily removed it is quickly converted to a small panel van which is what Gord was looking for.

Returning to the factory site we decided yes we'd buy the car. That is Gord would buy the car, Rob and I supported his decision. The asking price was $15000 plus stamp duty transfer fee about another $660 all up. St.John quickly said he'd take $15000 flat when we pointed out that the rego expired on 20 Feb. So we went upstairs and did the paper work and handed over the $13000 bank cheque and $2000 cash and came home. Rob followed me in the the Skoda, Gord not being confident driving across the city in unfamiliar territory.

Unfortunately when we got home Gord could not get the windscreen washers to work. He put more water in but it leaked out the bottom to a puddle underneath the car. There's no way to get at the water bottle reservoir to see if it has a leak or if a hose loose or disconnected. You can't even get to it from underneath, it's completely sealed off. I rang St. John, he really didn't want to know, but said I should take it to Skoda as the car still has new car warranty, or if they were difficult he'd get the mechanics in the factory next to him to fix it, if I brought it back.

The nearest Skoda dealer is in Frankston, and I loathe the thought of another trip to Tullamarine. Either will cost me a day. It may be cheaper getting the local bloke to fix it at our cost than driving about wasting time to have it done at no cost out of pocket.

There's always a risk, when purchasing anything. Let's hope we get over this without anymore surprises.