What you see below is a car that has just passed its MOT with no advisories.
In a slightly unexpected development, I have a new car. Several weeks ago, I stumbled across this Subaru Outback on eBay, and the following Saturday, went to collect it. More on that later, however.
Yesterday, without any warning, I found myself unable to open the boot on my E39. I could still open it using the key, but pushing the button did not do anything. Additionally, the 'boot open' light was permanently illuminated on the dashboard.
Some time ago, when planning holidays for this year, my wife and I decided this was the year we would finally do the family road trip round Europe. We have lived in the United Kingdom for seven years now, and though we've visited a number of different places on the continent, we haven't yet done a full-on road trip. So we marked out a route, picked some dates, and booked a few AirBnBs.
The next step, of course, was to decide on the car. The E39 has served admirably on a number of occasions for family trips, but as I have said far too many times, I've been itching for something different. Knowing we would be taking a few smaller trips with my in-laws when they arrived in the summer, I started hunting for a second-generation Volvo V70/XC70, a car that has been on my radar for a while, particularly because of its seven-seat option. However, a couple of months ago, with the search for a seven-seat V70 with the right engine coming to naught, I decided we would just stick with the E39. After all, it has proved its reliability time after time, it's big and comfortable, and would do the job well.