According to legend, you cut down a tree and count the rings to find out how old it is. Or was, because it's dead now.
The same principle applies to Shed. After slicing through one layer of thick skin and another much thicker one of fat, you would discover rather too many rings for Mrs Shed's liking.
Found: Peugeot's lost mojo, yours for £995
One good thing age brings, though, apart from a free bus pass, selective hearing and the ability to complain about everything and everybody, is experience. It means that Shed and others of similar antiquity can remember the days when Peugeot was a byword for supple, sharp-handling cars with real character. In footballing terms, Peugeot was a solid outfit in the top quarter of the Premiership.
Then it all went wrong. An influx of beer-swilling, fag-smoking Sunday league players dropped Peugeot from the status of FA Cup semi-finalist banker to the bleak tumbleweed netherworld of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy qualifying stages. A management rethink may have stopped the rot: we'll have a better idea about that when Matt files his copy from the promising sounding RCZ R's launch event.
In the meantime, we can cling on to the fact that great cars from Peugeot's golden years are still available for the next best thing to a free transfer. Like this 306 GTI6.
Getting a good GTI6 into your garage is like signing up Dimitar Berbatov for your pub team. It's an artfully understated striker with dancing feet and a wonderful drivetrain. Compared to the pared-down Rallye, it carries the merest amount of love-handle flab in the form of air-con and half-leather trim, but in just about every other respect is every bit as talented as its nippy winger cousin. Seven seconds for the 0-60 via an oily six-speed box, quick S16 steering rack, passive rear steer, and - glory be - simple suspension that actually works. Wonder where all those olde worlde chassis-honing skills went? Probably the same place as all Shed's socks.
Half-leather decadent compared with Rallye
Age also brings forgetfulness (doesn't it?). That, and general curmudgeonliness, allows Shed to ignore the sneaking feeling that he's only recently written about a GTI-6. Just shows you the tricks the mind can play, because it turns out that it wasn't recently at all. Spookily, it was one year ago
to the very day
, 15 November 2012, that a gold S-reg specimen wandered into the Shedly crosshairs. The price of that (also very nice) one was a non-negotiable £999. This one here is newer and, if memory serves, which it usually doesn't, lower mileage than last year's offering.
Your man says he is downgrading to a family car, which is a bit harsh considering the fact that any 306 is a spacious five-seater all day long, albeit in this case one without five doors. Maybe that's what he wants in a family car. Either that or a more athletic family.
Same 306 stuff to watch out for as always: crappy seat mounts and adjusters, chocolate suspension parts, engine mounts and driveshafts, and brittle electrics (already showing up here). You'd also want to know exactly what 'various service history' means, and whether that includes a cambelt, water pump and such. Purists would want to hunt down a set of original wheels too.
But if you get a clean bill of health from the club physio, snap it up. And then start banging some screamers into the onion bag. [That's enough footballing similes - Ed].
3 Door Hatchback, Petrol
2 Litre GTI-6,
Manual-6 Speed
Moonstone Blue Half Leather/half suede interior. CD/DVD Player.
MOT April '14. Tax end Feb '14. Various service history, Good condition.
Downgrading to a family car forcing sale. Very nippy.
Low mileage as hardly driven - 49,700 miles
Momo alloy wheels, ABS, Adjustable seats, Air con, Anti theft system, Scorpion Alarm, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Foglights.
£995
I have had the car over 5 years and it has always served me well, starts first time every time. Bodywork is in average condition for its age with some natural wear and tear. Only issues are; petrol gauge has decided to stop working, but i'm sure this isn't a hard fix for someone who knows their way around a car and the passenger electric window doesn't currently work, again not a hard fix for an experienced person.
Included in sale is a JVC top of the range in car CD/DVD player with excellent speakers.
Ideal for a project - the engine in this car is very sought after! Or for someone looking for a stylish run around.
First to see will buy!