My wife had a 2015 Mini Cooper S Convertible and I had a new 1500 mile MX5 Mk4 1'5 Sports Nav. To cut a long story short, we are both getting on in years and were finding the Mini very hard suspension wise even on non flat tyres. The Mazda was fine but getting in and out a pain. Then why did we need two cars, yes the four seats on the Mini made sense when we had the dog, but he has now gone, so that was no longer requirement.

The decision was made, the requirement, two seats, convertible and easy access, boulevard cruiser rather then boy racer, and not break the bank. Low annual mileage, usual shopping trips etc, and every couple of months for a 600 mile dash to Brighton.

So looked at all the usual and ended up swapping both cars for a 800 mile pre reg Mercedes SLC 250D AMG Line. All the extras plus three year package and paint protection thrown in. Incidentally both our cars had been bought as pre reg, saving together about £8,000, the SLC was £9000 under retail.

Really pleased until........Step Son-in- Law told us that we should have bought the petrol version as our usage would ruin a Diesel engine.........will it?