Went out and exploited the unexpectedly mild, dry-ish and salt-free weather by driving mine for only the third time since it came back from the body shop a couple of days before Christmas. Gave the old dear a good wash, a decent time having now elapsed since the Paint Shield went on. They are quite keen that you should not let any form of detergent near the car for a good week or so after it is applied, otherwise the edges can lift, apparently. Anyway, it's nice to see all that new Alpine White gleaming. As you may recall I have had to learn how to open the boot from inside due to the temporary absence of the motor. Having now mastered this trick I have been able to put the battery conditioner on, upon putting the car back away. Fortunately despite it being fairly nippy in the garage, and the car having stood since Boxing Day, it started without hesitation. The car clearly loves long motorway / dual carriageway runs. Despite having been given some good squirts over the life of the tankful of V-Power it's gone through since I got it back, and having brought it home to Yorkshire from Stevenage at what I might call normal BMW combat speed, rather than a sedate trundle, it's doing just better than 30 mpg. Not bad for a 290 to 300-ish hp 21 year old car.
]. I'll let you know what the plan is.
