Let there be light

A little update on the Definitely Motoring fleet car as some work's been done on the Pug...

AS my old Ford Ka was affectionately known as KaKa. Some of my friends asked me on what name my Peugeot 206 will be christened as. Well, I thought long and hard over a name for the old girl. The decision has been made for the Pug, and it's been christened as Pippa.

Why Pippa? You might think the Peugeot could be named after Kate Middleton's sister. It's a pretty car for starters and has a pert rear end. Which Pippa's [bum] wowed many at the Royal Wedding from last year. But funnily enough, a Peugeot 206 was featured in a newspaper article over Pippa Middleton's bum. My 206 couldn't have a more appropriate name if I'm being honest.

Some of you will be asking on how life is with Pippa Peugeot. It's great and the 206 is small enough to be nimble and cheap to run. With it being an XSi model, it has the 1.6 litre 16 Valve TU5 engine under the bonnet - also used in the Citroën Saxo VTS. With plenty of grunt and performance that I can enjoy from my right foot. Let's put it plainly, the 206 is a barrel of laughs.

But there has been a little bit of work done on it that needed to be done urgently. When I say little, small changes were required for the lights on the 206. One bulb wasn't working on one headlight. That happened to be the main beam one too. Elsewhere, one rear light cluster had pretty much given up the ghost. The brake and the sidelights bulbs weren't working - the reverse and indicator ones were crucially working.

That made me even more wary, when getting home after finishing my work shifts - usually in the late evenings, meaning that I drove home with one headlight. But I used my spotlights, so I could be seen by pedestrians and other drivers.

Sooner rather than later, the lights had to be sorted. Not just for the safety of myself and others. This is also a legal requirement. The last thing I would want is being pulled over; getting a slap on the wrist, possibly a fine and three points on my licence.

I bought three pairs of bulbs (brake and sidelights for rear and main beam for headlights) and got them fitted and replaced. I could have gone the cheaper route by just replacing three individual bulbs. But it really makes sense of replacing the bulbs on both lights than just one of them. It'll save me money in the long run.

Pippa was taken to the garage and the lights were finally sorted. As you can see the lights are sorted and the small changes makes a big difference. Better to be safe (and legal) than sorry.