The last time I did this it all worked out rather well.

Over three years ago I asked for your cast-offs and in return got a £500 BMW 728i which earlier today completed a three hundred-mile trip, all without drama. 

It became so endearing that it quickly earned the name Shed 7, and is now coming up to 160,000 miles young.

The time has come, though, where I now need a vehicle for the trickiest and most difficult customer of all, Mrs. Ruppert.

Me? I’ll buy any rubbish at all and make it work and sort it out and the ever patient Mrs. R puts up with a lot of my car related nonsense, so it is only right that she gets something decent. The requirements are as follows.

1. Automatic - Mrs. R can handle a manual and is probably one of the few people in the world who can pilot my Land Rover. However, she likes the easy life, so a slusher box, please.

2. High rise - Mrs. R is a small but powerful woman who quite rightly likes to check the road ahead.

3. No MPVs, or anything that looks remotely ‘Mumsy’ - unless you have any brilliant suggestions it is probably going to be a 4x4.

4. Generous budget - it can be much more than the £500 I sometimes spend, so it could be around £2-3000-ish.

5. Petrol or diesel - it doesn’t matter which.

6. History - everything must work, though exterior cosmetics can be a bit wavy, but really I don’t want anything that’s tatty or needs sorting. History would be nice.

So if ‘they buy any car’ or other similar outfits haven't made the offer you expected or a car dealer has sucked his teeth and said something less than pleasant, maybe I can help you out. Suggestions below please.