I was in Colchester on business a couple of weeks ago and came across the "magic roundabout". I did not know it was there, thought the only one wasin Hemel Hempstead.

It didn't pose any problems at all. In fact I was so fascinated by it that I went all the way round (on purpose) before going back to my exit - I wanted to see how it worked.

Whether it is more efficient than any alternatives, I don't know (though suspect it is) but as far as ease of use goes I had no complaints.

When we were married in 1974 I got SWMBO a £300 1965 Mini-Traveller as a runaround. It never missed a beat in the three years we had it, and her current MINI reminds us strongly of it. Her word for it is 'responsive' - a good description of the quick reaction to steering input and also the nippiness of the response to the accelerator (obviously greatly superior in a MINI but honestly the '65 Traveller wasn't bad by the standards of its time). The Ford Ka that she had 10 years ago is the only other car she's had with that same quality.

The other thing they have in common is that we got most of that £300 back when we sold the Traveller, and the MINI One that we've just traded in for a new Cooper was (at 20 months old) worth 80 % of its cost new - it was on a 2-year PCP hence the quick change.

MINIs have their detractors, not least on this forum - but with that retention of value they are better value for money than they look. We tried various alternatives before getting the first MINI One: but this time the only choice SWMBO wanted to make was between another One or the Cooper.

When the second headlight started to show heavy condensation for no reason and the first one was still getting worse I realised that the fault was failing lense to body seals and not some casual cause that would go away - but how to prove it? Took it to a main dealer as it was still under warranty. The response was interesting -
"No problem Sir, it happens to all headlights - we see it often here. We will put a blanket over the lenses and put the main beam on for 10 minutes, that will clear it - problem solved!"
10 minutes pass.... "Not quite finished, just a few minutes more"
20 minutes..... "Nearly done now Sir, just clearing a few spots from the corners".
30 minutes..... "Sir,it looks as though the plastic has melted in parts ! ( There are now a few opaque patches on the lenses - due to overcooking?) We are going to give you two new headlamps under warranty."
Good result. (They have to show the manufacturer that they did try!)

Being Almera, it almost certainly will have negative equity, meaning the total of finance left vs part exchange value will leave additional sum of money to be added to the new finance. Not all dealers will do it. Depending on how long was the original finance for and how long he has kept the car there might be easier way out of it than part exchange - the 50% voluntary termination clause in hire purchase contract. A lot of people don't read through their HP documents, but basically it's obligatory clause which means that if he already paid half way through the finance or is close to 50% mark (close enough to send them remaining sum to the total of 50% of finance) he can return the car to finance company, in accordance with contractual obligations, without any negative impact on his credit and finance company can do zilch to stop him.

Worn lower suspension arm bushes (would be my favourite) replace whole arm not just bush, worn anti-roll bar bushes, worn/loose top strut.