To find a car....

My eldest son has decided that he wants to replace his car. Being older, I looked at his car and thought it was perfectly adequate and has a few years left in it yet. Remembering that I was younger once, I also remembered that simple practicality is not always the only driver. When we had looked previously we had travelled along the A13 - the main road linking London to South Essex all the way to Southend - and stopped in all the garages. Then he had been looking to spend in the order of £1500, now he intends to get a loan, and spend £5000 or more. You can debate the merits of loans, but truths like Proverbs 22:7 "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." have tended to put me off. I could argue that now is not a good time but that would be pointless now you know my basic convictions.
So we arrived in Southend, and followed the A13 back towards Hadleigh. Stop the car, having found somewhere close and legal to park. Look in the three or four garages that are within easy walking distance. Get in the car - drive half a mile and repeat. Each garage is a small business and has up to about 30 cars. There are a few big dealers but not really that many. He has only the vaguest idea of what he wants - predictably a Golf GTI (or similar), or perhaps a BMW. There are some lovely cars - outside his budget and mine. Most are the sort I would fantasize about but never seriously expect to own. We did find a Mazda RX8 which he was quite interested in, and used the phone to take pictures of some others.
As we walked into each garage we would be greeted by a Salesman. "What are you looking for?" or "What are you interested in?"
"We're just browsing, thanks"
Mostly they would leave us to it. One or two were more persistent, mostly at that point we made our excuses and left. One or two were positively annoying, and kept asking questions. Then there was the strange case of the owner of the next door garage who watched our every move. We did not visit his garage.
I also have some ideas now of what I might replace my old Previa with - getting another 8 seater may not be viable - there don't seem to be many of them on the market these days.