Alan LaGaffe!

The car is just about 18 months old. The salesman said that the original owner had paid for a five year, unlimited mileage warranty, servicing included. It cost him about £1500. I thought "Yeah, yeah...". Then he showed me the receipts and stuff and, lo and behold, there was a line showing a 5 year.... etc. I rejoiced and was exceeding glad. But now the car was mine was the warranty mine, too?

I found the leaflet for the warranty and read this chilling sentence - in capital letters. IL EST CESSIBLE EN CAS DE REVENTE DE VOTRE VOITURE.

Oh dear. Cessible sounds like it stops, doesn't it.... My heart sank.

Then this morning as I sat at the bus stop waiting for the kids' school bus my mind drifted as usual to the innumerable forms involved in buying a French car. (I have been dreaming about them.) One is the Certificat de Cession. It is signed by the vendor and the buyer, and it formalises the giving of the car from one person to the other.

Hang on! Cessible must belong to cession. It must mean handing on. I looked in the dictionary. (Often a good idea!) Cessible means you can pass it on.

This French lark is a real roller-coaster!

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