two loan cars and a broken washing machine makes three

"I wonder what the third thing will be?" said the washing machine repair man.

"Don't say that" I replied.

He'd looked at the machine for about ten seconds, wobbled the drum and said it was dead. It was apparently repairable, but would need new bearings, a new drum, a gasket and some other parts.

"Around how much?" I asked, secretly knowing it would probably be nearly as much as a new machine.

And it was.

At least as much as some of the new machines. This machine was eight years old and it hadn't ever gone wrong before. In the scheme of things, it's probably had a pretty good innings.

"It doesn't make a lot of difference nowadays" he explained, "whether you go for a cheap machine or a 1200 quid super machine. They are both about as likely to go wrong."

I didn't think more about the Third Thing, although by Monday it had happened.

My car is still off the road awaiting complicated parts. I still have the white loan vehicle. The blue car has been sold and the brand new red car has replaced it.

Except the brand new red car has a fault.

It doesn't go along the road very well. It's not my car, but I drove it on Monday evening to check. Sure enough, an ominous yellow light has come on. Sometimes it flashes. I had the task to phone to get the car back to the dealer.

So the red Italian car has been replaced with the temporary red and black American car. It's another type car I've never seen before. The logo on the side is squiggle. I think its called an ypsilon. Presumably the Y stops it being confused with something After Ford.

It's a curious vehicle. I'm confused that it has American branding, but it somehow seems almost too small to be Chrysler and maybe even too quirky. Kind of Euro-styling with an American grill that looks even bigger in real life than in the picture. A most un-American lack of air-con. It's engine is just two cylinders. It has secret rear doors. And unbelievably, the speedo is on the passenger side. It somehow reminds me of a stretched Ford Ka designed after too much coffee.

So two loan cars and a broken washing machine. Yes. That's the three.