When I decided to buy a Lexus SC, I had to sell my Lexus GS

A year ago, after a brief health scare (one that fortunately came to nothing) I felt it was time to succumb to a long-overdue mid-life crisis and buy a sports car. I'd always hankered after the SC, and it didn't take very long to sell my Lexus GS to pay for it. My wife has her own car so I didn't have to worry about losing the space in the back. Not that I would have done - I've always had a will of my own when it came to cars and this time, I figured I deserved it!

I had to buy my Lexus GS four years ago, when I wrote off my last car in an unfortunate altercation with a van (his fault, not mine - going too fast on a blind summit in wet weather). At the time, it was the perfect car for me - something sleek and executive, in a deep burgundy. As the children were still at school it also made sense to go for a four door. But it wasn't a fuddy-duddy car like some of the other dads were driving (a difference that was noted and appreciated by my kids - and their friends - more than once).

By the time my scans had come back negative, the children had already left for university and I was ready to sell my Lexus in the interests of letting what was left of my hair down and having some fun on my daily commute. It's a ninety-minute round trip every day, which adds up to another full working day over the course of the week, or a fortnight in the driving seat over the course of a year. The plan was that I would buy my Lexus SC, cut a third off that and have a little more time in the evenings to relax - as well as enjoying my drive in the first place.

I didn't want to spend long selling my Lexus - I'd recently streamlined everything, cutting out any extraneous grind I could in the interests of a stress-free life - and immediately went for the easiest option. I signed up to a specialist website to find a Lexus buyer, posted some photos and key facts, wrote a description of what I loved about it and waited for someone to get in touch. Thanks to my years working in an advertising agency I was convinced it wouldn't take long to sell my Lexus. I was desperate to get the sports car but I promised myself I would find someone to buy my Lexus before I treated myself to the new SC. After we got back from an impromptu weekend holiday and checked my inbox to find two offers there, I knew I was in business.

All in all, I reckon it probably only took about 25 minutes of work to sell my Lexus - probably one of the easiest deals I've ever done (certainly a lot quicker and more painless than waiting for the insurance to pay out after last time). The two offers were pretty close but I went with the lower one as he said he'd collect, saving me a drive and the hassle of the trip home without a car. Instead, I took the afternoon off and went to the Lexus dealership.