rabbitstew

Mines due an MOT any day now. Does Barr Tech do MOT`s or is there anywhere else in Cambridge anyone would recommend?

Fill up number 2, again worked out at 48mpg. The bulk of the missus`s driving is at 70mph on motorways etc.. Hit a problem with the Juke on Saturday morning. I thought id be "helpful" and fill her car up with diesel first thing whilst she was getting ready for work. (Translated means I fancied giving it a damn good thrashing in the snow). So I defrost the car and drive to the garage, the fuel gauge is off the scale as its so empty. Park up at the pump and can I get the filler cap open? Can I heck! Its frozen solid. No amount of de-icer or trying to heat the filler up would get it to pop open. So then I had to crawl back home hoping I wouldnt run out of diesel and pour a good kettle of boiling water all over the filler before it would pop open. Will know next time!!! Only other problem we have found with the Juke is that EVERYONE seems to want one now. Her friends mum made her drive around her house last week so she could sit in it, her boss now wants one, her other friend wants one..... maybe my missus should get commision?!!?!

Walk. Sounds like dealer wasnt being honest and that would put me off straight away.

I have considered this several times as I have a fully kitted out workshop and more tools than you can shake a stick at. Ive always done my own mechanics since I was 16 and have rebuilt a couple of cars. I think for someone starting off, buying all the tools and equipment would be expensive. Ive amassed mine over my lifetime and dread to think how much they would all add up to. The biggest problem with cars is that more often than not nothing is simple. What in theory may be a quick & easy job always has the potential to be a complete nightmare. Take for instance when I swapped my zed`s exhaust over last. Now, on other cars ive done this in ten minutes. On the zed, in theory you just undo 2 bolts after the Y pipe, undo the back box and pop it off. On mine (22k mile car), the bolts were all siezed, 1 sheered off and had to be drilled out, the back box wouldnt come undone and after spending about 4 hours under the car grinding / drilling and swearing, I just got the angle grinder out and cut the whole exhaust off. With a new car, you shouldnt have that problem, but holes may not be in the right place, and you would have to do things in certain orders to get correct. You also, like learning anything, will make mistakes, and sometimes they can be costly. Also, it sometimes can be hard to keep your motivation up, especially in the cold winter months. I currently have 4 projects on the go in my garage, none of which ive had the time to work on for ages. In some ways, its easier to buy one which is already build. Most of the hardwork has been done then, and you can always amuse yourself by rebuilding it, or overhauling it at a later date.

MANLY MAN IS MANLY That's what I did with the Impreza this morning, even though I couldn't get actually get it off the drive any way despite repeated attempts. RE070s are not great in the snow would have been more manly had I brushed it off using something else..... You should have got some of those ying yang "£100 a set" specials, rather than those RE070s.....

How many people can you get in the porker then After experiencing my bros I would say two, unless the back seaters have no legs Much like the zed then!

I had about 5 inches of snow on my zed sunday morning, just brushed it off with my bare hands. Didnt want to leave the soft top with the weight of snow on it. Work this morning was nothing to worry about at all for me, even though my cul-de-sac was like sheet ice. Namely cos I left my zed safe on the drive and pinched my missus`s old car instead. Pleased I did, the road down to my office was like driving through the antartic and a 45 degree slope into the car park. No way id be able to get down their in the zed very easily.

Spotted 9:45am, Huntingdon Road coming out of Cambridge. **07 UJJ Black 350z Coupe.

I havent been to an auction for a couple of years, but when i used to freuqent them, most cars would go through for about 25% less than what they would be marked up for on a garage forecourt, or about 15% less than you could buy privately. That was for 3->4 year old cars, ex lease cars typically. Things may have changed a little now.

Will keep a look out. Atm im using the missus old shed to save a few pennies, so if you see someone in a blue Peugeot 307 waving then you`ll know why!

Just remembered a train journey I had last year. I was sitting on the train coming back from London and this guy sitting opposite`s phone rang. The conversation he had was: "im on a train" "yeah, off to Birmingham to buy an Audi A4" "yeah i got him to knock the price down to 6 grand in cash" I sat there thinking "is this guy serious". Advertising he more than likely has 6 grand in cash on his person isnt the best thing to do on a train in front of dodgy looking skinhead. (err.. moi).

Servicing is every 10k - or at least it is on mine. Follows the pattern of minor service then major and around we go. Servicing is very easy, very DIY able, and they are one of the easiest cars ive serviced. Last one on mine was a P1 (minor) and cost me about 40quid for the bits. Newer car vs old... really boils down to money. You can get an older car for 6 or 7 grand. Newer 07 upwards ones are more likely to be 10k upwards. Thats a big difference in price. You could buy the older car and have some nice spare change to play with. Older cars dont always mean more problems. The zed is the sort of car most people have as a second car for weekend fun, so mileage tends to be low on them. I use mine for every day commuting, so i put about 2000 miles a month on mine - at least. I think there is a buyers guide on here, try a bit of searching. In general, id look out for service history - making sure its all complete. Make sure the cars condition reflects the mileage. Zeds are prone to stone chips at the front, so that can be a bit of a give away as to how the owner drives. If in doubt get a mechanic to go with you and give it the once over. Tyres are expensive, so if you can get one with good tyres then thats a plus point! Theres plenty of zeds out there atm as not everyone can afford to run them. Id definately see whats for sale on here, as you know the car will have been looked after.

A fraction off 20years NCB on my car insurance for me. Never made a claim on it ever. Makes me laugh when the insurance company says "do you want to protect that?".. err... what do they think?! lol. Still annoys me though that my missus with just 2 years ncb and a claim can insure the same car cheaper than me.

Cant believe ive finally spotted someone whose on here! Excellent! Yep noticed you were sticking to 70mph! Otherwise id never had caught you up in the shed. Havent seen you before on the road, I get on the a14 at the a45 / a605 Thrapston junction and then turn off at Huntingdon on the a14 down to Cambridge, so may see you again sometime. Didnt notice the wheels so much but you were in the distance, then when we got to the Spidalls roundabout you were in the left land and I was in the far right with a lorry between us. I`ll keep an eye out next time!

Hi and welcome. 1) Tax after 2006 is 460odd quid a year. I know, as im paying something that on mine. Personally for me its worth it as mine is the 313 model with 309bhp (the HR engine is apparently 80% new over the older engines and even has ram air induction from the factory) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_VQ_engine#VQ35HR You could buy an older (cheaper) 276bhp model and spent a grand or so modifying it to 300bhp and save yourself a few quid on the road tax. 2) Petrol - the instruction book says only use higher octane fuel. i.e super unleaded. The car will run on normal unleaded but its only recommended in emergencies. You can get the car remapped to run on lower octane, but you loose some power. For the sake of a few pence extra most people run it on v-power or tesco momentum fuel. Economy varies depending on your usage, but as a daily driver I get 25mpg out of it. 3) The feathering problem was only on the early ones and was dialed out from what i understand. You do get tramlining on bad road surfaces if your front tyres are nearly bald. The clicking diff isnt age dependent so can happen on any car. The cd jumping is a "feature" of the bose stereo system. So any cars which have that may experience. You`ll find this usually happens if you havent used the cd for a long long time, then start to try and play a track. Most people do the "ipod hack" which basically turns the "tape" option on the bose into an aux-in, so you can plug in any mp3 / phone / ipod and listen to music through that. 4) Clutches... again, very dependent upon how the cars been driven. Ive heard some people needing need ones at 40k, others are fine. 5) The cars came with Bridgestones as stock, they are very good but expensive. I think i was quoted something like £1000 for a new set. The whole tyre debate is a very big subject on here, but the outcome of it is, is that there are other brands and options out there. I personally use Falken 452`s on mine, which come in at £500 a set. They are perfectly good for my use. However, if you are using the car for a weekend car and are likely to be pushing its limits and want that extra grip then maybe go for something more expensive. 6) Winter tyres.... up to you really. I didnt bother and im fine. Ive had very little experience with RWD appart from powerful sports motorbikes. As long as you watch your throttle you will be perfectly fine. Some people who dont want to ruin their expensive alloys will go and buy a cheap set of standard alloys and put winter tyres on them to use over the winter months when salt will be on the roads etc.. My tyres were pretty much bald anyway just before xmas, so i replaced them with some new falkens, which should last me now for the next 22k or so. Good luck with your search!

its in the link just above the message where theres 3 together Its an import, so the specs vary from the UK ones. The advert says its the GT spec, but it hasnt got cruise control - which the UK GT spec cars had. The seller is also saying 320bhp and from what im reading its only had an induction kit & an exhaust. So even with a remap id only be expecting 300bhp tops from it. Its got a few nice bits on it. Not sure what brand those brakes are, but eibach suspension is a well known decent brand. Also those wheels arent to my taste, but each to their own.

made me laugh too!!! Who am i? Where am i? What day of the week is it?!

I agree with the other comments. In my opinion a zed is not the best idea for a track car. Plenty of other cheaper to run, cheaper to mod cars out there. With regards to the 2 cars you mention, id check exactly what those mods would cost. Coilovers range in price from about 200quid upto mega money. I fitted some cheap coilovers on my last car and they were shocking. Lasted 2000 miles before they blew up. I replaced them with uprated koni struts instead and they were infinitely better. Its swings and roundabouts really. If you buy a modded car it may have been owned by an enthusiast who has spent thousands on expertly modding the car. Or on the other hand it could have been owned by some chav who bolted a few cheap bits on to make it sound better. When you mod a car and sell it with the mods on it you never get your money back, so it could be a good opportunity to get a bargain, on the other hand you might be better off buying a straight one and modding it yourself so at least you know exactly whats gone on it.

Commiserations... another year older.

Spotted on the a14 travelling from A1 Brampton on the A14 to Huntingdon this morning at about 8.45am. Nice shiny blue 370z coupe, reg **10 DFV (or something like that). Nice looking car. I saw it in the distance and caught it up. Not a mean feet as I was in my missus old diesel shed and not my zed.

Cheers, will make a note of that system & details. Just so many to choose from. Litterally millions out there!

Might even be cheaper to buy a 2nd hand set of wheels + tyres, so keep an eye out on the bay.

Excellent. Ive been thinking of CCTV for a while, and just did a search on here to see if anyone else had fitted a system recently. Knew it would come up with something. Will read through the links etc. and do a bit more research. Been looking on the net over the last couple of days and omg theres about a million different systems varying from £200 incl cameras upwards! Argh!!!

Some people dont know this, but theres a daily limit on debit cards of £30k. I found out this last year when I bought my zed and a few other things and max`d my card limit out! I normally deal in cash when I buy or sell. As someone else said, 7k may sound a lot, but when you physically see it sitting there in 50`s its a very small pile of money.