nowhereboy

No, not his insurer, the garage's liability insurance. It won't affect his insurance in the slightest, no need to inform them at all. Not meaning to sound like a know it all here but as you know I work in insurance. Strictly speaking he would have to declare it as a "loss" As insurers ask "any claims, accidents or losses in the last 5 years". I'd be concerned that if he doesn't mention it to his insurer and the garages insurer update CUE database it will come to light anyway. I'm not familiar with liability insurance from a garage so I may be wrong, maybe they don't update CUE but I'd imagine they still do? If that was the case it will pop up on his insurance records anyway. Is it fair? Not really but I see this happen quite often at work. Anyway I'm not going to the garage as I fear it wouldn't end well, I'm already upset about what they did to my partner and I'm not sure I could be civil. He is going to the garage today and I have still advised him to do as you said Dan, with the hope that will motivate them to sort it. I'll keep you all updated.

Thanks Dan. I suspected he could play the insurance card, I would imagine he wants to avoid that if possible as he's only a young lad and a claim (even no fault) will more than likely impact his premiums etc. Good idea to mention it to the garage tho as it might be the kick up the backside they need to get it sorted. The car is still with them and I've told him not to collect it until some sort of agreement is made. If possible I will go to the garage with him myself tomorrow, he's not the type of guy to stand up for himself and I'm worried if he goes alone he will just cave and accept the car as it is. I have history with this garage already as when me and the Mrs went through a rough patch she panicked and traded her car for another one with them as she couldn't afford to run hers without me living with her. They completely ripped her off and gave her a complete banger to drive about in, saw her coming from a mile off. Not a happy chappy right now.

Just looking for advice/opinions on this. My Partners brother took his 09 plate sxi Corsa in for an MOT, after completion the garage sent the car to the cleaners across the road and someone from the cleaners has managed to reverse the car into something. I haven't saw the car in the flesh yet but from what I can see in the pictures the rear bumper has took a good hit and the boot lid was also damaged, the rear windscreen had also shattered. This only happened this morning and the garage have "fixed" the car already. They have replaced the window but with a standard one, the sxi corsa comes with tinted windows but they have replaced his broken rear windscreen with a stock plain glass one so now his windows don't match as the side windows are still tinted. From the pictures it also looks like the boot no longer sits flush. It's obliviously took one hell of a wack and when I get to see the car I'll be checking for any further damage hidden from view. I'm livid about this but obviously it's not my car, I suspect the garage are not going to do anything further and in their eyes it's "job done". Is this a police matter? What happens from here, no way I'd settle for an outcome like this.

This is completely something I would do As others have said, time for an upgraded bumper, at least you will have something new to show for the money you need to put in.

Interesting comments about the guy driving fast on the roads being hopeless on track. I remember seeing something similar a while back, quite frightening really. On a similar note when I went to one of those "learn to drift" days it was amazing how many people with high powered rear wheel drive cars parked in the car park couldn't control a simple skid in a stock/stripped 200sx.

Cheers zeezee. Its my first turbo car and I love the bang for buck tuning potential, fairly sure some volvos come with the same motor and stock run 300bhp. Seems like ford downtuned these STs from the factory. A simple map sees 270bhp, thats a couple of hundred quid for 50bhp, mental. I havr looked at the RS turbo conversion, they will run close to 400bhp without needing forged internals but its a bit overkill in my opinion. Ill be more than happy with 330..... for now anyway haha. Oh and yea, the fuel ecomomy is bad, really bad actually, worse than my old Z. Doesnt bother me too much as I was expecting it anyway. Just one of those things, I can see how it would put people off tho.

I nearly bought one years ago and was also put off with the interior to be honest. The facelift one is a nicer place to be inside, the ST3 with the heated seats is a must, the cloth ones look rubbish. Before going to look at this one I was expecting poor interior but was pleasantly surprised, it's way nicer than my 04 Z was, I've not sat in an HR or facelift Z tho so can't compare to that. I l do love the gauge pods on the dash..... I'll have to get a video up of the exhaust sound at some point, in love with the noise of this thing, it's hilarious to think a focus can even make such a sound. The garage I picked this up from also had a 370Z in my budget, I was tempted but it's just more of the same really and I fancied a change. I'll probably end up with one at some point but for going to enjoy this for a couple of years or so first. I realise everyone must think I'm mental for picking this over the Z

I've been meaning to post a thread up of my current car for a while now but been super busy with the run up to Christmas etc. For those who didn't see my other thread I'm now in a Focus ST, obviously a big change from the 350Z, I wanted something quick, modern and in good condition with low miles etc. This thread will be a bit of a review in a way but also a place to follow progress etc. The ST is running the RS Clutch and flywheel, coilovers, section 59 cat back exhaust and downpipe and collins performance CP320 map. As stated it my other thread it needs the de cats and intercooler to run to full potential both of which will be ordered soon, I'm purely guessing here but I'd imagine the car is somewhere between 270 - 300BHP and Torque somewhere close to 400IB/FT. Should be good for 320BHP once the mods are on. It's the final run of the mk2 ST3 so it has all the toys from factory, heated seats, auto wipers, push button start etc. So whats it like to drive? Completely different to the Z of course! First of all this car is pretty damn loud on a cold start, lovely sounding warble on idle and really throaty exhaust note with pop's and bangs on the overrun, it's a proper council estate asbo sound but I love it. The map runs limited torque in first and second and the first thing you notice when putting your foot down is the distinct lack of torque steer, I was expecting hell on earth after reading countless people bashing front wheel drive cars on here over the years but it's actually very useable, my old EP3 type R had more torque steer than this which really shows how the tech has came on over the years. In a straight line the performance is fantastic, the turbos come on at about 2k RPM and hold boost well up to about 6k before they run out of puff. To give an idea of it's pace, the power to weight of this car gives it enough performance to out run a DE Z, from a roll it will outpace a stock focus RS and Evos/Imprezas etc. I always found the Z to be deceptively fast, looking down and realising what speed you are doing etc, the ST is completely different, it feels fast even when your not really pushing on but on full boost you really feel like you're moving. It's not too shabby in the corners either, I'd imagine the coilovers help somewhat but in the dry it just turns in, grips and goes, obviously in the wet it's not even worth trying, wheelspin in 4th gear? No thanks. It's no rear wheel drive coupe in the handling department obviously but to the average driver it's a much easier car to drive quickly. Living with the car everyday is great, so comfortable for the commute and the heated windshield is a god send in the winter months, no more scraping ice of the car while freezing my backside off. So moving forward my plans for the car are minimal really, block mod is a must for piece of mind, stage 2 intercooler and de cats and some subtle styling mods (RS bonnet vents and zunsport grill to show off the cooler and maybe a front spliter, it should be finished by February all going well. I'll post some pictures below of how it stands now, the old owner had it pictured in this months fast ford which was a pleasant surprise when going through the pages.

Ebay for the win!

Must be a bad time of year for selling things privately. I was asking for £450 for a Gibson Les Paul studio (great price) and had zero interest, after about two months of low offers I gave in and let it go for £350!! Also got a Cannon 600D up for sale for £300 and had to let that go for £200, again had very little interest. Both the Camera and the guitar were already very well priced in the first place. Two people have got absolute bargains off me this time! I felt like I was ripping myself off but at the end of the day things are only worth what people are willing to spend.

Looking back.... Likes 1) The looks 2) The sound 3) Road presence 4) Steering 5) reliability Dislikes 1) Too heavy 2) Too Slow (subjective) 3) Rust issues creeping in 4) Lack of tuning potential without spending big money 5) Zeditus is a genuine problem

I got less than that on my 04 when trading in recently, mine had a small fortune spent on it. Wheels, suspension, clutch, flywheel and less than 80k on clock. I think £3,000 is the going rate for a 350Z with dealers regardless of mods etc. I was shocked but then again I had mine up for sale privately for 5.5k and didn't get a sniff of interest. Got fed up in the end and just cut my losses, couldn't be bothered to put it back to standard either. I've always liked the look of the GT86 but I fall into the "it hasn't got enough power" boat unfortunately. I absolutely destroyed one not long ago in the ST. Maybe I have small willy syndrome but I would hate having a car that looked that way and got overtook by everything

Happens in any performance car. I bet some of the people posting in this thread are guilty of exactly the same thing anyway As long as it's done in a respectful manner I have no issues, problem is you never know who you're dealing with and quite often the other driver may take things too far and start driving like a d*ck. I tend not to bother since I got the ST, I got into it with an impreza STI a few days after having it and pulled on him pretty easy from a roll in 3rd. That satisfied my ego and now I just let people get on with it.

It can be made significantly lighter but it will no longer resemble anything like a road car, so unless it's a track only car, it's a little pointless and expensive. (my opinion). I considered this route before selling mine but after some research it just didn't seem worth while.

Sounds about right. Best offer I had was 5k but that was only as I was looking at a 30k plus car at the time. I can see why from a dealers point of view the Z is a risky trade in, there was a 370z at my local dealers for best part of a year, they just couldn't shift it! He told me straight up he would only offer peanuts for the 350 as it would go straight to auction.

Yep, I can guess. The arse has dropped out of Zeds at the moment. I'd be surprised if you get £4k for it. Lower. Honestly I'm too ashamed to even tell you guys Rust was creeping in and the millage creeping up. I couldn't even be bothered to remove the rota's in the end. I probably spent more on wheels, tyres and suspension than I got for the car alone. What's done is done tho and I gained a lot of free mods on my new purchase so I guess you win some and loose some. Cars are my passion, I try not to worry too much about the costs involved, would drive me crazy otherwise.

If you guys knew what I sold mine for you'd kick me all over I lost a fortune on it, just wanted rid of it in the end.

Very nice car but as I've found out the hard way myself recently the DE motors just aren't fetching much money at the moment. I'd be looking for £4,500 if that was mine and I wanted a quick-ish sale. Would probably be better selling mod's separately too if possible.

As you've said OP private sale is the way to go with Z's. I tried a few different garages and nobody would offer me more than £3000 for my Z

:teeth: :teeth:

I really think OP needs a test drive before making any decisions. Rear wheel drive aside, I have a feeling the Z may feel a bit dull after a boosted FN2 to be honest. What about a boosted S2000?

Interesting! I'd love to try that. The old Hippy in me is imagining how crazy this would be on hallucinogens

I'm comparing it to a mk2 focus ST, 2.5 5 cylinder turbo lump, it's now running 300 + bhp, downpipe, de cats and full exhaust. Again it's personal preference but to me the noise/drama/power delivery is way more satisfying than my old Z. Very aggressive kick from the turbos at 2.5k rpm and accompanied by glorious pop's, bangs and wooshy noises Don't get me wrong, the Z is a fantastic sounding car but it's not what I'd call dramatic, the power is linear and a little underwhelming (again, my opinion). Worth mentioning that a boosted Z would be borderline perfection for a road car in my eyes.

capitalism is alive and well. I work in the insurance industry and to be frank what goes on behind the scenes (commision etc) should be illegal.

It's personal preference rather than fact really. Dan may find going slow and sideways fun, others may get more enjoyment out of being fast. I can appreciate each car for what it is, I enjoy the way a front wheel drive car handles, I equally enjoy the way a rear wheel drive car handles, they each have a unique experience, it's hard to compare the two because it's so different. I do miss the low slung seating position in the Z (sometimes) and at time's I miss rear wheel drive (especially midnight shopping in wet supermarket car parks ) but what my car lacks in those areas it more than makes up for it in others (straight line performance and power delivery/noise/drama).