Jay Kay

What would you recommend? Apparently they are on par performance wise to the zed (which us disappointing to hear when I'd prefer a zed) road tax is cheaper than the 500 quid for the zed I want, its more practicle, cheaper in general to live with etc. In fact I'm kind of struggling to know why I'd choose a zed over an st. Someone help and quickly sell me a 313HR....

I'd flipping love a 370!

Did you take a look? I viewed a black 09 ctr today with less than 30k miles on it and sure enough it had what looked like a line of dirt just above the windscreen rubber and the paint was just starting to wrinkle in places. The dirt of course was surface rust starting. Also took it round some lanes then a dual carriage way, I was surprised at how gutless it felt bellow 5k revs but expected it to take off after that. Well, you could feel I bit of a kick with the vtec but not quite what I had expected considering what a big deal the fan boys make about it. All in all I thought it was ok but a little underwhelming. To be honest, I think I'm just not interested in them much as I had my heart set on a zed and just can't seem to find the perfect one.

I checked the doors for rust as apparently that's a common place for them to get rust but it's all good. Hadn't heard of the roof rust problem but looks all good to me. Gave it a good going over today and never noticed anything untoward. It's the very front of the roofline where it meets the windscreen. The rubbers were a bad fit and moved around a bit rubbing away the paint with then led to rust. Many owners got Honda to repaint their roofs free of charge as it was a design fault. Have a good look lifting the rubber and looking under it if possible. Might go see a ctr tomorrow, I'm so sick of viewing cars right now though

Must admit, while I'm looking for a zed, my two alternatives are a focus st or ctr - if a zed doesn't come up soon. Did you check the roof line for the typical rust? Apparently there is an exchange rubber seal for the top of the windscreen and Honda were putting them on when doing roof resprays and rust repair under warrenty

Looks pretty sweet! Just viewed an 08 plate but had too many parking dents down both sides for me unfortunately.

As I'm struggling to find a decent HR Zed and need a car asap, I'm considering a Focus ST. Anyonespent any time with one or have any advice?

Thanks everyone but the car I viewed wasn't as tidy as I had hoped so I think I'll leave that one. If anyone knows of an HR up for sale, pl theease let me know asap. Desperately need a car and nice zeds seem few and far between - to the point that I am about to go view a Focus ST...

Harlow born and bred thick in the head - Hertfordshire hey thats to posh for me hahaha small word, I lived in Epping most of my life and had friends in Harlow. Used to get bits and Bob's for the car at Exreme back in the day. Do you remember ever seeing a pink ex-max power rs2000 escort around town, that would have been me

Commander, are you still considering selling the 350? I'm currently after one...

Think I saw your build thread on that, looking good! Is it ease to get the chubby cover off then or a bit of a faff?

Where are you from wizza. I spent most of my life in Essex

Looks a good job but I'm more for the stock look really. Not sure that you can still buy them from Nissan? Guess you probably can but I sespect they cost more than you would expect

I had thought that (not wallpapering!) But it's textured and wasnt sure how much work is involved in getting it flat enough to paint or wrap it. Or even how to get the bugger off

I've tried a search to avoid wasting people's time but drawn a blank, so, has anyone bought and changed the cover to the storage chubby abover the radio? I've seen a car I like but around the push button area it's pretty scratched up. Is it an easy job or expensive part? Thanks in advance

I do like them in red!

Thanks Jim

Sorry, what I meant was lets just say our bit and then be done with it, rather than just keeping going on and on with hundreds of posts. Seems saying my bit lasted longer than I had expected.

Neil, I think you're right, this thread needs to be kept short. To be honest, I'm surprised firstly that you even found it as that must have taken some searching, and also that you responded. My intention was never to name either you or your business or even have anyone identify the car you have for sale, in all of my comments I only ever referred to you as the dealer (how on earth did you find this?) so that this didn't turn petty and you had no need to defend yourself. I was simply replying to the people who kindly offered me assistance in my decision making process on whether or not to pay extra and go for the HR model or save some cash and opt for an older model. If this thread rages on and on, I suspect at least one of us will say something we regret and that makes us look daft, so let’s not let that happen. Your second post above highlights that you are a one man band and that taking people for test drives comes at a price. I'm sure we all appreciate that - and frankly no one likes a messer and no doubt you encounter them regularly which must be frustrating, however I don't think you'll get much sympathy in this respect as that is just part and parcel of the industry in which you have decided to trade. You have to appreciate that if you want to sell a car, you often have to work at it, maybe even wash it a couple of times and your prices should accommodate for some form of expense for such things. In my job I spend several thousands of pounds a year just getting into the office, and that's before I even start a days work, it's just part of it, yes it eats into income/profits but that's life - can't have your cake and eat it, you spend money to make money. With regards to your initial comment in this thread, in the interest of fairness I would like to respond – and hopefully without looking like I am just trying to argue. First of all, I genuinely like your car. It's in great condition and you basically had a guaranteed sale that morning. If you had a folder full of receipts with it, fully documenting its past, a cash deal would have been done there then. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. I've bought cars in the past and regretted it so I mentioned contacting the former keeper ensuring I went into this deal with my eyes open, but for whatever reason you didn’t seem to want to assist me. You mention that you presented me with everything you had – which is everything you should need to show me and from that and effectively that alone I should have been able to determine whether to purchase the car. I’m sorry but that’s just not how it works – you are effectively asking me to buy the car in good faith despite the fact that you know next about its past. Considering we are not talking about a brand new, never been used car, I would be crazy not to at least try to satisfy myself that I had done everything possible to safeguard myself against buying a car that could be problematic or may have a large bill looming. There is far more to good car maintenance than just a service stamp in a book and as the former keeper is quite local, it is only logical that I would make mention that I would feel happier at least trying to have a brief chat with them. If I had attempted to but could not manage to locate them, then at least I had tried and could then feel better about making a decision and moving forward with a purchase or not. Better to try than to be left kicking yourself for not bothering. There are also a few facts that I cannot overlook. Firstly you imply that you knew ‘what I was up to’ when I attempted to note down the reg number so that I may contact my insurer. Yes, of course I was going to this by taking a photograph of the top half of the V5C document – I don’t carry a note pad and pen around with me, that’s just how things are done in this day and age. I can categorically also say that I when I was about to do this, I said to you before actually doing anything that I would also be interested in noting down the former keepers address and attempt make contact with them, at no point did I ever attempt to be anything but straight with you so I do not appreciate you insinuating otherwise. You also said in your response that you’ve never had to allow a buyer to speak with a previous keeper, however when I was walking out of your office, you said to me that in past deals when you have given over past keepers information it had never ended well. Again, not wishing to make a big deal of this but let’s both be honest. I do agree with some of your points, your website does indeed host dozens of photos of the cars and this is very useful and all of us car buyers would thank you for this, however as no doubt we’ve all seen pictures of items taken from flattering angles or perhaps, for instance, with a big dent just out of shot, no buyer would ever rely on photos alone. You also state that we should check out the large amount of exact info you list about the car, but again, the wording is just a sales pitch that I would expect to see about any car for sale and adds can be misleading – sadly the more info you add, the more chance you have of getting it wrong. For instance your car is a 2008 model and twice within your add it states that it has had just 1 previous owner from new. This implies that you must have acquired it from the original purchaser. Unfortunately a few lines later it goes on to state that the last owner had it from February 2010. When I came to see you, you said it had had two recorded owners before you and that you got as part of a deal from another organisation. Does this mean that it has been though 4 sets of hands in reality? I genuinely do not believe you are attempting to mislead customers, it is simply a not very well worded advertisement as you told me about where the car came from when I asked you. It does however reveal a very good argument as to why buyers take adds with a pinch of salt… My point is that photos and dozens of lines of text do not sell cars and can often lead you into thinking you are buying something that you are not. Therefore I just wanted to go see the car, ensure it drove nicely and then satisfy myself that I was buying the best car that I could with the limited budget that I had. You commented in your initial response on here that you try to give all the info and more that a buyer would need to make a decision. As has been agreed throughout this thread, you have a unique way of doing business but I think it’s clear from what happened between us and the comments from others that maybe this style could be adapted to ensure customers get what they want – which will result in you then getting what you want. If someone asks for a test drive or to be allowed to have a quick chat with a previous owner, then maybe it’s best to try to be a bit more accommodating rather than become so defensive as it just appears that you have something to hide. As 370Ad says above, a test drive sells a Z. A few photos and a description does not, these are just tools to get people through the door. Twice you mentioned ‘train hard, fight easy’. I don’t want to have to fight to give someone my money, I want them to make it as easy for me to hand it over as possible or I will just walk away – there’s plenty more Zeds in the sea and all that but as you’ve mentioned it, it kind of did feel more like a fight than a nice smooth process. It was not my intention but I suspect I’ve gone on for far too long now so I’ll call it a day. It is not for me to tell you how to run your business, clearly I have an opinion on - take it as constructive criticism - it but ultimately it’s your business and you are free to run it how you see fit. I would reiterate that it’s a nice car you have for sale, a car I would have been extremely happy to purchase, and quite frankly to still purchase, assuming I decide I am happy with a lack of history – but if that bridge is now considered burned then so be it.

Hi, I'm a noob too. How did you find the fn2? I figured I'd look for one if I couldn't find a nice zed. Would rather the zed though as the thought of virtually no torque doesn't excite me too much

Strange as its got good mileage and the price isn't overly high. Guess there is something pretty obvious when you see it up close.

Looks like my purchase of a local car has fallen through but I've seen a black one at gotomoto ltd for a reasonable price. Is anyone round that way that knows of this dealer or possibly even the car itself? Many thanks Jamie

Just to be clear though, he said he got it through a dealer network so he didn't buy it directly off the last owner anyway

That's what I thought, buy I liked the car and really need one asap

I saw it on the v5 and figured I could memorise it but just happened to mention that I would make a note of it. Didn't ask for a phone number. But he soon grabbed the v5 from me so I could no longer see the details. Very strange situation! He said whenever in the past he's provided detail of former keepers it has ended badly. I said it may not this time but if you tell me I categorically cannot contact them then it's a deal breaker anyway (I was fast assuming a cover up by this point) so what's the harm. He said no. I walked off huffing and puffing