gangzoom

I'll pop in for a bit

+1, get the insurance company to deal with it. Though am not sure where you stand if the incident was over 6 months ago and you haven't mentioned it to your insurance company already.

These guys even have a website: http://www.vag-info.com/ Didn't hot hatches become pretty much uninsurable years ago due to theft issues?? I can see premium cars heading that way in a few years

Looks great!! The Z's design has really aged well Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Depreciation is usually the biggest cost of owning a car, especially if your only doing so few miles... I have no idea about Z values but I suspect they aren't dropping that quickly any more if at all. Zedlitis is a major issue though, and unfortunately even when you sell the Z it doesn't go away, it simply moves onto the new car you have bought Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Without a key? I don't understand - I thought this device just opens the car and disable the alarm? Can they start the engine via the OBD? The BMW OBD 'issues' are well known. The interior alarm isn't very sensitive and the OBD port can than be used to program a new key. You can buy all the kit of eBay quite legally for not much money. BMW updated the software but am pretty sure the thieves have already figured out how to bypass it. My 335 has had a Dislok on the car every night for the last 12 months.

LoL I cannot even remember the last time I washed either of our cars, let alone wax it!! May be I can lend you my car for a week and in return you can wax/clay it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There's a video on YouTube of a brand new RS4 been driven off someone's drive in under 2 minutes!!! The only thing broken was a window. EU rules say manufactures have to give third parties access to the on board computers via the OBD port so your not tied to the main dealer for servicing. Not really sure what you can do about it. The new electric cars even let you access the engine/heating controls wirelessly..... It wouldn't be long before the hackers figure out how to start/unlock something like a 80k Tesla S from the comfort of their sofa Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why bother with all the hassle of changing cars and just keep the 911? Or are you bored of it? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Had a good look around a few last year at Doinginton, I assume it was some kind of official McLaren event because they had two trailers worth of them (imagine crashing that). Lovely looking machines, and very compact, certainly not over the top like a Labo or Ferrari, definitely usable day to day...Shame I'll have to get a second mortgage/divorce/work non stop for rest of my life before I can even think about trying to own one Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry but the i8 is probably one of the most expensive, pointless cars ever made. 15 miles of EV range, seats 2 people, looks like its been designed by a 5 year old been given too much caffeine, and a real world 24 mpg from an power train that only produced 360bhp....really what is the point of it?? Any equivalent petrol car will match/beat that BHP/mpg ratio for 1/3 of the price, and the Tesla S is faster, more practical, cheaper, and has x20 its EV range...Well done BMW for spending millions on research and proving Hybrid technology is pointless ...oh wait its got a BMW badge, that automatically makes it the best EV/Hybrid/Sports car ever made .

We've wasted god knows how much £££ on Macs over the last few years...Just on Mac CPUs we had MacPlus, Mac Performa PowerMac 7100 PowerBook 1400 iMac (original) PowerBook G3 (Psimo) G4 tower G5 tower MacPro (2.1) MacBookPro 08 MacBook Air (rev 2) Retina MacBook Pro Currently trying to persuade my wife we need the new MacPro...but as much as I lover Apple computers even I cannot justify spending £2.5k on the most basic model (13 gig of ram and only 256gig hard drive) without a screen Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I honestly think 16gig of ram will be fine. Processor power has really stopped developing, new applications aren't anywhere near as processor demanding as before, add onto this the fact SSD hard drives are so fast 'virtual' memory is not a problem compared for the old days. As for Apples build quality....Back in the day Apple products just didn't break, but in the last decade things have changed. However if it's a major issue that affects lots of Amercians sooner/latter Apple will launch a 'free' repair program. Like they did for the failing GPUs in 08 MacBookPros, or more recently the replacement program for iPhone 5s with stuck power button. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Surely the RX8 is quite a downgrade from the 911?? I remember test driving one ages ago when deciding what to replace the Integra Type R with...my lasting memory of the test drive was it seem like a watered down Type R, not as loud, not as fast, and generally rather a uninspiring/dull machine.

The RAM is soldered but pretty sure the SSD is upgradable. I always go for the top spec possible, it makes the laptop more usable in the long term. I went from a 08 MacBookPro to a 013 Retina MacBookPro, all I can say is wow. In nearly 15 years of using/upgrading computers I've never seen such a performance jump, and can honestly say the Retina MacBookPro is by far the best computer I've ever used. My only wish is that I went for the 756-1terbyte SSD upgrade. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The Retina MacBookPros are lovely aren't they!! I cannot believe mine is coming up to been a year old but still as fast/fresh as it did when I first got it.... You don't need to worry about 'cleaning up' programs etc, theres simply no need, OSX is built on UNIX so pretty good at sorting it self out. Cannot remember the last time I had to actually 'shut down' or restart mine . I have to be honest and haven't really gone out of my way to learn all the features of OSX, though I do find mission control and gestures now invaluable!!

Surely if you bought it from a main dealer they should offer some help?? I had a 2/3 gear synchro go wrong in my DC2 Integra R within 3 weeks of buying it, the dealer sorted it for free. Otherwise take it to a good honest independent and hope it's not too costly....If your anywhere near Leicester I really wouldn't look any where else but CS. I've tried other garages due to lazyness but if you want quality work and honest advice it has to be CS everytime. I now use them for both of our cars, and I don't even have own a Z anymore!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At least you've now worked out all the sums!! I think too many people get obsessed by mpg/tax figures and forget depreciation is a far bigger cost (unless your doing massive miles).... So what's your next car going to be Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

£800/month....in exchange for driving things like a 320i If I was in your position, have that much spare £££ to spend and wanted to change cars ever 12-24 months I would be leasing a F10 M5 or E63 AMG. Yes they cost stupid £££ to run, but at least your getting your moneys worth interms of car!

I have to say though I'm glad she doesn't waste all her money like I do on pointless things likes cars.....someone in the family has to have enough savings to pay off the mortgage

Quite easy... My wife hasn't got a clue about anything but colour and shape. Recently she has been pointing at XFs...So it looks like we're going to have a Jag in the family at some point. I asked her about what engine size she would consider she just turns off at that point and tells me the cheapest to run will do....So a Jag with a 4 cylinder diesel it is than

Good luck with your first house, it's pretty hard for people without a big deposit at the moment.... Just bear in mind interest rates will go up in the next 12 months or so. A 2% rise in interest rates can lead to a 25% jump in your repayments depending on your mortgage size. Before the crash post 08, interest rates were around the 5-6% mark, currently they are sitting at 2-4%, so a 2-3% rise over a few years is not beyond belief. Rather scarily I remember my parents pulling their hair out when rates were 10%+ !!! I also noticed that 95% mortgages are back....given that we've all use to living off cheap mortgages for the last few years there's no telling how a jump in rates are going to squeeze incomes, and than affect house prices...negative equality is not something you want to be stuck with when interest rates go up and prices fall (I've been there and done it!!). Rather perversely (as always) if your loaded and have access to a big deposit you also have access to the best rates and will be least affected by any rate rises, as well as paying less than everyone else (There's about a 2.5-3% difference between rates for people with a 40% deposit compared to people with a 5% deposit)....As they say the rich just get richer!!

How about buying a 911 and than sticking a BMW badge over the Porsche badge....That way you get the best of both worlds a new/different car, and a BMW badge More seriously though the most expensive bit of any car is depreciation, the quicker you change cars the more you loss. I've worked out my 335i all in (mods/servicing/insurance/road tax/depreciation) has cost me £650/months over the last 3 years, deprecation alone accounts for 45% of that figure!! Over the next 3 years assuming the same rate of depreciation (50% in 3 years) the ownership costs will drop to £300-350/months, purely because the car is worth less now so even though it's still deprecating at the same rate the money 'lost' is less....I can bet if you add up all the money you've spent changing cars it would have worked out much the same if you had bought a M3 in the first place and kept it rather than swapping cars every few months!!! At least that way your spending money on something you enjoy driving rather than spending all your time driving around looking for you next car

BMW do make great cars (mainly the M cars), but I really don't understand why you would buy something like a 320d when a cheaper Ford/Honda diesel will do exactly the same job of getting you from A to B but for much less money.....I tried suggesting that once on a BMW forum, you can guess the reaction .

I have no idea how import charges are worked out. I've been charged £15 for a £35 spoiler which I also had to pay £20 for delivery, so the import charge+postage cost me the same as the actual item. But at the same time £50 import tax for a $800 oil cooler which cost $40 to deliver from the states (YES $40 delivered from the US via USPS/Parcelforce ). It is a long wait though regardless of how you pay for the thing to be sent, I had a water pump that arrived in the UK in 2-3 days but than sat with customs for almost a week, and than spent almost another week sat at the local parcel force delivery office due to them having problems with their payment computer. It seems like to me customs almost just pick random % out of the air ...But the £ is very strong at the moment against the $, I'm very tempted to just order lots of parts over to make the most of it...or just plan a holiday to the states...not sure if the wife will be happy with giving up her luggage allowance for turbo components