marzman

I've been looking into processor specs myself recently as im after a new laptop. Basically the current range of intel's come in 3 levels: Intel i3 - budget Intel i5 - Midrange Intel i7 - Top Spec I think all of these are quad core processors. I know there are other intel chips on the market, but these are old/end of life and are only dual core i think. If i was building a gaming PC i wouldnt get anything less than an i7 processor, and at least 6GB of Ram.

Setup up a nightvision camera and record out your window

I think it was Beb who had this issue (thats his username)... although i dont think it got sorted.

Sure it's not stone chips? I've got a few very small scratches on my nismo spoiler which must be from stones going over the top of the car.

Its like rubber paint that you can peel off when you're done

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I'd complain to your insurance company - you never know - the garage might be trying to pull off some kind of fraud, i.e. bill the insurer for a 452, but give you a cheaper inferior tyre

Gutted, they do look really small. +1 on the rays... plasti-dip them - you can peel it off if you dont like them.

Also the fact that a lot of insurance claims are from people who damage the car while getting into or out of the garage.

Looking forward to seeing those wheels and spacers fitted

Got a wave too.

Is it a drag strip?

Well guys, im so happy right now! I went for the test drive and.... i hated it!!!! They didnt have the 250 Diesel in stock as it had been leant to a lady customer who had retracted the roof on her car, and while it was going down managed to drive it into something and break it So i went out in the 250 petrol with the agreement that i could take out a 250 diesel C-Class just to feel the difference. Straight away i hated it. It sounded dreadful (and this is the petrol model!!), it was really cramped inside, but worst of all there was a horrible squeak from the back of the seat as i had to have it all the way back to fit in, and it rubbed on whatever was behind it constantly. There were also various other rattles throughout the interior. In terms of driving, i was very disappointed. It had the 7-speed auto box and it just couldnt find the right gear most of the time. I'd go to put my foot down and have to wait about 3 seconds before it kicked down. Towards the end of the drive the salesman said 'Oh, we've been in Eco mode' which i can only assume was to blame. I switched it to full manual mode and it was much better in the end. So the verdict when i got back to the show room was that i was disappointed, and the car was far too small for me. So... onto the C250 Diesel AMG Sport Plus that i took out. Instantly i felt more at home... The cabin felt really nice, and the LCD screen for the speedo was mint. Again this was the 7-speed auto with paddle shifts box, so i stuck it straight into manual and it was brilliant. Power delivery was okay... a little hard to predict where the torque curve was as i guess the turbo's took a little while to kick in, but once it was going it was really satisfying. By the end of the drive, i was really hankering after this car, but obviously wouldnt have been making any kind of decision today - however i went back to the dealership and sat with them looking at prices. The AMG C250 was roughly £35k which was the same price as the SLK, however the monthly cost was significantly more one PCP. They wanted £1800 deposit plus 35 monthly payments of £420 which was far far more than i want to be paying. So... moral of the story is... the SLK is gash, but i want the C-Class for my next car - but not on PCP.

That took me a while Congrats (if thats the word) on selling your car.

...and with that, lets have a drool over some pics

My current loan is £310 a month, of which i think about £166 is dead money lost on depreciation. So £144 a month is actually 'buying' you something. When your loan ends, if your car is worth more than zero (which is where you would be after two years of PCP) then your better off. I think what we are actually debating here is almosy unquantifyable (sp) in that what some people view as value for money is different to other. For me, ownership of the car, even at the expense of higher payments and longer term is better than a shorter term, lower payments and driving a brand new car thats never going to be mine and will be getting swapped in x months time. I, personally, could only have a car on finance that I knew was going to be mine at the end. If I couldn't afford a car either to buy it outright, get a straight loan or finance where I owned the car at the end, then I wouldn't get it. Other people would be/are happy with the low repayments and thought of swapping their car every year or so. My mental image of these people (please don't anyone get offended by this ) is sales reps in shiny suits from River Island, who lives on a new build estate, and loves to show off to the neighbours that he can afford a new £40k every other year, when in fact they have a 120% Interest Only mortgage and the cars are on PCP. As Warren Buffet said; "When the tide goes out, you can see who's been swimming naked" Ouch But i like that I can assure you there are no shiny shirts here and i've not been in river island since i was about 18 Lets draw a line under it then that we've got different opinions. I dont place too much stock in actual ownership, and at the end of the day, to get this SLK i would be 'throwing away' £84 a month more than i am currently with my zed - which for a 10 year newer car, i think, is a good deal.

1) I cost my cornflakes every morning with lead filings and 99Ron fuel. 2) I cut the grass by pouring petrol over it and setting fire! 3) I chew on wild rabbits as a snack. 4) I blow my tyres up with my mouth. 5) I shave with a bowie knife. 6) I changed my oil and used my teeth to get the sup plug off! 7) I too changed my oil and drank the waste! 8) I eat my dinner with a pitch fork and machete. 9) My cat has been trained to be the local drug dealer 10) I drive a pick up truck. The manliest vehicle in the known universe 11) I am ians cats best customer 12) When servicing my car I don't use ramps, I hold my car up with my knees 13) I wear barbed wire instead of socks 14) I brush my teeth with a wire brush 15) I drink sand 16) I can do 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. That's twice as fast as my car. 17) I used hair straighteners to smash my teeth out when I got bored cleaning them. 18) when I cook tea I often cut my own finger off as a snack. 19) I ate Ian's cat because it gives short measures 20) I use sandpaper condoms. 21) I do my own electrical work - stripping wires with my teeth - and leave the supply on whilst doing it. 22) When I do push-ups my body stays still and the earth moves up and down 23) I pop into fine haberdasheries and say "Your hats are less than exceptional." 24) I got into a knife fight. The knife lost 25) I'm a lumber jack and I'm ok, I cut down trees and I wear high heels, suspenders and a bra - I wish I'd been a girlie, just like my dear papa...............is this the right thread ? 26) I aspire to turbo/supercharge everything I own, this includes the microwave 27) Even as a kid I could anhialate everyone at a game of conkers......USING MY LEFT NUT 28) When the Olympics found out G4S couldnt provide the security required they asked me if i could do it, but i was too busy drinking beer and nailing strippers.

My current loan is £310 a month, of which i think about £166 is dead money lost on depreciation. Not quite that calculation as that extra cash has to be saved up monthly over that 6-year period, so you wouldnt earn 7% on 28k until year 6, but having that cashflow for other investment was exactly my point as you say...

When was that wheel last removed? Have you got standard nuts?

This is only the case if you want to swap your car regularly and is also only relevant if you have the cash to purchase outright. Lets say you do this; a) Buy a £35k car and keep it six years. Car is now worth £13-£14k. Hire a car at £7k every two years = £21k spent. a) This person still owns a car with no monthly repayment and can access the £15k in the car if needed. This person has bugger all to show for their £21k apart from swanning around in a brand new car that they never owned. Option A and Option B above both result in a £21k spend though over the same period, and i wouldnt have had to have the remainder of my capital tied up in the car (which you're saying i can 'access') going with option B

Yep, im obviously aware that the £250 a month is dead money, in the same way that currently, £166 a month of my car payment is being lost in depreciation each month - on a 10 year old car!!!! This is not aimed at you liam, and im not taking this personally, but i do find it insulting to label anyone who would consider a PCP deal to be trying to buy something they cant afford, or saying they're overreaching etc. Until this last few months I was always of the same opinion, but having given it some thought i no longer feel the same. From a personal point of view i dont have £35k cash waiting in a bank account to be spent, and if i did it would NOT be being spent on a car as you quite rightly said. However that doesnt mean i'm poor and shouldnt consider a £35k car! For me its all about cash flow - lets say i've got £1200 a month of my income *spare* after all my bills have gone out. I could happily go out and get a £35k loan for a new car and afford to pay it, but then i'd have very poor cash flow for a long term. I would rather write off that £250 a month now (which i think with my previous post proved that i would lose more than that in depreciation over 2 years if i bought the car outright) and still have good cash flow to be used for other investment projects, which should eventually earn me more money. However - im raising these points and asking these questions to get some schooling anyway, as any financial advise is always useful. EDIT... i guess what im talking about could be called Opportunity Cost. Tying all my cash in a car to not lose too much money, vs keeping my money free to do other things with and hopefully grow.

Very similar design is a bit cheaper on driftworks http://www.driftworks.com/shop/super-wi ... -wing.html

Good post. So i've just worked out two values... The first - i've worked out how much i've lost in depreciation on cars over the last 7 years. I've only ever had non-new cars (newest was 4 years old, but the average age of my cars is about 7 years old). During this time, i've lost a totoal of £14000 in depreciation, or £2k per year. Comparing the price of the SLK on PCP, a £1500 deposit + 23x £250 = £7250, or £3625 a year - so i'd be losing 80% more than i have done in the past on depreciation. Not good - although i would be driving a brand spanking new car for the first time ever. However - looking on parkers at the previous gen SLK, price new vs 2yrs old for the cheapest model in the range (and therefore lowest depreciation) - they lose £11k over 2 years (not including any interest on finance i'd have to pay!) - which is a damn site more than the £7250 it would cost me to own via PCP. Okay this isnt a totally fair test seeing as the 2011 SLK is at the end of the model iteration, but it's as good a comparison as i've got. (source = http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/prices/us ... arplate=94) So based on the above... financially i'd be better off sticking with old cars as i've always done - obviously. However over a 2 year period, PCP works out cheaper than ownership, as far as i can see, and doesnt leave me with the overhead of trying to to pay a £35k loan.

Doesnt sound too bad