marzman

Very nice pal, i keep seeing a green one of these on my way to work - they look and sound awesome! Good choice. 👍

Panel gaps are fine, build quality is surprisingly good! Not the horror stories i've read about, so far at least. I've got a spreadsheet with all of my cars, and their bought and sold prices. Excl the Tesla which is the (pseudo) first company car i've ever had, i've had 22 cars since i passed my test in 2004, including 7x BMW 3-series, 3x Range Rover Sports, 2x 350z's, 2x Ford Mustangs, 1x 911 and 1x G Wagen! Total purchase price £242,750 and total sales price of £202,550 (including the current forecast sales values of the other cars i still own if i were to sell them - an RRS and Emira). Total loss of only £40,200 in 20 years. I'm pleased with that!

I got a new car yesterday. Tesla Model Y. Don't hate me. I got it on a salary sacrifice scheme through work on an insanely good deal - it would have been foolish not to get one. Unfortunately means i'll have to get rid of my Range Rover Sport which i love, but that's a 2014 model so is 10 years old now, so the time's right to let it go. First drive of it today - it's impressive - very quick 40-100mph. Love the modern tech - no key, no need to lock/unlock, no on/off switch - just put it in park and walk away. Only down side is i look like a soccer mom in it, so might have to get some stick on mods. Also considering a nato green wrap (gloss) which could look good. I've still got the Lotus though, so im not a total sell out..

No idea if they work but how about something like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultrasonic-Repeller-Deterrent-Repellent-Waterproof/dp/B0DBYYYX4V/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.waHC9sXXlPpYKKk1nXsjKDMlFvpK3jcOyc62jPr1hXMP7EgwNshiU-srGqDFsF1cpWIrOjgHRYYyoxnzoUfnxxpEZLPWye29MKU77LNZ3jlO9VnjBjmLL5YcEl85ULq7dTuTQEZjv-3xeG0Kk8ykydFA9lyB_h0OiEddscLE3vye90_Gc5Qt9UvniTSyq6AusKZCQQNwqcNUIhjAcyDik02qAZGL0UpUTamzvk0kBGO5g0juZGYFH7KHSLixtXDdiO92rxVZ-wAX2MI4tGV9xa0i54ibS8itK4CI0sy1JCE.MXERI5ogaHavIUeg7an4ur-0PlBMhATH5-Yq3tPgbxo&dib_tag=se&keywords=cat+repellent+ultrasonic&qid=1724966862&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

I remember reading this thread during lockdown Andy - it probably planted the idea in my mind that it is possible to get good results. Order placed with Clean & Shiny: Bilt Hamber Touchless (5L) Bilt Hamber Touch On (10x sachets) Bilt Hamber Surfex HD (5L) Gyeon Wet Coat (1L) Gyeon Ceramic Detailer (400ml) *free gift And a hosepipe inline water filter from Amazon. Total cost was £99. I shall report back with pics on success! Thanks for all the advice guys.

Okay, so you think ditch the Touch On, get an additional shampoo, and go for Gyeon Wet Coat instead? Shall i just go for the regular Bilt Hamber shampoo?

Good question - its to save my back! I had surgery on my back 15 years ago following a sports injury. I suffered with it through my late 20's and early 30's, but for the last 7 or so years i've had almost no problems (i'm now 40), and it's no coincidence that i've been using the local car wash instead of cleaning myself. Using the local car wash made a mess of my blue Mustang i had a few years ago, so i wont be taking my Lotus to them - i'll do it myself. So I've done a full contact wash now a couple of times and on the second one (about a month ago) my back went and i slipped a disc for the first time in years. It's taken a full month to recover. Meanwhile my car has been dirty, which i dont want 🤣 I will do a touch wash occasionally, but ideally only once every 5 or 6 washes, in theory.

Thanks guys, really useful. Snow foaming a dry car makes complete sense - will do that from now on. Diluting products and PIR... i've always just yeeted as much product into my foam lance as possible. 😂 Clean And Shiny has the Bilt Hamber Touch System - 5l of Touchless snow foam, and 10x sachets of Touch On - a paint protection and shampoo product. I watched some videos and this can be applied with a foam lance and rinsed off. It sounds like with this combo, i won't need any additional shampoo, and also wont need the Gyeon Wet Coat as the Touch On does the same job? https://www.cleanandshiny.co.uk/products/bilt-hamber-touch-system?_pos=1&_sid=90c9935a4&_ss=r I'll also pick up some Surfex HD for some extra degreasing action. Does this all sound good?

Hi guys, I'm being super lazy and bit cheeky - i'm looking for some pointers on the products and process required to be able to do a touchless wash, I tried researching but there's so much information available. 😅 I've got a Nilfisk pressure washer and an aftermarket foam lance which works really well. Currently I'm just using a generic snow foam and some super cheap shampoo with wax from Costco (https://www.costco.co.uk/Tyres-Automotive/Car-Maintenance/Car-Cleaning/Simoniz-Car-Shampoo-with-Carnbuba-Wax-5-Litre/p/179949) My current process is: Pressure wash to remove big bits of dirt Snow foam Shampoo (also with foam lance) Rinse The wax in the shampoo at least stops water spots, and gives a little beading, but my real issue is that there's still dirt visible on the car that would typically be removed by agitating. Will a stronger shampoo or other products help here? Or do i need to spray some bug and tar remover on the car too before snow foaming etc? To finish is there anything recommended that means i dont have to dry? I used to use Gyeon Wet Coat about 6-7 years ago which seemed pretty good but is there anything better nowadays? Ideally i'd have the car ceramic coated, but i've found a paint defect in my passenger door which i've contacted Lotus about, and they've said they'll replace my door under warranty so no point in getting it coated until after this is resolved, which will be a few months yet. Thanks in advance!

Yeah parking is free. I've just got back, i was down for Friday, which imho is the best day as it's much quieter, you can actually get up close and see things. Saturday is okay but Sunday is way too busy for me.

Welcome to the forum... at least you live in an ideal place if you're getting an import! Who are you importing via? A reputable company? I've never imported a car myself, but the two zeds i owned were imports. From memory you'll have to get an SVA completed before it can be registered with the DVLA, and as part of this SVA there are a couple of mods required... 1. You'll need to get a rear fog light fitted. The 'standard' way to do this is to remove the drivers side tail light and hack in a generic fog light unit from Halfords or similar, and wire it to a new switch that needs to be installed in the dash... sounds a mess but is simple. 2. The headlights will be HID bulbs but the JDM cars dont have headlight washers, which is a pre-req to pass an SVA in the UK. Again the 'standard' way to overcome this is to bypass the HID ballasts under the headlights, and add wiring in for standard halogen bulbs instead. This can be reversed after SVA though and reinstate your HID bulbs. Lastly, whilst i dont think this was an SVA pre-req, it used to be the norm to convert the clocks to MPH by installing an HKS Speed Limit Defencer, and also opening the clocks up and putting a tiny square of electrical tape over the 'K' on the display so that it displays 'M/H' rather than 'KM/H'. The HKS unit will also bypass the 112mph speed limit on the JDM cars. Maintenance-wise... just take a look at it when it lands and decide what needs doing and in what order. If the rubbers are fine, leave them. If the underside is in good shape, leave it, etc etc. I cant remember service intervals but i think they were 12k miles from memory. When's it due to land?

This won't be to everyone's tastes, but i did my first mod yesterday - a private plate. I've had this on retention for a couple of years, but never had a car new enough to put it on. Tbh i'm not sure I like it - I think it makes me look a bit of a bell end. 😭 I'll will run it for a couple of months and see how I feel. My name is Chris, btw. 😐

Thanks everyone... some good info here. I should have clarified my objectives - i'm not trying to protect against stone chips here - i just want the car to look as good as possible, and to reduce the frequency of, and effort required when washing. Sounds like ceramic is 100% the way to go...

Yeah i've been considering ceramic coating but i dont know enough about it... i pinged my local detailer a message to see if he does it, and he says he doesn't, but also tried to talk me out of it saying there are better things on the market nowadays, such as graphene, or alternative hard coats that are much cheaper and don't require the ongoing maintenance? I need to do some research, but if anyone has any advice please share!!