Chesterfield

I gather you did buy the parking permit that morning? Not knowing anything about how the permits in London work, I would assume the permit covers you for the day you buy it? If so, and you can prove you bought the ticket before 8.45 then I would think you have a good case for getting it back free of charge. Tracys brother once had his car towed, and the pound never reported it to the police and never sent him any letter etc to say what had happened - they also forgot to record it coming in at the pound. It was two weeks before someone at the pound owned up to finding it, his insurance had already begun processing the claim for the car being stolen. I think given the circumstances, you could make a case to show that you arent just using the "I was going to buy a permit, honest gov" and you actually were buying a pass.

Great to see you back Mike - hope you continue to make speedy progress, and take it easy.

Practical if you ned a 4x4 off road vehicle for the general round town driving. I dont see them as mid life crisis cars though Does that mean Im having my mid life crisis early?

Well it is fairly central in the UK, but the nightlife in our town centre does leave a little to be desired. Its very much cattle market meets Jerry Springer. Im sure a group of us could form our own entertainment though.

Sounds like a good idea! There was a curry and drinks night held in Manchester that went down well - Im sure a few festive drinks would be fun, what area?

Yep that would indeed be a good price, but I doubt very much that UK pricing will be near that when its announced.

post locked, its not really fair having a pop at someone, even if any posts arent meant to be perceived as such. Especially if that person is unlikely to respond. I changed the thread title from Valerie to Val, as I felt it was only fair. There are a few people that know all the details of events leading up to Vals decision to leave. Val himself posted up a "Goodbye and all that Jazz" thread detailing some of the reasons behind his decision to leave. A further official announcement from the team may be made shortly, hopefully this will be an end to the discussion/rumours and we can, as Kev rightly points out, get back to enjoying the Z related discussions and other chat.

1. xStric9x 2. Chesterfield +1 3. Zzzz... 4. lomoto 5. Digsy +1 6. beavis 7. AndyC +1 8. Jacko 9. Stuey 10. jonathan73 +1 11. Red or Zed 12. EBIZED +1 13. signwizard? 14. RSJ 15. Littlemiss +1

There is also a wheel cleaner I bought years ago, I think its called MC2 also known as viro-sol, its made from non acidic degreasing liquids etc. I think its used on boat decks and hulls. Available here: http://www.mustang-cleaningsupplies.co. ... EASER+5LTR and here: http://www.olympiccleaning.com/ Its also about the best wheel cleaner bar none that I have used. Dilute 1:10 with water, spray fine mist onto wheels covered in brake dust, leave five minutes and rinse off. use it neat on hard spots and its perfect, also works under engine bays too.

Have you tried claybar? I wouldn't go near an alloy with sandpaper, as you are likely to damage the lacquer, which could lead to corrosion, which will lead to much upset. [/yoda]

Very dangerous game to be playing I would have thought, on both the brokers/advisors part and the banks part. Unless of course the mortgage/loan brokers industry works in very much the same way as the energy brokerage industry did many years ago. The commissions used to be paid upon acceptance/receipt of an agreement, and not upon the date of the contact going live, or upon payment of supply invoices by the consumer etc. This resulted in several less than honest agents sending in agreements to suppliers with overly inflated consumption figures (which would only be discovered maybe 12 months later), and doing a runner with commissions before the over inflated figures were discovered, and without any specific terms for clawbacks of commission, then there was rarely any comeback on the agents anyway. After that very interesting period back in the late 90's, the energy suppliers quite rightly changed the way commission payments are made (well most of them did) which resulted in the positive chage that there were non, or very few of these "smash and grab" advisors operating. I would have thought that the banking industry would have measures in place to pay brokerage fees on an ongoing basis, or t the very least a percentage up front and a percentage over the early period of the loan. Therefor ensuring the commissions are only paid on viable agreements. Reading between the lines of that article, it would suggest that commissions are being paid upfront with little or no comeback if the client cannot keep up repayments. If that is the case, then it is likely to breed a culture of here today gone tomorrow advisors, which could damage the perception of advisors by the consumers. Which would be difficult for those looking for a long term future in that sector.

Stickers wouldnt be too hard to acheive...

Would it surprise anyone if it were true though? I wouldn't be shocked. People will shortly be scared of stepping foot outside their own front door for fear of some minute action being pounced upon by the PC brigade. I fear for my father in law, he has a knackered knee and I swear it wont be long before someone reports him for goose stepping.

Just had a look at this after our discussion the other day Paul - certainly seems like a very good finish (shame the gallery is mostly guns that hae had the finishes applied). The application certainly seems to retain the fine detail of the coated object, whereas new mouldings made from different materials lose the deail of various items. As it would involve the coating of own items, then as we spoke about, the cost would have to come down to reasonable levels, or people may as well just buy carbon bits. Though if anyone were wanting a different finish, marble, wood etc, then the process may be cheaper than the real thing. Will be interested in seeing what the costs are of having this done in the UK. The yellow and black carbon would be of particular interest.

Ill try not to spill my pint down my top again and look a plank for the evening. A northener spilling a pint - what is the world coming to.

We are sorting out the route and the organisation of the drive - last time with 30 cars was tricky, so a little more planning for the drive this time is required to ensure we stay together as much as possible and dont have several Z's heading off in the wrong direction. More info asap.

If he did that to my car, his bollox would be unemployed.

If it makes you feel any better - most usually take their +1's for a day shopping before the meet on the Saturday, and we all have lunch on the Sunday too - its not just all blokes on the Wales run!

Lets say I were one of Alonsos mechanics, knowing that I now have no chance of getting up on the podium spraying one another with champagne, after winning the constructors championship. I then get to see someone paid £10m a year, ruin all my hard work in the garage over the past season. Would I be putting as much effort into making sure that the engine was running just right, or would it be "close enough" and I get off for my tea break early?

Is it the section that fits between the front and rear sections of the boot, across the cover for the brace? If so its the toneau cover, like this one: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Genuine-Nissan-35 ... dZViewItem or is it the bit that fits to the boot lid preventing sight into the boot through the rear window?

Paul - Ill be in mine tomorrow at work, so you can have a look at one in the flesh if you need to. It appears that the cradle is not fitted to yours. I would assume the wiring to the various parts (microphone, steering wheel controls etc) is the same, but the last section which is fitted within the car is not present. There will be a part that covers it, and we may be able to track it down on a workshop cd.

Latest list: 1. xStric9x 2. Chesterfield +1 3. Zzzz... 4. lomoto 5. Digsy +1 6. beavis 7. AndyC +1 8. Jacko 9. Stuey 10. jonathan73 +1 11. Red or Zed 12. EBIZED +1

Its an Injen dual system Just need to make sure there is a tube of autosol nearby in the summer to keep them polished!

Here are some!

Pah - it could have been worse - could have been where the Peugeot was and not had the benefit of another car being the buffer between myself and the recovery truck. I knew I needed a kick up the arse to get the bodykit fitted thats been lying around for a couple of months or so, but I wasnt expecting it litterally!