HEADPHONES

Sounds like you had a great time. Hope you manage to find a good deal on a y pipe but it seems like you have "McGuyver" type skills with your repair so at least it's not urgent!

Good zed hunting

Welcome to the OC. 21 and driving a zed.......LIFE IS GOOD

You think that's bad. A few weeks ago the wife managed to reverse our KIA Sportage out of the drive via the garden wall She said she reversed and stopped near the wall put it into 1st and it "slipped out of 1st INTO reverse " I had the driveway entrance widened to nearly 2 and1/2 car widths years ago so that we could reverse out easier in one manoeuvre too! I've no idea how she managed it. 1. You have to lift a switch on the gear knob before engaging reverse is possible 2. On engaging reverse it gives a warning beep. And best of all 3. ITS GOT BLEEDING PARKING SENSORS! Heard of slipping out of gear into neutral but never back into 1st Anyway, not even a year old and a cracked bumper, balloon sized dent in tailgate and scratched rear quarter panel

I used to have 4hr detailing sessions every month but don't have so much free time anymore so only get the works (fallout remover, clay, paint cleanse, sealant/wax) twice a year. In the winter I'll wash the car in under half an hour and don't even dry it. But the thorough detail every 6 months means a weekly wash is very quick with top up products like wax it wet and demon shine being cheap and fast. If I had time I would still wax every month just for the pleasure and that super slick feel of the paint regardless of any value it may or may not add to the zed

Had a friend work in Abu dhabi as a teacher. Got offered a 1 yr contract but had to stay for 2 in order to qualify for tax exemption on his return due to a school year being less than "a tax year" He saved a load of cash as flights were free including holiday flights back to Blighty. No rent or bills (all included) just spent on food. He even said that in the "westerners" compound he soon got invited to numerous events laid on by the British embassy etc.......FREE FOOD AND DRINK Came back and paid off all his debts with money left over too. As a single bloke into triathalons etc he spent a lot of time in the gym and so had a lot to occupy/focus on but said he couldn't do more than a few years as the culture was so strict

I might have to get some of this as a "moisturiser" for my hands if it's as good as advertised! Let me explain why...... My paint is pretty swirl free despite being 7 yrs old seeing as it's been pampered from new. BUT, where I open the boot you can see swirls around the tailgate where my thumb and fingers contact the paint to open the boot! Greased Lightning "moisturiser" may be the answer

Looks like a good result there. Do the micro fibre cloths come out clean after a regular wash in the washing machine?

Back in the 90's I used Wonder Wheels and thought it was the nuts. But this was before I even considered waxing or sealing my alloys. Then after discovering wheel sealants I only used regular car shampoo. For the past year or so I only use a hose with a slow flow of water and gentle agitation with a micro fibre cloth once a week. Any stubborn marks that get left after a couple of months are removed easily when I use my all in one "wheel guard" by Chemical Guys which contains mild cleansers. The polished lips on my LMGT-4s look like new and and have never touched a dedicated wheel cleaner ever.....just shampoo and now water. They're 5yrs old now and left on every winter! My daily commute only takes 100 to 200 miles a week though.

I'll be at Lockwood and Greenwood in a couple of weeks getting the wife's car MOTd. Meant to have moved to a new premises recently so will be looking forward to seeing their new gaff.

I think I've caught a glimpse of your zed on Wilmslow road/Rusholme a while back at lunchtime. I'm there most lunchtimes feeding my addiction to chicken shwarma kebabs Only work round the corner so find it too hard to resist I'm another Lockwood and Greenwood user

Your long hard search has reaped it's rewards. Welcome to the club....AS AN OWNER! I will leave advice on upgrades to my more learned brethren of which there are many and hope to see you around Manchester's highways and byways

I watched this too. Nothing new here. Women have been exploiting men's WEAKNESS since forever. It's just the extremes shown on the program that were interesting. The most "extreme" revelation was how stupid these girls were going on national TV admitting what they do as a "career" I even saw the older blonde girl who rinsed the guy in NY being interviewed on breakfast TV by Lorraine. She had the cheek to say at no time did the guys think that there was any chance of physical relations!

Great to hear we have another Manchester member. Welcome aboard. I'll look out for you on my daily travels around Manchester in my sunset zed

Crossed paths and exchanged a friendly nod with a fellow sun setter this morning on the way to work. What a nice way to start the day

As a child I would have the same recurring nightmare. Sitting on a chair holding one end of a HUGE elastic band. Dad holding the other end and walking further and further away telling me not to let go. Little me sitting tight just waiting for it to snap!

Looks like you had a successful visit. For a split second, viewing the pics on the small screen of my phone I thought I saw a MONSTER SIZED wheel, gloss black with a blue dish. Zooming in.......ahhh......cooling fan

Got in the zed, started engine and fired her up. Loud buzzing noise started coming from around gear lever. Sounded similar to rewinding a cassette. I panicked, switched off engine, but still buzzing After looking around to see where sound was originating...... I'D LEFT MY LECKY SHAVER IN MY POCKET AND MUST HAVE ACTIVATED THE SWITCH ACCIDENTLY WHEN INSERTING SEAT BELT

Sounds like you are soooooo close to finding your dream zed. No way of ensuring a 313 zed has consumed only super unleaded unless all the previous owners are well known OC members who have cherished their engines with posts on the forum indicating their prefered JUICE. Or even better one careful forum member from new. I suppose you could look to other clues to extended spirited use such as if it's on it's 5th set of tyres and pads since new Must be a nail biting time when the car ticks ALMOST all the right boxes and you feel on the edge of closing the deal. On a positive note I haven't heard of many DEAD ZEDS due to cheap fuel unlike the greater number of zeds afflicted with -clicky axels -busted Bose -iffy tailgate struts etc although much more minor compared to a dead engine, like I said, unless I'm wrong there haven't been that many posted cases since I've been on here in the past 4/5 yrs (i was a lurker for a couple yrs) and i'm sure alot of older zeds have been running mixed fuels since 2002/3 with some going over the 4k rev mark too. Easy for me to say not to worry, but I would probably be just as para in your situation Good luck with whatever happens anyway

My clubbing and going out days ended long ago but I often hear the girls at work mentioning going down to the Deansgate Locks for drinks. A few bars there overlooking......you guessed it ....the locks

When my daughter was nearly 2yrs old I took her in the zed to Sainsburys. (this was a rare occasion. Normally use the other car but she was in a seat with massive side protection with the passenger seat well back ) Car park was heaving but by chance got a parent bay right by the entrance. The big merc 4x4 behind me honked it's horn stopping in front of my car, WAG looking lady wound her window down hurling abuse at me as I got out "don't you know this is a parent and child space you effing selfish so and so.....yada yada". I just answered "I know" ignored her, went round to the passenger side and unloaded my toddler. She looked like she was ready to lynch me but didn't even appologise when I pulled out my daughter for her to see

Was nice meeting you today Jimmy. Hope the drive in my zed helps in the hunt for yours. Seeing as you mentioned you were tempted to respray a prospective zed due to blemishes in the paint....... Check this link for Tim at Envy https://www.envyvaleting.com/paint_correction.asp Often a Zed that has not been owned by a "obsessive detailing nut" will have swirls in the paint making it look hazy especially under bright sunlight or lighting at night. Don't be put off by these as talented detailers such as Envy can bring most of these up like new for a fraction of the price of a respray I reckon as long as the paint hasn't already been corrected (polished by machine) before you'll be amazed by the results. If a paint depth gauge shows it has been done in the past, the laquere/clearcoat may be too thin to withstand another polishing without it starting to peel off

You have PM

Where abouts in Manchester are you based? Could let you play with my box maybe

No matter how good a replica looks, I'd feel a bit of a plum if a genuine car pulled up alongside. Sometimes I think if the kit takes inspiration from an original but still looks totally different it works better. I once saw a pic of an old e30 3 series with a Ferrari Testarossa kit. Looked stunning in it's own right rather than just a wannabe.