Animal

Agree with what Martin said. Start cc'ing Nissan in on all correspondence and make up a paper file for your records. That way, any time you need to speak to the dealer you will have an accurate record. Plus, should you ever need to meet with the dealer you can take your file with you. With regard to not replacing the gearbox in the first instance, pretty much every dealer I've ever dealt with starts with the smallest cheapest fix before committing more time and money to a problem. I'd suggest that you read up on the Sale of Goods Act, you certainly do have a contract with the dealer, namely that in cosideration of £xx they agreed to supply you with a car. Implicit in that is that the goods they sold you were fit for purpose and free from defects as far as was reasonable to determine. Furthermore, thanks to SOGA and your warranty, the dealer has a duty to you to the effect that you have a reasonable period of discovery within which to alert the vendor to any problems encountered. You also have to give the vendor a chance to repair the car. Did you buy the car on finance? If so, get the finance company involved. They have a responsibility to you; the car pretty much belongs to them until you've repaid them in full. HTH, Alex

The metal arm is so that the tester puts the meter in the right place, isn't it? When the end of the arm is touching the inside of the exhaust tip then the meter is 0.5m away and should be at a 45-deg. angle?

I can really respect the effort and care that went into that, but what in ****'s name would possess you to start with a Peugeot 206? A perfectly good little shopping trolley that's now worth less than it was to start with, costs more to insure, but is slower, can't go over speed humps or be parked near a kerb.

I can sympathise totally. I've had my car for 4 months, and it's about to go back to the dealers for the 4th time. It's always minor problems, but there seem to be a lot of them: clicking rear axle, boot lid not opening properly (it's going back again for this), airbag warning light blinking, washers not working, rattling cats/heatshield (soon to be cured with some Berk HFCs!), squeaky suspension, etc, etc. The dealers have, in all fairness, resolved everything I've asked them to do, but it's taken more than a little effort (and quite a lot of volume!) on my part. I'm glad they have those large reserves of patience for dealing with stroppy hypochondriac owners like me! Hope your issues are resolved soon, Alex

No, the parents.

Happy birthday young man!

I cannot comment directly, but the trader in question seems to have a universally bad reputation. They have been mentioned on Pistonheads a few times, and have never been described favourably, sorry.

Gives me wood.

No, inadmissable unless all parties are aware that the conversation is being recorded.

'Nudge him!'

You can watch Bigger Stronger Faster on YouTube...

If she's admitted liability (and admits to driving like an Indian taxi driver) then isn't she committing fraud by not reporting the accident to her insurers? Can your insurers not notify hers? Policy wordings should contain a clause to the effect that it is a condition precedent to liability that all material facts must be disclosed to insurers as soon as reasonably possible. Maybe suggest this to her and say that you're going to speak to your insurers again who will be in touch with her insurance company? Alternatively, tell her you'll see her in court. How is your Dad? Any aches and pains? As far as the excess and renewal are concerned, obviously if your Dad's insurers decide that he has some liability then they'll want the excess, but otherwise they should be recovering every penny from the other party's insurers. Renewal terms have to be quoted on the basis of the information as it is on that day, so I can understand the insurers bumping up the premium, but are they willing to consider a return premium if the claim is settled in your Dad's favour?

OP - Some things to remember: 1) Don't get angry with the people you speak to at your insurance co. If they sympathise with you, they'll work harder to help you than if you shout. 2) The rules regarding what these call centre bods can and can't do are very strict. With all due respect to them they are not employed for their ability to make financial decisions on behalf of their employers. Those decisions go up the chain based on the information provided by the person taking the call. Make sure you're very precise when you speak to them and get everything in writing. (Do they record the calls? Can you get a copy of the recording?) 3) Just because the insurance co says they've decided on one course of action it doesn't mean they can't be persuaded to change if you can present new evidence or if you can re-present the same evidence in a different light. 4) You can find this girl's address on the internet and we can organise a 5am meet outside her front door. Am I right in thinking that the girl that hit your Dad has: a) admitted liability admitted to driving on the pavement (what was her justification for this?) c) admitted to driving too fast to stop in time and hit your Dad d) has now rescinded her admission Are the police not interested in charging her with driving without due care & attention?!

Won't be next week, Sarah and I are waiting on Berk to send us some HFCs! He does sound like just the man for the job though...

If you do gain some size on your upper body only you're going to look silly every time you wear shorts (even if that's only one day a year!). Besides, exercises like the squat and deadlift have such a systemic impact on the whole body that they can't be ignored! No two people are the same, but a general rule of thumb would be to try a rep range of 6-10 reps per set. Best exercises if you're looking to grow? Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Dips, Pullups, Turkish Get-ups and Clean & Jerk. No need to do any separate arm exercises at an early stage. 4 sets of 6-10 reps done twice a week, splitting those exercises into two groups (training Monday/Tuesday and repeating Thursday/Friday) will work wonders if combined with enough food and rest. You may find that even that is too much volume. PS - love the seagull comment!

I normally supplement my diet with food and water. Works for me. Occasionally I have a whey protein shake because they taste nice, and throw in a multivitamin and calcium/magnesium/zinc tablets but that's it! I think it's fantastic that there are people out there (well, in our gyms) who believe that taking this supplement or that supplement will make them as big as X, but then sit there gassing instead of training! I'm grateful for those people. They make me feel good about myself. EXCEPT WHEN THEY'RE LOUNGING ABOUT ON THE EQUIPMENT I WANT TO USE!

No kidding! My car's been back to the dealers three times in as many months for silly niggles. The service guy I've been dealing with has been very good, but as an institution I wouldn't even buy an air freshener from them. Fortunately, Japex are about 10mins drive from my house. Alternatively, I could drive down to Abbey and have them remap the car at the same time...

I've been training for nearly half my lifetime! My goals have changed over the years, and at present my main target is to drop my bodyfat down to c.10% whilst increasing my aerobic fitness/work capacity. As such, I'm trying to train quickly and incorporate a lot of circuits and bodyweight exercises into my training. I find it quite hard to train this way in my local gym; the rest of the members seem to be split between those who potter around trying to look cool by wearing gloves and those who train hard but concentrate either on weights or cardio. For an example of my ideal try either of these two: www.rosstraining.com www.themillgym.com

Hi all, Apologies if this is in the wrong section, but what sort of ballpark figure could I expect to have a pair of HFCs and a y-pipe fitted? How long should this take? Thanks in advance, Alex

IINM, the part number for UK cars is 32009-AN002. The corresponding part for US cars is 32009/BN001 and will not fit UK cars without modification. I had a very quick response from someone at HKS Europe who was planning to put the same exhaust on his (presumably UK) car. Call/email them to confirm - if you don't have any luck then PM me and I'll pass on contact details. Best, Alex

Really? This is for a HKS HiPower True Dual? I emailed HKS Europe a few weeks ago and was advised that there is a version for US/JDM cars which is not suitable for UK cars, but also a UK version which required no modification, other than severe wallet replenishment!

Sounds like a thin/hollow piece of metal rattling - I was thinking maybe a loose heatshield?

Every time I pull away (unless I use a bootful of revs and ride the clutch) I'm getting a rattle from somewhere in the oily bits (I can't hear quite where). This only lasts for a second or two until the car is moving. Any ideas?

Mine was the sunset GT. Was there a weird-looking man scowling through the windscreen? If so, it was definitely me!

You didn't spot a '54 plate sunset GT (me) did you?!