ilogikal1

I'm certain Ricey will give you all sorts of excellent advice, but I've read this thread now so I'm going to add my 2p worth anyway. To get some proper depth to the shine, you'll most likely need to do a full decon - tar remover, fallout remover and clay (Bilt Hamber clay only needs plain water as a lube but there's no harm in adding a small amount of shampoo for extra lubrication - there's no need to use a QD at all and that will just add to your costs). After that, ideally you'll want it machine polished for the best shine and to correct the swirls/RDS, although you could polish it by hand to a fair result. Failing that the other option is a glaze (like Black Hole) to fill rather than correct the swirls. Once you've got a suitable finish, slap on some wax on it (use a decent wax please, for me if nothing else - immediately bin anything with the word "Simoniz" on. Poorboys products are good and reasonably priced, the Natty's wax in particular is excellent). Finally repeat the glaze (if appropriate) & wax steps every few weeks to maintain. OR; what Ricey tells you to do.

Some waxes offer a level of UV protection, however they don't tend to last long on plastic (or glass) headlights, so unless you want to top it up weekly it's not really the best option. You're better off using a coating designed for plastic for longer term protection.

Polishing them up is only half the battle - they'll cloud over again unless you coat them with something UV resistant - but that's a decent effort there.

You wrote a lot of stuff there (again) Gangzoom, but what I actually read were the words "rumour", "theory" and conjecture. I have a theory that would make ICE absolutely free to run with no additional cost after the purchase price and it'll cover a billionty miles between fill ups. Rumour has it that this new tech, which should be released in the near future, will cost £6 all in for the 6800bhp V24 version. I have thus solved every problem of ever. Or something. Also, what's the point in Tesla releasing the old model over here at some point in the future when it's already outdated? And why, if it's such an awesome forray into the future of all things motorised, has it taken four years for it to make it over here anyway?

Really? So the manufacture of electric vehicles, or electricity for that matter, uses absolutely no oil in any way does it? What about getting those EV's from the plants to the showrooms or customers? We do not currently have any such solutions that do not require oil at all, viable (which EV's are a questionable at best) or otherwise.

Can someone explain just one thing to me (for now); what was the relevance of the monthly Sky cost in a discussion about the price of cars?

Or insurance; the price difference of which (for me) would be enough to pay for the "running costs" (by which I assume you only refer to the non-comparable costs such as fuel & services rather than including the comparable costs such as the cheap 15/16" tyres on the Fiesta to the not-so-cheap 20/21" tyres on the much more aggressive Tesla - which will of course wear at exactly the same rate... obviously. ) of a smaller capacity ICE Fiesta for the whole year over the same mileage. And only the Admiral Group will offer premiums lower than 4 digits before the decimal point (I've not even heard of the other companies!) which alone rules out anything with a Tesla badge because I can't get decent insurance anyway. You might almost have convinced me that this was a hugely impressive car all round but yet again you've gone and oversold with selective claims it I'm afraid.

Wait a second: you want DRL reflectors and DRL headlights? Save yourself the bother and just hang a string of fairy lights off the front of your car instead.

Jump into an avoidable fight you'll never win against overwhelming odds and get your ass kicked, lose your battle and your lives whilst wearing just your pants and a cape? FTFY.

You're famous now, Ricey.

Dealer fitted options, it's not unusual to class as modifications - some will, some won't, but it's good practice to get them listed on documents regardless to avoid any confusion at any point. Admiral differ because they can't (or just won't, in my experience) give a yes/no answer to the simple question "do you class dealer fitted optional extras as modifications?".

They list them on the policy (usually for a small premium), granted. They also offer additional "modification cover" which can be pricey... especially as the documents then state that the maximum they will pay out for ALL of those "covered" modifications combined is £500. Seeing as they list dealer options as modifications, that doesn't actually cover anything Nissan offered on the Z except maybe a set of mats and a cargo net.... Also, depending on what day of the week it is, what time of the day it is, who you're speaking to, who you've spoken to previously and what colour socks you're wearing, they may or may not also include factory fitted items as modifications and £500 certainly won't cover a set of RAYS or a GT Pack (back when they were seperate options of course) let alone both. Simply the fact that they can't agree amongst themselves what their own policy is, is enough for me to steer clear. That said, they do offer very cheap quotes (in the first year at the very least), so they will be adequate for some people. If they were just a little (well, a lot) more transparant about their practices I wouldn't have a problem with them... I still wouldn't use them again, but I wouldn't have an issue with them.

Quite a lot, so he just bought a whole 70 instead.

For me (in no particular order) it's things like; The whole renewal premium hike, The auto-enrollment in the auto-renewal (even when you explicitly state during the phone call when taking out the policy that you want to opt out of that "optional" service), Their frankly ludicrous policy regarding "modifications" and the "cover" thereof, The staff that can't tell an exhaust change from a bus (especially irritating when attempting to get a definite answer from them on what they consider a "modification" and therefore the minimum level of cover that they can/will offer), Their policy towards speed awareness courses - not only that they ask if you have attended one, or that they load the premium as if you have an SP30 on your licence but also the complete ignorance towards the fact that some of these courses are optional and not a result of a speeding "offence" but load the premium regardless because "bigger risk", Their mid-policy "customer service" is a big old bag of ****. Their cancellantions team are ******* useless too. It's even the little things like only providing a premium rate number on all of the documents whilst (infuriatingly) stating on the very same paperwork that they "have a freefone number for the benefit of [their] customers"... which they don't list. Anywhere. Ever. Ah but they do have a "contact us" page on their website in place of an email address to send any change of details to them... which they ignore. A lot. Even when they acknowledge reciept of those details. Also, their adverts are ****. Sadly this is a particularly restrained Admiral rant from me too...

Quite possibly. But; I'm a stubborn git at the best of times. Admiral (and it's affiliates) employ a number of "questionable" practices that I personally can't and won't abide - their renewals are just a part of that but as a result, even if they are the cheapest quote, they have never been the best level of cover. I would now much rather (and am able to) pay for decent level of cover rather than just taking the cheapest premium. If they one day decide to review their entire business practice, I may reconsider my anti-Admiral group stance, but until then they're blacklisted. Also, to be quite frank, if they're as bad as they are when I'm paying for the priviledge I dread to think what their service level would be like if I weren't. So, Dan, in light of that; gladly!

I refer to my earlier response; it's no good me saying "Y & Z are exactly what ou need, you can get them for £x" when the person I bought them from has changed their prices since I bought from them. Even less use if I make absolutely without any reference to where that's from! Those quoting 'contact the traders' aren't stating that, that is the only way obtain the information asked for, merely just one source of that information (especially on prices, as no one but the trader can state the price they sell anything for with any certainty). There's nothing stopping you, for example, offering your own opinion alongside those saying contact the traders. Other than you chosing not to do that, of course...

Yes, I absolutely agree with that - the regulation about what comapnies are allowed to "assume" for the renewal needs to better defined and/or applied. Stick todecent companies that do their best to get a reasonable quote (even though you can always get it down further) straight off the bat, they're the ones that tend to get my business. Admiral had offered me a decent quote for my first year and then tried to double it for the second, when I phoned up to cancel the renewal having got a much better quote from Chris Knott I was offered the whole "we'll see if we get that quoote down for you sir" song and dance; I told them outright that if they can't be bothered to do that first time then I can't be bothered to give them a second chance at it. I now won't go back to Admiral, or any of it's affiliates, even if they offered me free insurance for the year.

At least two of those things that the OP asked for can be obtained from the aforementioned traders. Granted these replies aren't offering a direct answer to query posed but they are offering a suggestion of where to gather that information from. I fail to see your issue here. Incidentally, this place is only still here (in its current free-to-use form) because those traders fund it.

Along with your mobile, house and work numbers, they also have a very clear line in their policy documents which sets out and indeed authorises auto-renewal unless otherwise instructed. As questionable as many of Admiral's practices are, this one is entirely on you for not reading your documents I'm afraid. If your renewal was within the last 14 days, you can still cancel without any penalty though.

Everyone does it (well, plenty of people do, at least) to reduce their own premiums. Suddenly the shadier insurance companies (yes, I'm looking at you Admiral group!) determine that old(er) named drivers are a higher risk, thus load premiums accordingly. Or; **Shady insurance companies in a "reviewed the same data but came to a different conclusion to suit their own agenda" shocker**.

Told you, you'd like it...

Yes and yes. There's plenty on threads on this if you want more details.

Spotted yesterday evening on Snakes Lane West sporting a... *ahem* 'flash' private plate. The brother-in-law said, "that looks like a shiny version of your car". I'm pushing my sister to get a divorce as a result.

What did you use when you washed the car? Bug splatter usually softens up a considerable amount when it's soaked, so try a decent prewash with a good dwell time if you haven't already, and then rinse thoroughly with a pressure washer and see how you get on. I suggest either a decent snow foam (Bilt Hamber or Car Chem) or a decent citrus prewash (Auto Finesse Citrus Power). Allow as close to 5 minutes to dwell as you can (you might need to reapply to keep it from drying out in the current heat) and they should just lift off with the pressure washer with enough encouragement. Using SRP won't do anything to help here, it's got no cut so it's like waxing over the splatter.

Why, what ailed it?