Sylvester

The Mrs has a baby and access to our joint account - what more could she want ?

Good news mate - congrats.

Still on the cards but me and the Mrs have been sick for most of the last 6 weeks so life has been on hold. And every day I can keep the Zed I will... gives me more time to talk up the budget for the replacement....

Not a flake in Pompey Had my normal blast of fun on the way to work in the Zed.... Unlucky guys!!

If it is a reputable tyre fitter they will want to see proof of purchase before they fit them ( to avoid fitting nicked tyres ).

Do the revs increase ? If you had clutch slip the revs would go up but you would not accelerate as quickly as usual. Expect you might also get a nice smell in the cabin.

Don't have it with me at work but in the back of EVO mag there are lap times for a whole load of cars - I know the Zed is in there for sure and I think the R32 is - anyone got access to one ? If not I will check when I get home tonight. Diesel winning may be down to good driver vs crap driver and/or the characteristics of the particular track but does make you think.....

From Yahoo news.... Shocking footage of the crash that almost killed Richard Hammond looks set to be shown on TV. The Top Gear star was close to death following the 300mph jet-powered dragster crash in September. The father-of-two's vehicle veered off the track at Elvington airfield, near York, during a land speed record attempt being filmed for BBC series Top Gear. Co-presenter Jeremy Clarkson said "half the world" wanted to see the crash so he was sure it would be included in the first show of the new series of Top Gear on January 28. "We're looking into whether we've enough footage of a good quality to show it," he said. Hammond himself - who has no memory of the crash - is said to be happy for the scenes to be broadcast. He was treated for a brain injury at Leeds General Infirmary which reduced him to a "child-like state" in which he became obsessed with Lego. He suffered short-term memory loss, became disorientated and also endured "excruciating" pain, for which he was prescribed morphine. Clarkson added: "Richard has no idea what happened to him so he'll be as keen as everyone else to see it." A BBC spokesman said a final decision on the footage was yet to be made. Not sure I could convince myself not to watch it!

Think the golf and focus look fine as 5 doors... M3 agreed I have been far to rude to friends with Volvos in the past to go down that route and its too big. Never heard too many good things about Saabs. Mondeo is a possibility but if the focus is big enough then don't need the extra space for the sake of it and expect it sheds money even quicker than the focus.

Monaro must be quite a bit bigger than the Zed though ..... Zed is the biggest ( widthwise ) that I can fit in the garage. I could manage a couple of extra inches on the length....... but then again who couldn't Yep an M3 is a possibility but (a) image ( to get one for that price it will need to be highish mileage and age and that means high costs... Must admit to having a huge blindspot for Mercs...

Hi guys, thanks for all the ideas - sorry not replied sooner - been a bad couple of weeks with illness for me, the wife, the baby and then father-in-law - what a great crimbo/New Year we all had..... Not decided yet... trouble is for the money nothing comes close to the Zed for the performance and looks and sound and fun and relatively low costs and fits in the garage and....yadadada. If I had the money I think I would go for a Golf R32 with some toys but that is near 30K new and not much cheaper 2nd hand and I can't put that much more money in over what I will get for the Zed ( I am assuming something in the region of £18K for a Sept 2004 GT with 12K miles and details in sig - what do you reckon ? ). Latest thoughts were Focus ST3... but depreciation is grim. So maybe a Golf GTi, but that's just, well, boring really... I still get a buzz whenever I drive the Zed - even to the shops - and I hate the thought of just having a 'car'... Oh well - thankfully not in a hurry to change... Maybe I could get away with just 2 doors and 4 seats if the access to the rear was good ...hmmm now what avenues dues that open..........

They won't know unless you really need the insurance - ie you have a serious accident as 10s of thousands of people do every year in the UK. Do you really want to risk driving round uninsured and risking everything you have just for a bit of extra noise or show or the money to pay for the insurance cover ? Hit someone and cripple them and not be insured and say goodbye to that nice car, nice house, kids university fund etc etc when they sue you for every penny you have now and will earn in the future.... Advising people to break the law is not what this forum is for surely....

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I've got about 4,500 where I work and I think I am still the only Zed on a regular basis... ( although I don't walk round the car park every day checking.... ). All those in one place is amazing... sure it was not a mini meet you had not heard of ?

Voted No but have to admit I do convert for a few seconds whenever I think I might be about to hit something on the road ( rarely ) or at certain times in the bedroom.... ( even rarer! )

Did not mean to offend Bluelady... There was a 1930s film 'The Gorgeous Hussy'with Joan Crawford... maybe you fit that bill ?

Now that wouldn't be short for HUZZY would it ?

Sorry... I'm a traditionalist at heart...

Yep, Optimax or another 98RON plus fuel ( think some guys use Tesco superduper stuff ? ) Oh and in my first post I did say NEARER £80!

OMG mate... go and buy a lottery ticket - you are due a shed load of luck after that lot!! Don't blame me if you have an accident on the way to the shops though

Depends on the current price for Optimax of course....

nearer £80!

Yes you can get 4 standard size tyres in a Zed - just ( and those of you who keep your cars concours condition might not want to risk it as you need to be careful not to mark the inside of the car) IIRC the configuration I did was.... One rear tyre horizontally in the boot, one front tyre vertically in the gap between the seats and the cross brace ( removing the passenger headrest and then moving it forward as far as possible ) and 2 vertically on the passenger ( obviously... ) front seat ( so you can see the passenger window through the hole in the middle when looking from the drivers seat). You can hold these last 2 in place a bit with the seat belt but they are a bit moveable still. Visibility is severely restricted so be very careful.

Hmmmm.... and 4 doors too..... very family friendly... wonder how many airbags.... If only it was not black..... And butt ugly........ And £30k.... Sigh....

had the same on mine - was indeed a glue residue and came off after 10 or 15 mins careful rubbing and cleaning....