kerbside*motors

Legally Nissan can decline warranty repairs if they can link the need for the repair to spurious parts being fitted. As I said in a previous discussion the dealer can revoke any goodwill towards repairs just outwith the warranty period too. But to be perfectly honest, what is wrong with just using a Nissan filter? While I have no reason to doubt your mechanics spannerwork, surely if he just used a Nissan filter it would be exactly the same as if a Nissan dealer had carried out the service? Is the Nissan filter really so much more expensive than the filter he was going to use? I would worry more about the reason the spurious filter is so much cheaper than the original filter!

I looked into selling these but they are just thin sheets of vinyl. They looked to flimsy, I wouldn't fancy their chances in the local auto car wash! The rules according to the MOT Manual are as follows... 1.Lights should show the colour they are supposed to. (Well they would as this is just film) 2.If the colour of the light is not visible with the light off an undisguised red reflector should be visible within or close to the taillamp. So basically even if you entered Chavdom, you would need to stick a reflector on either side too which would look crap!

I'm nearer but tend to avoid Ayrshire except for Butlins! Ha ha! Seriously though where is your nearest dealer? If it is Arnold Clark in Dumfries you have my sympathy! The service manager, a laydee is known throughout Arnold Clark as a bastard. It is rumoured she has bigger baws than most of the mechanics there!

At the end of the day knowing someone is doing exactly what they say they are to your car is worth more than the difference between main dealer service history and non dealer history. Any time I have had a car within warranty age (not many!) I have done the servicing myself because I know I will do it right. The only advantage to having a warranty is if something big goes wrong which to be fair doesn't really happen that often with Nissan compared to some. I done my apprenticeship with Nissan then left for Mitsubishi when I was time served thinking it would be much the same! Until you have worked on Nissan then left to work on something else you don't realise how reliable they actually are!

The biggest problem with getting independant garages to do your work is if you need major work done outwith warranty the dealer is more likely to get a bit of goodwill for the customer who has a dealer service history than one who has always gone to an independant. The law states that the manufacturer has to honour the warranty agreement providing genuine parts have been used for servicing. If you are taking it to a decent specialist I would expect them to do that anyway. As for affecting the price, there is very little difference between a car with a dealer service history than one with Joe Bloggs autos. Just make sure they use genuine parts and stamp the book!

A guy visits his Doctor, he has a sausage in his nose and chips in his ears. "Doctor! I feel terrible, really run down and queasy." "I know exactly what is wrong with you" said the Doctor "Your not eating properly!"

I think loyalty plays a big part. There used to be loads of British car makers but because of those British traditions ("No-one could be arsed","Its someone elses job","Its not as if our customers will buy anything else" attitudes) our car industry has died! When you visit another country, every police car, Taxi, post office van and bin lorry is locally made (More Hondas were sold in Glasgow last year than in France!) Can you picture the bank robbers laughing when the Rover 214 screeched into view?! The manufactureres made crap cars and people bought cars from elsewhere. TVR are no different, I was working on a TVR Tuscan last week, it was a 2005 . And the build quality was no better than the early 90s ones everyone slags off for their feeble build quality! To obtain access to the engine (to replace a sensor that had failed!) involved removing the small section at the front that the oil cap and radiator cap hide under (2 4mm allen bolts). Then we had to remove the actual bonnet (6 10mm nuts and 4 springy clips) and finally the painted panel that fills the gap between the bonnet and windscreen. The panel has never been removed before yet despite the cars age the paint had discoloured and the panel had begun to craze because when assembled the rocker cover rocks against it! Also there is no provision for water to drain around the windscreen. No big issue on a car made of fibreglass but when you operate the washers if you spray them too long it leaks onto the back of the main fusebox! I would be lying if I said I didn't still want one but I certainly couldn't justify paying £40,000 for one.

I think manufacturers have a flick through the aftermarket brake catalogues and if any model isn't mentioned they use the lottery machine to make up the price! Notable examples (The ones I can remember) are... Mitsubishi L200 £72 Chrysler Neon (All models) £93 and anything with Brembo brake calipers seems to attract even higher prices, at one point Mitsubishi used to charge £230 for brake pads for their Evo 8. Seat used to charge £148 for REAR pads for their shi...unimpressive Turbo R Most 350Z obviously suffer from Brembo brake syndrome too. While I have yet to have the joy of driving the brake pads off a Zed (Ban is up in January! ) what about EBC redstuff? While they are not cheap they are usually cheaper than OE and usually better!

For owners of imports... make sure your Zed has a foglight on the offside at the rear, even if it is left hand drive. 'Cos thats what it says in the MOT book!

We put it on the computer in reception. It is not uncommon to have to snap your fingers in front of customers faces to waken them after they have become engrossed in it!

There are probably quite a few of you who have already seen this but check out... http://feerc.ornl.gov/video/index.shtml for the ultimate petrolhead screensaver!

I have been able to find someone who can supply proper Z badges, the side ones. But they are pretty dear. What would you guys think a reasonable price for them would be? They look absolutely perfect, not cheap rubbish and not flat! I realise it is cheeky to ask and I realise some of you have had it up to here (gestures towards chin) with Z badges but if I don't make the effort to find out what my potential customers want and need then I am not going to have any customers at all! ANY feedback on this matter will be gratefully received (Except for anyone who says I should give them away or sell them for 50p)

Its all true! My badges are the upside down ones! They are quite flat and they are about the size of an old 10p :>( But they do look nice if used tastefully and I did get the picture the right way round this time thanks to this discussion board. I am working on (legitimatly) getting the correct ones but as always I suspect by the time I do there will be someone with cheaper and better ones! Watch this space... (Not literally!)

I drove a 200SX (Am I allowed to say that here?) with a big brake kit from AP on it recently. Was very good. In my experience it is easy to overbrake a car and spoil the balance but if the 350Z kit is as good as the 200SX kit then I would heartily recommend it.

This is a 100% genuine post! For removing stubborn stains/marks from chrome or plastic (I.E. headlamps) use whitening toothpaste. Apply it like polish. I dunno if every make works but aquafresh certainly does! Please take this serious as it genuinely works.

OP! If you get another set, smear them with vaseline. Makes them too slidey to remove with fingulars alone!

Good news... I have Z badges for sale! They are in the U.K. and there is a nice discount for registered users of this board too! Bad news...They are not as big as the original bages and they are not Chav proof. See mine at www.kerbsidemotors.com (Shameless plug!)

Got the picture the right way round this time!

Anyone who paints flames on a Porsche, trashes a Suzuki Carry van and drives a fire extinguisher powered wheelchair (Brainiac) is a friend of mine. Best wishes to Hamster! I am sure given the choice he would have preferred to be injured trying to break a speed record than sliding at a diesel pump or crashing a people carrier!

Ha ha! Thanks for the welcome! Will be offering discounts for those of you who are registered here as soon as I get some new stock in (Not just badges!). Might even get the pictures the right way round this time!

HEY GUYS! Give us a break! I was only trying to suggest the badge looked good even when the wrong way round! Ha ha!