nixy

Well after only having driven it 3 times I am excited all over again now! I will have lots of questions to come yet! The only immediate one I can think of at the moment is that the seat belt cuts across my neck and is not adjustable, is there anything I can do about that?

Now I've got over the trauma of being flooded this week I thought I'd take the opportunity to thank Jurgen at JM-Imports for the fantastic job he did in getting my car for me and just to let those who may be interested in importing know how the process went. I decided to go down the importing route because I was very specific about what I wanted in terms of low mileage and the colour of the car and there were simply a lot more cars available in Japan in my price bracket than there were in the UK. I was very cautious when it came to choosing who i wanted to import the car for me. I asked around and a friend of mine who has a supra and uses the supra forum said that there was a lot of good feedback on that site about Jurgen Vallons from JM-Imports. I went onto the site and could find nothing but praise for Jurgen - not a bad word anywhere. I googled him and found the same. Not content with that I took some email addresses off the supra forum of people who had used JM-Imports and I emailed them to find out how they had got on. Again, they all sang Jurgen's praises. Trust me, I tried hard to find some negative feedback but it simply wasn't there! I spoke to Jurgen on the telephone and gave him my budget and told him what I wanted. There was no messing about and all the costs were factored into my budget so that I would be driving the car away without paying a penny more. Jurgen gave me a password onto the auction websites and between us we found a car in mint condition with only 5k miles on the clock and this is the car that we bought. Although it was a lengthy process in terms of waiting Jurgen has answered every email and phone call and dealt with every question I have asked him no matter how trivial it was. He kept me informed every step of the way. I had a superb leather re-trim done at trade price which Jurgen also arranged for me. When I collected the car 2 weeks ago I couldn't have been more thrilled. So basically what I'm saying is, don't be afraid to import your car but just make sure you use someone you can trust - Jurgen is based near Newcastle and therefore if you live in the south you could even fly there and drive your car home! I would definitely do it all again!

Great stuff. Fab colour choice as well!

I have an itrip and the quality is ok but not brilliant - it can be quite hissy.

All is well! Got a phone call today to say that the engine is absolutely fine and running like clockwork. They have taken various bits and pieces out to make sure it's all still dry. They are going to take the seats out and take all the carpet and insulation out etc and dry it all out properly. The carpets are apparently going into the paint oven to dry! They are then going to professionally clean them before they go back inside. Obviously this is going to cost me a bit in terms of time they will take to do it but I don't care - my excess is £350 anyway so I'm not going through the insurance. The garage it is at is one of the top places around here and does work on some serious motors so I trust them and have used them before. I am so relieved I can't tell you! Getting it back this weekend.

Well, they came and took it away on a flatbed last night but because all the garages are inundated with similar problems they haven't checked it over yet. The more I think about it the more I hope it will only be a case of wet carpets. I was going so slowly and the water only came up to the bottom of the doors before I stopped - I took the mats out and they are already dry. Anyway fingers crossed. Our house is fine by the way. Luckily we live up a sloping driveway! Lots of others are not so lucky though! We even had carp swimming up the street! Quite funny in a way. Back out in the Astra today to go shopping as when I got back from France my wonderful husband hadn't done any shopping so we were stranded with no milk or bread and hardly any loo roll! Typical!

PM's sent!

You lot really are a tonic. I'm going to ring my insurance and just ask their advice. I don't want to go through them unless I have to but will have it taken to a garage they recommend to be checked over just in case (I think). I have breakdown cover so that should be ok. I don't have any idea how long it will be before I can get to it though as the river is still raging at the end of the driveway. Is there anyone here I can PM with an insurance question rather than post it up?

at first there was nothing at all, just a click and the dials went blank although they were lit before I tried to start it. Went back a bit later on the back of a truck for my suitcase!!! tried it again and there was a spark of life there momentarily but it hadn't been out of the wet for long.

oh god what does that mean?

well this is the street where I live - my son Harl decided as he had no wellies he would do bermuda shorts! I drove my car into the water and water came in through the floor it seemed or maybe through bottom of doors. All electrics still working - windows etc - just wouldn't start. So far just soaking carpets and mats. I won't be able to tell the damage until I can actually get to it which you can see from the pics may be a little while! I hope to god it's ok.

Oh my god - I know you think I've pranged it, but no! I have got back from a nightmare journey from France. Delayed plane, cancelled train, bus, taxi then bliss - open my friends garage and there is the car all safe and tucked up. Drove home early hours and into our village which unbeknown to me was about 2 - 3 feet under water. I didn't realise until it was too late and the water was rushing in around my ankles. My husband and son came and pushed the car out of the water and onto dry land but it is dead and I have had to abandon it on the outskirts of our village which has now been cordoned off by police. I was taken home in a tractor. I am totally numb with shock! I can't believe I have been so stupid on the third drive of my beautiful new car! I'll update you later when I can. Nic

some very quick pics off my mobile I'll catch up with you all in just over a week when I get back from france. Be good!

I know you've been wondering what's taken me so long! Picked it up yesterday from Jurgen at JM-Imports - what can I say - amazing! Car looks fabulous and the leather re-trim is great! The bad bit was driving home 129 miles in the rain - but only cos I was annoyed at the car getting dirty! Got home late afternoon and took it straight back out! Came home and washed it as the sun was out - then it rained again! The car is immaculate - thick carpet mats like new with metal Z logos - same in the boot. There is already a cargo net and where the tonneau cover would go there is also a thick net. Spent the rest of the evening trying to suss out the after market sony DVD/TV/Satnav which appears to work except that the remote is in japanese and I can't suss it out. Going out today again when it dries up a bit - don't want any muck on it! Got one pic so far on my mobile but as my internet is playing up I can't get it loaded. I've got a few questions so will be back later when I've got a bit more time! One other thing - I cannot fault JM-Imports and would say that if anyone is scared of importing, use Jurgen and you won't be disappointed, but more on that later as well...............

the 'chunky tubes' will have to stay for the time being unless anyone can come up with a nice looking cheap alternative for me. I'm open to suggestions.

but why? I don't get it! And no, I've not been that original on the seats - they are similar to Lomoto's.

but why is it so popular? Is it just a 'clicky' thing?

I can't afford to change the wheels for a while unfortunately unless you lot have a whip round for me. As for the stubby - I like the original aerial.........

Yeah nissan ones I'm sure would be perfectly ok but probably pricey?

club stickers of course! Having a leather re-trim but would really like some new wheels as well but I'm totally skint now!

I can't see how you can get covers to look anywhere near as good as a re-trim. I know someone who has leather covers and they look baggy. If you're going to shell out over £200 anyway you might as well pay the extra for a pro job. They do look ok in the ad but I have my suspicions.

do you want tiger print underpants to go with that?

yep, just how I like it! Actually, I'm a bit of a perfectionist, I like things to match and I think you'll find that it's the only colour that actually goes with the brake calipers.............

They aren't covers, they are being re-trimmed.

yeah absolutely they have to send it. Sometimes people are lazy though aren't they. I did once hand the whole thing over when a bloke bought my golf gti but said he wanted to put it in his wife's name and she wasn't there to sign the paperwork - I only thought after he'd gone how daft I was doing that but it was ok in the end.