Dan

Gotta hand it to those Chinese, they take population control very seriously

I'm not totally certain on this, but there is a good chance the Sat Nav unit will be protected by NATS, just like the stereos are. This means they are coded to the ECU and will not work in any other car. You need to make absolutely certain before you buy one out of a breakers or from Ebay otherwise you could be wasting your money.

If they are refurbed properly you will never tell it's been done. I've used the same guy for a couple of years and he does a really good job.

It's only fair to point out that German and French Diesels are much more economical than most. VW/Audi TDi's and Peugeot/Citroen/Renault diesels are capable of 50 miles to the gallon so that would represent a saving if you drive it correctly. Still get that greasy crud all over your hands when you fill up though

Yeah, Zedrush caught me that way. I thought he would be bigger

Thats the figure I was given when I started at Perrys many years ago. By now it could well be higher. I've never had a car on finance, but I have had a few bikes on finance on interest free deals.

Over 85% of vehicles under 3 years old are on finance. This percentage reduces on older cars, but even then very few people actually own their cars outright. Cars are a high value item and car finance is a huge business, to the extent that many of the car "supermarkets" are actually backed by finance companies. Those places make more profit on the finance than they make on the car. PCPs are a decent idea and suit many people, however they work best if you simply hand the car back and start again with another new one ( this is what they were actually designed for, to secure the dealers repeat business ). They have always tended to be higher interest rates than conventional HP or a Bank Loan but they suit people who can't afford the repayments on the whole amount.

LOL

I've got a on 06 GT Pack Roadster. ( And a 56 GT Pack Coupe ) I love the 350z.

Diesel is almost a quid a gallon more expensive than petrol, so you need to be getting a lot more mpg to make this worthwhile. Case in point, I took a Jaguar S Type Twin Turbo Diesel to Torquay last weekend. It did 38mpg over about 600 miles round trip. Earlier this year I took a Jaguar S Type 4.2 V8 petrol to Glasgow and back, and that car did 32 mpg over the 460 mile round trip. If you work that out against the cost of fuel the Petrol car is no more expensive to run than the diesel and hell of a lot more fun ! Modern petrol engines are capabale of very impressive fuel economy, especially if you consciously drive in an economical manner. Meanwhile, being self employed and VAT registered I am changing the way I look at fuel costs. I spend well over a grand a month on petrol ( I'm a car dealer with over 50 cars to fuel ! ) but I get 17.5% VAT knocked off and my fuel expenditure comes off my Tax liability. So in reality a hundred quids worth of petrol only really costs me about £60. And I would rather spend it on Petrol than give it to the Inland Revenue

I once bought a Mercedes S500 through an Auction. I had always wanted one, and decided to treat myself. I jumped in the car and set off and pootling through the town everything felt ok. Then I hit the open roads and gave it some berries. Nothing happened. I floored the throttle trying to make the thing go, and got nothing - this was a 5.0 litre V8 remember with supposedly 300bhp or thereabouts ! I even tried flooring it quickly to make it kick down and it just wouldn't. Great, I thought, I've bought a lemon. It's knackered, the gearbox or the engine or both, this is going to be expensive. The car would accelerate, but only gently. I was sick to the pit of my stomach because I was convinced it was going to cost thousands to put it right. Once on the motorway and eventually up to cruising speed I noticed the little snow flake icon on the dashboard and thought is there something wrong with the Air Con ? Then thought why would it have an Air Con warning light ? Then realised it wouldn't, then the penny dropped. I looked at the gear selector and low and behold I had it in Winter mode. The sense of relief was almost sexual

I think the world needs saving from you, not the other way round! PMSL, that was funny. Looks like I better take out a patent on the Super Galloot suit then

Thanks Ming. Thats very appealing, and now that I have gone Limited I am an employee of my own company, so I should be able to do it. I'll look into it

LOL, yeah thats what I'm doing now, but I want to join the local cycling club and their Sunday ride is 60 to 70 miles at average speeds "in excess of 18 mph". They said if I attempt that on a mountain bike I would never want to see the bike again... Mind you even on a proper road bike I couldn't do that distance yet, but at least I know what I'm working towards.

I have it advertised at £26,995, however I think it might be too cheap Seriously, there are private advertisers asking £29,995 for similar cars, which is where mine started at 5,000 miles ago. I absolutely love the car, dynamically it's very impressive - I thrashed bikers with it on Sunday and not many cars can do that - however I would not buy another ( edit, yes I would ! ). Why ? I hear you ask !!! Well, because it's very "focused". Totally hardcore, rock hard suspension, notchy gearchange, only really makes sense when you drive it hard and crank the 430w Stereo way up. For most people, most of the time, the 3.0 litre model would be a better car - I think I would LOVE a 3.0 litre model. And the price premium from the 3.0 litre to the M Sport is £12,000 new. However on the odd occasion where I take it out with a mission and wring it's neck it really does take no prisoners. And it's also a very nice feeling when you encounter another Z4, plenty of them about, but I've never seen another M Sport model

Bowker, in Blackburn.

Well I must admit I was pleasantly impressed with the service. I was treated very courteously and while I was waiting I looked around the showroom at the posh shiny metal and was approached by two very pleasant salesmen - not at the same time mind you ! I made a casual enquiry about a brand new Z4 3.0Si Roadster and was offered a test drive ( he offered to try and track one down for me to drive as they didn't have one ) and part ex valuation on my car. I love going to dealership as a "punter" and like to see how they do the job compared to my staff, and yes overall I was impressed. Have to say though, I was there 2 hours which dragged on a bit. I would have been having words with my lot if they kept someone waiting that long for an Oil change...

Ah now then, didn't think of that ! It's not like I'm new to the game is it

The Z4M just hit 10,000 miles so I decided to get it into BMW for it's first service, even though the service indicator was showing 1800 miles remaining. Anyway, the first service is simply an Oil and Filter change, and change the Air Con Micro Filter. Can you guess the bill ? Including my "trade" discount the bill was £257. The Oil was £81, Oil Filter £16 and the Micro Filter £24. So that leaves £137 for labour. Anyway, I wanted the BMW stamp in my book to help sell the car, and I've convinced myself it runs sweeter with it's new Oil, like we all do LOL I'm off this weekend and quite fancy the Highlands again....

Some good advice there, thanks very much lads. Well I did another 14.2 miles last night, quite a hilly route. It took me 58 minutes on a ten year old Mountain Bike which weighs a bloody ton and is geared so low it struggles to exceed 30mph even down the side of a cliff I know thats slow, but it's only my second ride in about six years, first ride was Monday and my butt is still sore from the saddle !!! I've decided I want to get back into road cycling. I was doing over 100 miles a week until I got knocked off by a car about ten years ago. I actually wrote the car off, and the Police said I hit the car so hard I burst his tyre. I was lucky. Had to have surgery to re-attach my left knee cap and was on crutches for a few months, but nowadays it's all fine. My heart rate back then was 49bpm at rest, so I was quite fit. Anyway, I'm forty now and more or less finished with the powerlifting and want to concentrate on fitness. My only worry is my weight. I've slimmed down to 19 stone but thats very heavy for a cyclist and Road bikes look so delicate I'm concerned my weight will upset the handling and possibly even be dangerous so I need to buy something decent. And obviously at 19 stone any weight saving on the bike isn't going to have much of an effect Thanks for the tips anyway, I'll try the website which was recommended

They assume you have SPD's and fancy being stuck to the bike as it hits the kerb / tree / floor! I've always hated anything that fixes your feet to the pedals.

P.S. Why do the cheaper bikes come with pedals when the more expensive ones don't ?

LOL Thanks mate, but I would look a bit silly in them

I'm getting back into my cycling just now and decided to treat myself to a new bike, but I'm a bit out of touch so just wanted to know if anyone could recommend a good road bike for me. I have spotted this one, is it any good ? http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70739 Thanks in advance

Well you can't blame me Jay, your quite a catch