Dan

My biggest problem this time was my double detached garage was built with a single skin, so when it rained we got puddles inside ( brick is pourous, so the water simply soaked through the bricks to the inside of the garage ). The builders insisted it was built to specifications and a garage was not meant to be water tight. I wrote several letters, pointing out that if it wasn't meant to be water tight why was the garage of substantial construction with brick walls and a tiled roof. They attempted to fix it with a silicone treatment, which the water was meant to run off, but it didn't work. Eventually they agreed to build an inner skin and leave a cavity, which is how it should have been built in the first place. You just have to pester them sometimes

I'm on my third new build just now and there have been snags with all of them. Persistence pays off, everything gets sorted eventually AND your pretty much guaranteed to make money on a new build if you keep it for 2 or 3 years. Property developing without the headaches

Liverpool’s bid for the 2012 Olympics In an attempt to influence the members of the international Olympic Committee on their choice of venue for the games in the year 2012, the organisers of Liverpool’s bid have already drawn up an Itinerary and schedule of events. A copy of which has been leaked, and is reproduced below. Opening Ceremony The Olympic flame will be ignited by a petrol bomb thrown by a native of the city, in the traditional dress of hooded-top and shell suit. The flame will be contained in a large overturned police van situated in the roof of the stadium. The Events In previous Olympic Games, Liverpool’s competitors have not been particularly successful. In order to redress the balance, some of the events have been altered slightly to the advantage of local athletes: 100 Metres Sprint Competitors will have to hold a video recorder and microwave oven (one in each arm) and on the sound of the starting pistol, a police dog will be released from a police dog van 10-yards behind the athletes. 110 Metre Hurdles As above but with added obstacles (i.e. car bonnets, hedges, garden fences, walls etc) Hammer Competitors in this event may choose the type of hammer they wish to use (claw, sledge etc) the winner will be the one who can cause the most physical damage within three attempts. Fencing Entrants will be asked to dispose of as many stolen goods as possible in five minutes. Shooting A strong challenge is expected from local men in this event. The first target will be a moving police van. In the second round, competitors will aim at a rival drug dealer, post office counter assistant, bank cashier or Securicor wages delivery man. The traditional .22 rifle has been replaced in this event by a choice of either an Uzi automatic handgun or sawn-off 12-bore shotgun. Boxing Entry to the boxing will be restricted to husband and wife teams, and will take place on a Friday night. The husband will be given 15 pints of lager while the wife will be told not to make him any tea when he gets home. The bout will then commence. Cycling Time Trials Competitors will be asked to break into the University bike shed and take an expensive mountain bike owned by some mummy’s boy on his first trip away from home, all against the clock. Cycling Pursuit As above, but the bike will be owned by a visiting member of the Australian rugby team, who will witness the theft. Modern Pentathlon Amended to include mugging, breaking and entering, flashing, joyriding and arson. Swimming The Mersey and all adjacent waterways are currently being tested for toxicity levels, once one is found that can support human life, swimming events will be organised, please note that the Synchronised Swimming even for this year will comprise of dropping acid and watching all the funky ripples on the pool, the specific musical support to this event will be provided by “The Verveâ€

Absolute classic ! In the words of python, you lucky, lucky, lucky bxstxrd

Trade £14,600, Retail £16,995 so your valuation seems realistic to me mate

ABS Sensor and Wheel Bearing should both be under warranty unless there are "exceptional circumstances".

In the village where I grew up was a family with the surname Mus. They had the bright idea of calling their son Chris. Chris Mus. You couldn't make this up

Thanks to everyone, made me feel all warm and squidgy. Or was that last nights curry...

I must say what a serious investment of time and energy 10,000 posts represents. Well done, and if your that bored get a proper bloody job

IMO the cheap Irish plates look very cheesy on a car. Everyone knows they are £69 and simply to hide the age of the car. Nobody will realise it's your initials. I would much rather have the original plate. I bought a 06 Monaro recently with SKZ2700 and gave the plate away so I could get the car back on an 06. Either splash out for a proper plate or don't bother. But thats just my opinion

Sad to say my time has finally come Turned 40 today. Last night I stayed awake till midnight, just to prove I still could, and also to witness the spontaneous sprouting of tartan slippers, beer gut and double chin to rest the pipe on, which apparently happens to all men at this age. Quite scary. However I have decided to continue to act like a big kid for as long as I continue to struggle with childproof containers. They say you are only as old as the woman you feel, so I just brushed past my 17 year old receptionist in a very tantalising manner, and when the law suit is over I will still have fond memories of those precious moments, at least till the Alzheimers sets in. 40 in the flesh, 19 in the head

Yeah GT4 is understeer city but the thing that bugs me is when you get an old Yank muscle car and try to hoof the tail out round the bends and it just spins up and stays in a straight line. That just wouldn't happen. In fact it seems next to impossible to get the tail out in GT4. Or am I just rubbish at it

Is it just me or did they totally ruin the "feel" in GT4 ? I still play GT3 instead ( or even GT2 ) because the cars handle much better.

Say no more, somethings not right if it's sat that long and it's usually the price ! Make sure they prep it properly because the discs will be shot if its been stood that long, as well as the battery and any number of other things. Good luck mate

German stuff is and always has been good on fuel. A combination of sensible gearing and spot on fuel metering. Japanese cars are notoriously low geared, so spend their time at relatively high engine speeds on British motorways. My girlfriend runs a Civic Type R and even with the 6 gears its doing over 3500rpm at 70mph and could easily pull another gear. From memory a 350 is doing about 3000rpm at 70mph. This makes high speed cruising stressfull, noisy and thirsty. My little MX5 is doing 4000rpm at 80 and empties the tank like it's going out of fashion ! Off the top of my head I can't think of a Japanese car with gearing suited to British motorways, even a LS400 which you would expect to be ideal for high speed mile munching is spinning much higher rpm than a big BMW or Jaguar. Last summer I ran an M3 Convertible and that was doing about 2400rpm at 70 and never failed to average 32mpg on each tankful. This Summer I ran a Jaguar XJ and that would give me 90mph for 3000rpm and once again never failed to average 30mpg over a week of mixed motoring. It would easily average 32 to 33 on a long motorway run. Conversly I never managed much more than 25mpg out of a Zed, and thats on Super Unleaded. It's time the Japs got wise and started raising the gearing of their cars to suit the British market.

I'm assuming you have told them this ? If your figures are reasonable I'm sure they will do their best to do the deal. Don't expect them to knock hundreds off though, the GT pack cars ALWAYS sell and are surprisingly hard to find so they won't give the car away.

There is a 2WD version of the X-Trail too. Very strange that somebody somewhere thought this was a good idea. Having said that we have to rememeber that very few 4x4s are ever taken anywhere near the scenery and most are sold on looks/style/comfort etc and not for their go anywhere-ness

The problem with most modified street cars trying to hit 200 mph is that they run out of revs, but the Monaros gearing could easily take it to 200mph if it had the power. 400bhp is nowhere near enough.

Got to admit the SD1 Vitesse I had was a fantastic car to drive, and probably the biggest grin per pound I've ever had in a car. 3.9 V8 plus a decent cam and race heads gave pretty good performance, and the noise through the SS sports exhaust was to die for. Scared a few bikers with it... Pity the build quality was so poor they all rotted away. Would love another one, but the twin plenums in good nick now are going for silly money. Couple of pictures if you are interested... I had one of those in Moonraker Blue and missed it off my list. I also missed one of my favourite ever cars which was a Sapphire RS Cosworth. I paid £6500 for it when I was about 22 years old and at the time it was by far the most expensive car I had owned. F234BSW !!! And the sad thing is I can remember most of my registration numbers including my very first car, Morris Marina FYS875T !!! The Vitesse was TIJ 35...

Lots of Rover V8 fans among us, in P6 and SD1 models. This forum is obviously the home of good taste Or is there something about the numbers 3,5 and 0 !!! P.S. By another strange coincidence I'm just about to set off to Loughborough in a V8 Range Rover for a night out. That ex Buick V8 still going strong after all these years. Quality

05 Roadster trades at £17600 but these cars are way behind book and in auction it would struggle to make much over £16k. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but none GT pack cars don't sell. You also have to bear in mind that most people looking at cars this value have a part exhange, require finance or at the very least want the peace of mind of buying from a dealer, so you may struggle to sell the car from home. Having said all that I would try it at £18,995 and see how you go. Good luck mate.

It's not silly money but it is a bit long on the miles. Personally I would prefer one with less mileage but the V8 will stand 150,000 easily.

Superb vehicle but don't fall for the Diesel hype. The diesel versions are no more economical than the petrol and nowhere near as good to drive. Both models will do 15 to 18 pottering about and as much as 25 on a run, but no more so there is absolutely no benefit to buying the diesel unless you like greasy hands and distant clattering to keep you company. Also bear in mind the diesels are at a premium so on your budget buying a V8 will mean your looking at cars 12 months younger and with 15k to 20k less miles on the clock. Don't worry about resale, the RR is seen as a luxury motor and people buy the V8 model in their droves. Many people in this market won't even consider the Diesel. Also when comparing prices you need to be aware that spec makes a very big difference to the values and helps resale, so buy the best combination of spec age and mileage that you can afford. Service history is essential as you can be facing some big bills if its been neglected. The only RR for me is one with a good spec, low mileage and a big V8 P.S. On your budget you might want to consider a Discovery 3, very nice drive and the TDV6 is a peach, and again you want high spec for resale. Good luck mate

Tough one this because I'm a moody sod... Fav Song : Metallica, Nothing Else Matters Fav Music Video : Duran Duran, Electric Barbarella Fav Artist : Texas

I'm running a 9-3 Convertible at the moment and I do like these, this is my second one this year but I'm a sucker for rag tops. The car averages 37mpg and cruises at 90mph very relaxed and comfortable. I hate diesel with a passion so it's ideal for me knocking round the auctions and clocking up the miles. However it's only the 1.8 Turbo so isn't exactly a fireball...the 2.8 Turbo are 250bhp standard and I quite fancy one of those very soon. Dynamically they are nothing special - it's a Vectra underneath, but for day to day mile munching with good fuel consumption and the opportunity to drop the roof they are a good tool.