stanski

I've used Autoaid now for a couple of years - its a bit different - where you pay the garage etc yourself and claim the money back from Autoaid afterwards - but you contact them first in the event of a breakdown like anybody else of course. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insura ... e-recovery http://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/ £36 fully comp for 12 months. Beat that! This covers you and your spouse - however if your living in sin then your other half has to pay for their own policy - weird stuff its 2008 for goodness sakes!!!! Hope this helps? Stan

Cool where abouts if you dont mind me asking - we go oop North west coast quite a few times in the last couple of years and pop across to Skye. Anyway no snow on that side because of all the heat from the Radioactiove Subs sailing around there - sure I can see a periscope behind your car ?

Crickey - do they service Pathfinders?? (4x4) If so looks like a nice weekend outing to Swansea may be on the cards!

Wowsers that cheap ! Specialist you say will the warrany be valid under Nissan?? If its an out of warranty job after a few years I would probably just do it myself as the car will be worth a pack of toffees by then (probably have 200,000 miles on it in 3 years with my type of driving!!) Stan

Sorry Martin - did'nt even notice - spend all day looking at 'puters cant see the binary for the hexadecimals! Replied to pm and thanks for the info btw. Stan

Dont complain - people have to pay good money to see snow!! Which part of the country are you in?

thanks Mike probably another Nisaan parts bin special - so probably used across the range? Must be too sensitive then thats all i can think of? My ditchfinder has only let the alarm go off in those horrible strong winds /hail the other week - first time ever ? (06 plate)

Good to know - you see you dont get this kind of knowledge from Nissan UK do you ? Thats why this forum is top notch. Hmmm - should I go there for a quote on a new ragtop Zed (or lease doodar plan) then see what Westway come up with? (Ha Westway have sold that ragtop I meant to be test driving tomorrow - figures - just as well I guess Zeds are not so hot in the snow/sleet? )

Top stuff thanks mate - thats within spitting distance of sunny Bury I shall pop over there for a recon mission.

OOer - where are they? Never 'erd of 'em? Thanks Stan

Where are the sensors on Zeds? Are they loose fit behind headling/ windcreen framing or built into dash sort of doodar? They could be pointing too much towards windows and if too sensitive they will go off?? Are your cars all with SATNAV /Bluetooth built in or a mix ??? Only reason I ask is when I had my ditchfinder in for some work last year - I was told that top spec Adventura model the ones with Satnav (the same Birdview one your Zeds have) and bluetooth (Nissan use the parts bin here for all this stuff!) they have had reports of a fault where the battery drains prematurely - the reason is that all these extra electrical stuff does'nt appear to shut down properly in a snooze mode if you will when not in use and is putting a strain on the battery? Maybe worth following up - they should be able to get a mechanic to test this for you? Sorry I did say mechanic then did'nt I? Doh! Silly me Anyway hope this helps? Stan

I asked about service pricing inWestway Nissan (oldham) they said something like £220 then £260 then £220 again - those kind of numbers ? The first service is a Long Stand service - where a kid stands there and looks at it for ages ... then they put some oil in - being very careful to spill it over your engine bay and front wing. Which costs £15 then they do the important job of topping up your windscreen wash even though you filled it the day before £130 - the rest is labour

good to know but lets be honest - when have you ever reached anything above 50mph on the M25 - even in the wee small hours!

eye eye Captain

Told you - no extra hot Madras curry with extra chills in the house!

My friend had both eyes lasered and he said the same ! I have thought about it also - but as a few of you have said you only have 1 pair of eyes and there are no guarantees - you may need to go back again in a few years time as your eyes get worse again? I dunno I am still considering it - contact lenses for me the last 15 years and NHS specs before then As far as recognised specialists are concerned I beleive you can go to the eye hospital in Manchester and they will do it for you - as opposed to a high street chain?? Dunno will wait a bit longer and see(no pun intended) as it goes?

Yes come Zed Girls where are you? Its all blokes on here bit of variety please? We dont bite honest guv Stan

Thanks Ben thats really helpful advice - I would love to see the rest of Japan instead just big cities etc but they have their place also . Gonna have to buy a few more memory cards for the camera then - I love my photos! Stan

Closet lurker eh? Hmm interesting!!! You can borrow my Nissan Pathfinder if you give it a wash - it needs a wash ! You did say Nissan did'nt you? Not specificaly a Zed!! Just messin mate sorry ........

Great stuff - thanks - what about cost of food ? - is it expensive over their to eat , public transport that kinda thing? Do you need to buy tickets up front on public transport or pay as you board ? Are you okay to go into a Temple and maybe take pictures or would they be offended I would'nt want to be disrespectful. Are there restrictions on how much you can take out of the country ? I mean like Camera equipement for my Pentax gear for example? I dont mean export a wagon load of stuff here like Sake! I could stuff a few Zed parts down my keks I suppose ! By which time I hope to actually have one of the damn things!

Yes you are right - but I take this attitude anywhere I go if you make the effort the rewards are bigger meet people half way - even London! Thank you all for your advice and help I've got a lot of homework to do by the looks of things - any more infor greatfully received Stan

Cool website that:I like these.... While living in Japan over the past year, We've learned not to let a few interesting everyday and cultural encounters surprise us. Here are a few: They don't sell envelopes at the post office (you must buy them at the convenience store) At a restaurant, they usually only provide one menu per table Even after you've been studying accelerated Japanese for 1 year, the 3 year old boy talking to his mother at the supermarket seems to have better command of the language than you do. Everybody is walking around talking on a miniature cell phone. We even saw a woman flipping through dresses at the department store with both hands permitted to be free because she was wearing a headset type mobile phone. Your Japanese friends email you from their mobile telephone. There is a particular looking booth in all the convenience stores where you can change the melody of your cell phone's ring for $4.00. The Chinese food is nothing like in the USA. For that matter, it's still nothing like the Chinese food you find in China itself. You're not full after just spending more than $20 on dinner When you arrive at the train station your first time in Japan, you don't recognize any of the food, except maybe some M&M's if you're lucky. There are no paper towels or means to dry your hands in any restroom. No one is wearing sunglasses - the sunglass image is associated with the mafia here Nobody seems to pull over to the side of the road for an ambulance that has it's sirens on You can't find celery at the supermarket The bananas (expensive) you bought yesterday have turned to liquid on your kitchen counter today. You have a dead whole fish staring at you from the plate at breakfast After you've carefully studied your introduction and manner (in Japanese, with a bow and no handshake), the party you are meeting gestures to shake your hand anyway and says "Pleasure to meet you" There are many stairs to climb at the train station, and no escalators Nobody accepts a tip (not even the movers or the barber) The napkins at the restaurant are coated with plastic, so they effectively just serve to smear everything and never absorb. At the restaurant, you get your bill before your meal even arrives (they're not trying to get rid of you) As a westerner, you may not be permitted to enter some bars. The popcorn is coated with fish flakes. There is corn and mayonnaise on the pizza You can order squid ink on your pizza in lieu of tomato sauce. Credit cards and checks are not as generally accepted as in America, most transactions are in cash. You may see grown men peeing in the street. An innocent looking roll at the bakery usually has a surprise filling, like beans, or some other surprise ingredient. When you walk into any shop, the employees yell "EERASHAIMASAEE!" - it means welcome, how can we help you?. When you leave any shop or restaurant, you may find several people yelling "DOMOARIGATO GOZAIMASHTA!" - Thank you very much. The young woman are wearing shoes that are about 6 inches tall. The automatic ticket booths on the highway often have a ticket dispenser on the left hand side - for those who have American, left hand drive cars There is no door at the entrance to the public bathroom. The men's room on the bullet train has a window - to the inside of the train You spend about $50 filling up you small car's 15 gallon tank. Your brand new car doesn't come with a full tank of gas. You see some people walking down the street wearing a sort of mask over their mouth and nose - they are sick and are trying to both get better and prevent others from catching what they got. The gas station attendant offers to take any garbage you have lying around in your car and then when your tank is full, he runs out into the street to stop traffic so you may safely merge in. There are heated toilet seats at your workplace. You blow the "optimal" weight to height guideline shown on the bathroom scale at the Rihga Royal hotel - this is intended for a Japanese person. At the supermarket checkout, you're given a handful of plastic bags so that you can bag your groceries yourself. No "paper or plastic" choice at the supermarket, you have "plastic or plastic" Each of the 12 donuts you just bought are individually wrapped in plastic. A single movie ticket will run you about $18US You and your western friends may be the only people laughing during the movie. It's ok to bring McDonald's, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, or whatever into the movie theater. The Japanese stay seated after a movie and watch ALL the credits (except if the movie is over 3 hours)

Top stuff this is all good - I have a pocket loox N100 sat nav which has a walk mode and is nice and small and works around town- so maybe I should get maps of Japan on there - having said that , may be worth my while buying something while I am over there!! Bound to be cheaper. Buy a Nissan Cube to bob about in I guess Japan is a big country and will have to be a 2 pronged approach - go for the touristy thing first and come back a second time to do a more in depth reccy. When on business / training courses etc, and met Japanese people /students they have been great I love their attitude to life they are just really fun! the ladies are particularly nice Thats a good idea about the students - they can teach me Japanese and I can teach them Blighty speak like from oop North - Champion!

Sorry I either need new fingers a new laptop keyboard or a memory implanted in my head or all of them - cripes I am losin it big time man - they are working me too hard at work - need a holiday to Japan!!!

Thanks for that extra info - I am copying this into notepad ! The things I do to get a decent bottle of Saki! Yes please all recommendations very welcome. I suppose I want to see the countryside ,villages , temples and maybe spend a little time in the cities also - its not a trip I am likely to do very often so would like to make the most of it and like anything decent research is the best way? So thank you all for your suggestions please keep them comming. Stan