stanski

Last couple of days - Azure blue coupe - reg Private plate *9*** in DFS car park - Greyhound retail emporia Must be someone who works there I guess unless its been dumped! I doubt that unless scroats now steal cars then shine them up -its very very shiny - very nice indeed Stan

Hey maybe there is a niche market for then? Can I borrow someones Zed for the weekend - so I can make a fibreglass copy of the roof and then make a hardtop doodar from it ? Hmm should have kept the one from my MR2? Just stretch it a bit!

Yeah thats great but its a cul-de-sac so bit tricky to drive past not enough space!! I live on the shores of sunny Bury where the hot ocean waves lap the cobblestones gently in the warm Lancashire breeze! While black pudding scurry across the lush open fields and travellers warm their hands on the burning Vauxhall corsa in the distance

Glad you mentioned this - in a similar vein does anyone make a hardtop for the current -erm softtop model and if so how does it fit to the back? Stan

No I'm not Scottish but what a great idea ! - hey maybe I can grab a couple of sheets of loo roll from work per day and sneak them home to save me a few bob! We will have a top saving tips section on the forum for funding a Zed!

Seen 'em but my mate is seriously after one - so I will wait till he gets one then have a peep!

Oi cheeky I had a new one of those when they first came out! - only seem to get grandma's driving 'em these dayes though

Yeah me too - I even took out a loan and was about to buy a 12 month old one in black (of course) but decided not to in the last minute! I just stood there and looked at it and thought no its not me - might look great but its gonna go round corners like a wardrobe on a bed of jelly and probably fall apart afer 3 years! So here I am keeping the faith. So against my better judgement and common sense I am saving for a petrol sports car that costs £300 road tax p/a and a fortune in fuel and tyres and the worry of parking it anywhere, oh have I mentioned the thin paint ... oh well lifes too short we have to enjoy ourselves sometime dont we....

Passenger side - where abouts I must haved missed that one - under the dash?

Unfortunately its either mortgage or 350Z at the mo? Call me old fashioned but I'd rather have both and I really fancy the newer 07 version which is not cheap! So save save save an step away from the test drive! Incidentally has anyone had a dealer let them borrow a 350Z for 24 hours ? Stan

I think a lot of hotel chains moved form Mercs to 300C's they have to be a lot cheaper than Mercs - and yes they are based on the old E series Merc Chassis but I am sure large hotel chains have enough buying power to take advantage of the weak dollar etc! Good luck to them - 300C's look far more interesting than the industry standard Merc anways! Oh well stick with the 350Z path though and kep saving!

Me too I think they looked ace when they first appeard - and the prices are tumbling fortunately for us second hand buyers - its still an option for me incase I cant afford a 350Z - but I wonder if its just too corporate like the Mazda 6 ! Bloke up the road has a black one with all black windows SRT models - looks top! I just wonder about the quality I have to say I was not impressed ! Servicing costs are about the same as a 350Z though? Yes that was the reason I asked - to plug my fm doodar for ipod and also the satnav ? Thanks Stan

Silver is the colour! M56 heading off past Manny airport away from Town . Coupe's reg: ***4BVV turned off junct 9 toward M6 I think , very nice. about 08:00am Little Chef Roundabout A5117 heading away from Queensferry, again coupe re: ****NAA about 8:30 am. If you saw a muddy looking ditchfinder flying round the roundabout it was me! Stan

Hi - had a strange day today managed to look at the following cars in showrooms all on the same day - not intentionally ! Fiat 500 - Well they have done a really good job on it - looks great in the flesh, actually fairly well built (for a Fiat - sorry Jap car snobbery comming out there) probably as its made in Poland and not Italy! I think Diesel version does something like 70 mpg which is ace however its only really good for midgets - not much room in the back - my head was touching the roof, and the front seat lowered as much as can be and my erm head was touching the roof (I am 5ft 10 not a 7 footer or anything!!) Shame I did'nt go for a run in it - but tempting as a town car (sorry ex classic car man so like this retro stuff)! New Mazda 6 - wowsers they have done a great job on it - looks better in the flesh (Have I just said that before?) ideal for motorway lugging looks good inside and out - really excellent build quality ( I do think Mazda have the nicest interiors for Jap cars) I think its based on the new Ford Mundane chassis - which erm is'nt my cup of char - but Mazda have done a really nice job of it. Chrysler 300C CRD - Okay I know I know - but in black with dark windows cant be beaten - again an option for me and my motorway life, a lot of car for the money and of course the diesel is on a par with my ditchfinder roughly on fuel economy and I guess it will sail along the motorways with ease. As a second hand purchase it has to be the bargain of the centruy and of course its a bit different to your average 4 door saloon! I do think they should have a chat with a few Japanese engineers to point them in the direction of building a car that does'nt look like some of its bits its been made from cornflakes boxes cut out and sprayed silver though? I mean when you move the shift leaver you dont expect the surround bezel to move with it do you! Every one I have seen has corroded alloys even brand new ones - at least Toyota alloys corrode after 12 months! Nissan 350Z (Have you heard of them?) At last I get to actually see one in a showroom! Silver Coupe - wowsers! F***in fantastic! It looked the dogs and having a proper rummage around inside - I think they have done a great job of the interior, of course the outside is top stuff. Fortunately I resisted a test drive - will save that one for later in the month. It was just soooooo much better than I ever expected - and sorry to say this but even though I am after a ragtop the coupe does appear to have the edge on looks with the roof line.......... Well on a miserable rainy day - I suppose for that one days sunshine the Ragtop has it! There was also a white one parked in the forecourt - that looked bleedin fab also - yes I know white but hey I dont mind white! Efforts must be doubled I will have to have just half a bean on toast each day to save the money quicker, leave heating off and use the sleeping bag! Eat chillis to keep warm and use the steam off my p** to warm the kettle via an interconnecting heat exchanger system!!! Just one question please: 350Z - does it just have that 1x 12V take off point between the seats or is there another one somewhere on the dash or under the dash maybe?? Stan

Just go for it matey - I am in the same boat as you but fortunately not had a test drive yet - on purpose as I know I will find some stupid way to justify buying it there and then!! (I am not ready for one yet (money wise anyway!)) Just keep saving like me and read this forum for background info and people doing this just to rub it it that we ain't got one! Stan

Doh!!! Sorry been a long day already - I would'nt mind but my job is IT! Time to give up and open an organic 350Z farm where they can run free ...... Stan

you have 1 meg ram and 1.8 ghz processor speed, which is fine for Vista. Only go to PC(rip off world (which is Dixons as you know also)) when they have deals on - but generally best place is to buy online - dabs or even ebuyer (but they are box shifters though) just shop about - sometimes the manufacturers have good deals on their own onlineshops. Sorry if I am teaching you to suck eggs mate. Dell usually have good deals on this time of year just watch those extras - they add up the price and the next thing you know its a soddin fortune. Costco even have great deals but they are only good in spring when they get the latest bling and then the price stays the same for the rest of the year by which time everyone catches up. (My secoind home Costco!) Wish they sold 350Z's - would be about £10K for a ragtop! With a 5 year warranty included and no hassle to take back if you did'nt like it after 10 months! Stan

No need to mate got a Pathfinder - same difference but a lot cheaper!

Aye that should be fine dont worry - just dont use Norton I cant say it enough - I still cant get rid of the damn thing off mine (this one I am using now) Enjoy your 'puter - I would also recommend a USB hard drive - Costco do a Western Digital 500GB hard drive for about £70 - bargain - keep all your important stuff there as a backup - free's up your laptop to store rubbish instead! Stan

Lease against buy - I was also considering that but when you work it out - if your gonna keep the car for at least 4 - 5 years then may as well buy it and not worry about the depreciation just enjoy it at least its yours to keep? If your gonna change your car a lot and do high miles then maybe lease is better but ... I keep thing thinking also its dead money really? Stan

oh blimey - started something here hav'nt I! Low slung sports cars+speed bumps or multistories = expense! Hey wonder if we can use this Americanised culture to sue the councils for damage to our beloved cars ? (Apparently there is a European standard for these bumps so if you feel that bump at the bottom of your road is a little too steep and your £27 grand Zed has just lost an exhaust - have a surf about the web and measure the height of the bump - you never know your council may be liable ! Worth a shot? Incidentally did you know that if you are in a smash and you damage any street furniture (lamp posts etc) your delightful council will be on site quicker than the ambulance as they will sue you to claim back the money for any damage caused!! Great is'nt it.

top stuff thanks - ok thats another tick in th provebial box. dont know why they bother with them- they are useless - far better with width-restrictors - now they make you think and definitely slow you down! Funny watching Fiat Panda's or Nissan Micras' crossing over the tarmac lumps though!

Hi So speed bumps - the tarmac lump ones - what are Zed's like - are they tall enough to cope or is it a skim round the edge job? I ask cause my local council have infested the roads wiv em round here? Thanks Stan

Sorry forgot to mention - you will most likely get Norton 360 with your shiny Vista pc - be afriad! Do not install it if its not already installed - its the biggest pile of poo ! Very clunky and effectively uses up any spare horsepower you may have left, oh and slows your disk drive down also - just get another antivirus software not Norton - far too clunky ! Stan

I recently purchased a new laptop and it comes with Vista Home premium. From the point of XP, Vista seems to be a tiny step as opposed to a great leap forward - they have just moved the soddin' stuff about and given it a fancy pants display , but under the covers its still very much XP, so my point is if you go to the printer manufacturers website - you can usually find a Vista driver. (More so now than a few months ago anyway) I had to do that for my ageing Epson printer and digi camera (which is only 4 years old but pre-vista)no problem at all. Just make sure your laptop has ideally 2meg memory and a Core 2 duo at least 1.8Ghz processor speed, anything less and performance suffers. Great innit -they build faster and better pc's now than ever, shame the software does'nt match the hardware? Good luck with it - its not the slickest software around but you get used to the rearranged furnishing soon enough . Hope this helps Stan