Ekona

You'll need to machine polish if you want it to look amazing. 20 days of hand polishing wouldn't even come close to 20 mins with a machine. No swirls?

Early cars on OEM geo settings could get a little interesting, but only because they could be a bit snatchy. They're nowhere near as bad as the internet makes out.

Depends on how bad your paint it. If you've got tons of swirls and marks then you'll need a DA machine and some cutting compound, but if it's pretty good then you may not need a polish at all. As a very basic step, try some Scratch X 2.0 from Megs. Yes, before anyone jumps in there's better stuff out there for doing specific tasks, but as an all-rounder that actually gives results if you do it by hand and is impossible to get wrong, then I'd say it would be perfect for the OP without seeing how bad/good the paint is.

Yes, it's very much like that. Easy to find your way around though. I don't speak any Italian, and I managed ok

Recovery?! He spanked it into the grass and got lucky! Lack of talent is 95% the cause of that! says I.

Wheel has been dispatched, still heard nothing from MS.

You can in a way, if you challenge them as a Rival, however if they've done that track in a faster car then it'll show that instead sadly.

Oh, and when you walk past one of the many random churches that are around, do go inside and take as many pics as you can. They're equally as good as anything in the Vatican, and all subtly different in design and meaning. I'm not religious at all, but there was a wonderful sense of awe around every church we bumbled into.

When you say you're staying near the chapel, do you mean the Vatican? Actually inside, or just somewhere near? Doesn't matter really, everything is within walking distance. We were there this time last year for our belated mini-honeymoon, and I'll give you these tips: 1. Get used to walking. We were based off Piazza Del Popolo, and never felt the need to use any other transport at all. Even walking right down to the Colosseum wasn't an issue at all, and there's some amazing architecture on the way if you like that kind of thing (check out the law courts and the parliament buildings, stunning). 2. Don't f*ck around in the Vatican, they have zero sense of humour. We saw two Jap girls booted out for taking the traditional peace sign photos they love so much whilst in St Peter's. 3. Get to the Vatican museum early, and spend all day there. I found the Sistene Chapel really dull, but each to their own. Their collection of tombs and carvings from BC are incredible and you can touch them, if you dare. Astounding. 4. Eat the biggest breakfast you can, 'cos there ain't a whole lot to eat there! You think I'm joking, but unless you're on a huge budget the restaurants are mega bucks and not worth bothering with. We ate big in the morning, found a small pizzeria for lunch, then basically just ate the free bar snacks and got pi**ed in the evening. 5. Colosseum is not that impressive, but the nearby ancient Rome ruins are just indescribably superb. Worth a couple of days alone, and the history there is something else. HINT: Find a tour guide with a small group, then follow them around and eavesdrop for cheaps 6. YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST GO VISIT the Keats - Shelley house. Located just by the Spanish Steps, it's a cracking little museum that no-one really knows about but again, the culture there is just wonderful. 7. www.romecabs.com is the place to book your transfers from, if you've not done so already. Excellent service, good pricing, and trustworthy as anything. We love it there, and like Lee says I'd go back just to hang around and soak up the atmosphere. Wonderful city.

You could remove the mentions of the P1 from that comment and replace them with pretty much any performance car from the last 10 years, and it would still be completely true and make perfect sense. And I've just realised that it's been about 8 years since I've watched TG. Still not convinced I'm missing out. I love every other single thing that Richard Porter contributes to or does by himself, but I guess I've just grown out of TG.

Was only watching THG:CF today as well. He was brilliant in Happiness, best film no-one's ever seen.

Mk1 Ford Focus. No better driver's car of that age, and on spec it'll be as much of a muchness as anything else you'll look at.

Just remember, if you drop the clay on the floor you must throw it in the bin, else you'll be adding scratches to your paint if you try and use it again.

Now sold, good to meet you today Mark

That's going to be a lot of data if you could do it with PH...!

Sorry, that's what I meant. Some just do the reg and think that's enough, when it's the VIN that has the details. I wouldn't worry. It's a £10k 996, at this end of the market any stolen markets are meaningless as long as the car is in one piece.

He's correct, could well be on a different car which is why you must HPI against the VIN, never against the reg. I don't know of any HPI that would check the PNC, as they wouldn't keep any info of use. Essentially you're looking for finance outstanding or Cat recordable damage, anything else and it's a judgement call.

Me neither, standard mobile version of PH is fine on a 5" phone screen.

Brave man! Top purchase mate, now you can look forward to never being let out of a junction ever again

Sweet Jesus Pallett!

I wouldn't change the IMS bearing on a car of that age and mileage. If it hasn't gone yet, it probably won't do. Much more common and risky (hence the recommendation of the boroscope, a must-do) is the possibility of scoring or d-chunk, which isn't as big a repair but still not great. It's a 10% risk tops, and really that's nothing for what is such a great car and a great ownership experience. Do it.

Should tell it to her straight. You're going to be in the wrong regardless, so you might as well get your points in as quickly as possible and be done with it. I hate workplace politics, I really do.

Fair point. However, my car is much faster than yours so I don't care

Looks a good, solid car. Do you know who you're using for your PPI yet?

Great engine, great chassis, great quality. Got rid (well, got my deposit back) within 16 hours of buying it as it didn't feel exciting enough for me. Still a great car, though.