Ekona

I wouldn't say that you kept moving all the time as that could be construed as not having control of the vehicle. What actually happened was that you were waiting for the space to become free, and you were indicating your intention (I assume you were indicating?). Wouldn't worry too much about it either way, if you have independent witnesses then you should be fine. If not then another 3pts for an offence that isn't speeding (assuming the other one was) will make sod all difference to your insurance, maybe another £100 if that. Don't sweat it mate, life's too short to get worried about the little things.

Okay, so I jinxed you after using you as my example then So what's the issue with yours then?

Take the rubber floor out then cut the base of the actual cubby, only needs a tiny slot to fit the power cable through. That's exactly what I did with mine. That way, when it comes to sell the car you just put the rubber mat back in and it covers any slot up

But then once a year you'd be cutting the y-pipe and rewelding it, and then doing it again to put the decats back on. Utterly pointless when you could just get a pair of decats that fit in the first place. The only other alternative that I can see is buying another y-pipe to fit for the MOT.

So what happens now when you need to put the cats back in for the MOT...?

Get a dremel and cut a slot out for the power cable, you can leave that attached to power socket in the pax footwell. It's what I did with my Tomtom, and I wedged it right at the back to minimise glare completely. Well worth doing.

Exactly. Just for clarification, this will NOT fit any UK or JDM Zed. I bought the same unit a few years back

Jeez, that's utterly horrendous then! Do you leave it in 1st all the time?

So I guess a 3.8 with 385bhp and gets 30mpg on low runs would be absolutely out of this world then I'd still say that's average for a thirsty V6 in this day and age. I didn't mean my original comment to sound disparaging, I meant it as a compliment rather than a slight. I'd expect repmobiles to be getting over 40mpg on a run like that, but I'd also expect them to be diesels. Is your FR a petrol then? The twincharged one?

In what sense? Too low or too high?

So 26mpg then? Not bad, sounds pretty average to me

I'd say you've got three choices: 1. Take it back to your guy and let him have another go at fixing it. 2. Take it somewhere else and let them have a crack. 3. Get a new 'box installed. How much is a new one? It might be worth considering, but you've still no guarantees that it'll be 100%. I think I'd consider option 2, or at least find out who is considered to be one of the experts in Merc 'boxes in the country. You might pay a bit more for their expertise, but that's gotta be better than constantly worryiing about where it'll break down next. I feel your pain mate, truly I do. I went through the exact same thing with mine, and it took me a good 6 months to get over any worry about it breaking down again. I'm glad I stuck with it though.

Whatever you buy, at that price point from what they were you're always taking a massive risk, but you knew that before you got in. Sometimes it pays off (for the most part, I'd say Rich has been very lucky with his XKR), and sometimes it doesn't. It's at what point you quit and just accept that throwing money/time at it isn't reaping any rewards. Stick with it Ricey. Go back and read your posts when you first got it, and remember how excited you were. Remember how good it can be, and that this is just a blip in the road. It's an awesome car, it would be a shame to see you move on from it so soon.

I had a C220 (I think) as a loaner when the 911 broke, and it completely changed my perception on Mercs. Best seats in a car ever, pliable suspension and even the paddles allowed for the gearbox to be fun, although not a patch on a proper dual-clutch 'box. I really loved it.

But he loved the diesel, just not the SLK. We still don't know if the oil-burning roadster is a decent alternative to the traditional petrol ragtop

Looks like a Z4M in that pic, and that's quite a compliment.

When I'm finished with her.

I still maintain if people are too dumb, lazy or rich to haggle, then that's their own fault. Very, very unlikely to get 40% off though, unless you've got experience of that.

Link fail, but I'm assuming this is a pearoast of the McLaren cartoon? Second part is on SSF1 tomorrow at 12pm.

They should do something like that here, only put the tax on cars that aren't made in the UK. So a family could buy an Astra or a Qashqai, a Rangie if you wanted a bit more room, or an Aston or Lotus if you wanted something fun. Could improve the economy over here without reducing choice too much, and let's face it if you can afford a brand new car then paying a bit extra won't hurt the coffers too much. I'm not talking about a silly tax like the above, maybe just a couple of percent. Might also make other manufacturers move production here if it made a noticeable difference to sales figures. Sadly it's probably illegal under EU laws.

And on the subject, we've just had the renewal notice come through for the Impreza. First price was £1090, one Meerkat search and one phonecall later and we're down to £814. Job = carrot.

Love that small penis one

I hate it when people ask me what it is, or rather which one as I never know when to stop. If I say "oh, it's a 997 gen2 C2S PDK" then normally the other person has nodded off to sleep before the end, but if I say "oh, it's a 911" I get the look that says "well duh, but which one?!" The junction thing is hysterical, it really is. You always hear about it, but until you witness it you don't realise just how funny it actually is to see

And? He'll end up with worse brakes than come with every UK version of the 350Z ever.

So if you're going to do it, then do it with the Zed ones. Nice info there Wasso