Andy665

Burtons about 35 miles from me, I could pick it up Friday and the good news is that I'm be belting down the A34 on SAaturday morning so could arrange to meet up en-route. If you can cover my extra fuel and M6 toll I'll be happy

Interesting idea - do they operate with a Business Manager. Lets just hope that the sales execs are as crap as they are everywhere else and don't max the customer out on their budget so you have something to go for

So who do will you be selling to...customers after the sales execs have sold the cars????

The ST is accounting for 6% of total Focus sales, the GTi is accounting for 8% of Golf sales, the VXR is way behind at 2.5% of Astra sales. I'd be extremely surprised if the ST holds it value better than than the GTi, from the figures I've seen based on Contract Hire rates, its looking like the finance houses are looking at a GTi holding on to approx 50-55% of its value over 3 years / 45k miles. If I was buying a car with my own money I'd sink it into a GTi rather than an ST. Customers need to start looking at whole life costs, when they do VW's initial price premium starts to become a non-issue.

Would it be with Sinclairs?

I initially thought that the MK5 GTi was over-priced and to some extent still do. The build quality of the MK5 is not as good as the MK4 but as an overall package I think its the best in its class and is certainly the car I'd choose to buy. What does concern me is where VW is going to take the MK6, its development is being rushed through because the profitability of the MK5 is so dire, VW has gone so far as saying that if it continues to build cars with such slim profit margins it will not survive. We all know what happened to Mercedes when they went down a similar route in order to cut costs - I just hope that VW does not make the same mistake. Apparently there is already talk of the US market Jetta going back to torsion beam rear suspension for the MK6 variant to save money and because "the average US buyer will not notice any difference"

Agreed John, the Swissol Cleaner Fluid is awesome stuff, in fact all the Swissol I've got and used is top notch but its always good to try other things once in a while

Had a good look (and drive) of one yesterday - absolutley huge thing, usual top notch Audi quality but must admit that its an ugly bugger, seems like Audi dropped the ball on the visual appeal, the thing is far too tall and long in relation to its width

225BHP, not sure on the torque figures, apparently the Ford engineers have designed the exhaust to produce a Quattroesque warble

They are extremely good - I'd find it difficult to choose a Golf GTi over one, especially in the metallic orange. Amazing how a simple re-design of the exhaust has made ithe engine feel and sound far more aggressive than in Volvo's Was offered one by my local Ford dealer for 16.5k, brand new and in mid spec ST2 trim

...anyone use this on a regular basis, seems to compare very well with Swissol but is a lot cheaper. Just picked up a 175 gram tub for £17.99 from Serious Performance Ltd, ordered a load of car cleaning stuff off them at very good prices.

Gutted for you - is there no way round the problem at all

Am I right in thinking that your Passat essentially has a full Audi drivetrain, obviously the 4wd system couldn't be called quattro but thats exactly what it is in all bar name

They were part of a limited run of models that Nissan produced including the S-Cargo van. They were all aimed at young Japanese, every model was massively over-subscribed and the lucky (!!!) buyers were chosen in a lottery. Never sold outside Japan, not great to drive (and yes, i have driven a couple of them) but they are very reliable and popular little cars that hold on to their value extremely well.

Still scheduled for Sept release

I'd put money on it being the stalk, my wipers plaed up in exactly the same way, I just put on a spare column stalk I had in a box and it cured it, the wires had simply worn down and were creating shorts - it would be worth picking up a stalk from e-Bay and giving it a try

Everything about your car causes unforseen problems Woody :D

JMR has also just supplied with a complete kit including bulbs for £200, don't think he's doing anymore but if you're interested it would be worth giving him a call. Woody is also correct about the VOSA regulations, the only thing that they check is that a. Your headlights work and b. The level is correct

Good buy I got a couple weeks ago then, a complete set of used but great condition seals, doors, boot, lower window outer trms and a few other bits for £12

I like it, would look too slabby with indicators and fog recesses smoothed away but thats only my opinion, try it on the car, if YOU like it then keep it, its your car and any mods should be done to please you and not others

......just about to turn over 153k, 30k done since last MOT, I was very apprehensive, thought it would fail on a few wear and tear items, certainly wasn't expecting anything major It PASSED - not even an advise - great start to a long weekend, was expecting to spend it putting things right

Don't know L J Irvine, thats a site that a colleague looks after. You can earn decent money within VW but depends on how the business is run and what the pay plan is like.

If the VW site likes you they are not able to offer you the job until you have completed a day long assessment at the National Learning Centre in MK, it is by no means a rubber stamp exercise either. Which VW site is it?

Minichamps do a great range of VW stuff, loads of Karmann Ghia stuff for the aircooled fans. This collecting thing has kickstarted me collecting Alfa Romeo models again as well, as if over 500 wasn't enough already !!!

Unfortunately I have succumbed and am building a collection, loads of road tests, brochures, including a load of foreign stuff and models