Andy665

I work with loads of dealers and on average they pay about £35 for a full pack of Diamond Brite, Supagard, Jewelbrite etc - product with the single biggest mark up that they sell - weird how they can make more profit out of that than selling a 20k car

Rarest of all cars has to be a BMW 318i with fully functioning indicators and an OFF switch for the front fogs

I've had two chargers looked after by JMR - great workmanship and good general Rado advice - you really can't go wrong with either JMR or G-Werks if current reputations are anything to go by

I'm using the Gold Class paint cleaner and polish followed by a coating of Swissol - seems to do the job nicely, certainly the paintwork is the smoothest I've ever known

Interested in peoples opinions on VW's current styling efforts in comparison to previous models: New Passat is a big lump of a thing compared to the restrained elegance of the last model MKV Golf has lost all of the crispness of the MKIV and could just as easily be a Peugeot or Toyota New Polo lost all cheekiness of last model and looks like its trying too hard to be a big car Touran - has a blander car ever been made Golf Plus seems to be the only crisp, taut looking car in the range that also has a hint of individuality about it

It was rebuilt in 02. The Aqua G60 that I bought recently had also been rebuilt by Jabba 30,000 miles previously but I got that rebuilt by JMR just to be safe. From what I have seen / read/ heard etc it seems to depend who at Jabba does the rebuild. With a rare and costly bit of kit like the G-Lader i'd rather not take any chances.

JMR checked the charger over on my Nugget just after I'd bought it and found that Jabba clearly had not replaced all the oil seals when they had rebuilt it 15,000 miles before

Both my G-Laders are safe - nice to have a rebuilt spare sitting in the loft though - never boot the car until oil temp is showing 80 degrees and always take the last three / four miles home gently to cool things down a little - oh, and oil and filter changes every 3000 miles, at the moment thats at least once a month

Thanks to G60Jet for quick posting of Hella Raintronic - just got to decide which G60 to fit it to now

Forgot all about this. Twas the Alfa 90, one of the most forgotten cars of the 90's - with good reason. Based on 75 floorpan with the 12V 2.5 V6, was intended to be the luxurious alternative to the 75, no Alfa styling "quirks", just big and boxy but did come complete with the aforementioned briefcase in dashboard, automatically extending front chi spoiler and horrible digital dashboard - I was offered one for free a few years ago and still didn't tkae it - more due to lack of space than anything

I had a bonnet resprayed, rear quarter panel incl some panelwork and a big chip in roof sorted for £320 - top class job, guy does lots of custom work and McLaren F1 exhibition cars

Red Rado (don't know which model) parked outside offices on Chippenham Drive in Milton Keynes this afternoon

That was a quick sale - congrats to you both

If its from a Passat it can only be 150BHP

GTi excepted Volkswagen are in trouble in the UK at the mo, more dealers than ever before but sales are over 20% down on last year, yes the market is down but not to the tune of 20% AND VW have got the Golf Plus, revised Polo and Passat to flog as well - the dealer service and product (generally) can no longer command a premium. The number of dealers I have been in to this year who are losing sales left, right and centre to a real mixed bag of competitors is frightening. I actually think that VW's obsession with falsh, gin palace type showrooms is intimidating and p***ing customers off, dealers are doing crazy deals, ot often I see a site making an average of more than £250 gross profit on a new car sale

Can't help seeing shades of the old Skoda Rapid Coupe whenever I see a new shape 3 door Focus, Ford seem to have lost their nerve. For me to buy a car first it has to look appealling, unless it pushes that button I won't go any further

Pity the Focus ST hasn't got the stance of the old RS, that was one purposeful looking car, superb drive too if you could adapt to the LSD. Loved the first pics of the Astra VXR but reckon it will date very quickly, Golfs always seem to age really well (MKIII excluded)

Kev - I hear what you are saying but how can you consider the A3 to be over-priced when the 2.0T is £1000 cheaper than the Golf. I agree with you that the GTi is the better drivers car and if that were the only criteria I would choose the Golf every time but most people have not got the luxury or inclination to buy on that factor alone. With long waiting lists and a great product are VW practising good business sense - absolutely. Is the GTi worth the premium over an identically powered A3 - highly debatable Personally give me three top notch Corrados for the same 20k every time

I don't think there will be much in it residual wise in the longer term, the Volkswagen dealersI have spoken to today and fuming about it as they are now quoting Nov at the earliest for GTi's and reckon that people not prepared to wait will go and buy the A3. I personally prefer the looks of the A3 and it leaves the Golf standing in terms of build quality.

I know the Golf GTi is highly regarded but at £20k its not exactly cheap OR loaded with equipment. Audi have just released details of the A3 2.0T FSI, same 197bhp, very similar standard equipment, admittedly won't be quite as sharp to drive but then again its also £1000 LESS Am I missing something or does the A3 look the more appealling all-round buy, not just talking about driver appeal but as an all-round ownership proposition

An old neighbour used to have one - just love the oddness of them but it makes so much sense having three seats

You've got Norman Wisdom and Geoff Duke haven't you Pretty good round here (Surrey / Sussex borders) - have seen Damon Hill, Ringo Starr, Chris Evans, Eric Clapton, Roman Abromovich and of course the TG team as I only live 5 miles froms Dunsfold - still can't get damn tickets though

.....going to try and get up and look at this in the next week or so http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/list.asp?p=1&s=474

So many nice cars there - looked like a good event

Sidlow VW Gatwick This is the 68th different dealership I have done work for this year and is the only dealer that I would actually buy a car from - good sales staff, not necessarily the cheapest place to buy a car from but the service more than justifies the extra cost. As an example - mentioned that my neighbour has had a bad experience with her Golf MK4 GTi at one of their sister sites re: a quote for a bumper repair. Her car is booked in now for plastic welding, if that doesn't do the job they will knock the cost of the plastic welding off the cost of a replacement bumper...they are also lending her a MK5 GTi for the day as well........that is what you call good dealer service