elmarco

Does it include VAT & carbon taxes etc?

Full code brown

The other thing to consider is does the frame have mounts on it? Nothing wrong with good V-brake setups. My old hardtail runs Avid Single Digit SL's and they are 10x better than my wifes Hayes hydraulic discs. Make sure you use good pre-stretched cables stainless (I personally use Shimano XTR) for better feel and power.

My DICE works perfectly with the steering wheel controls - in fact, it works better than with the radio itself... There is a known issue with some older style radios which means they need a double key press (one key press clears the screen, and the second actually does what the key is supposed to do). Mine has this issue, but not from the steering wheel. The only issue I have had was having the ipod too close to the engine bay and it was picking up noise. I moved it back to the boot and no problems. Best bit was I picked it up on Trademe for $70.

+1 on Ross knowing his scheisse from his sugar and being great to deal with.

Yep - you need to be very careful with polycarbonate lenses. The coating is normally a hard coat to stop scratching from car wash brushes etc and it also acts as UV protection - but it is only on the outside surface. Once it gets damaged, the only way is down unfortunately - it will peel off. Without the coating, the PC will eventually turn yellow as a reaction to the UV, and scratch easily. To add insult to injury, if you have been using cheap headlamp bulbs that are not low UV (especially HID burners or retrofit kits), then you are increasing the chances of this happening with UV from the inside as well as the outside (daylight). The other thing to remember about PC is that it is very sensitive to some chemicals. Contact with certain chemicals (like alcohols or acetone from memory) will result in stress cracks (crazing) or at worst your lens will melt before your eyes. Remove and polish them at your peril.

From what I remember (it has been around 20 years since I owned one): - Rust in the sills, roof, firewall and doors - Leaks from the rocker cover - Leaks from the cam cover plates (back of the engine) - Any number of electrical gremlins in the old ones - Piss poor lights - Easily picked locks - Ride like an anorexic schoolgirl (boney) That one looks like a really nice example - and very late model too. They were assembled by militant midlands hillbillys so I don't think any two minis were ever identical and the fit and finish was never great on them even from new. Closest thing to an airbag in mine was the spare tyre.... Could be one hell of a lot of fun!

What the hell is it? A bag of tennis balls?

About 6 months back I got converted to a Weber charcoal kettle - and haven't looked back since. Only thing is that I feel raped every time I get charcoal from Mitre 10 ($19 / 5kg bag) - and right now we are chewing through at least 1 bag per week. Anyone know where I can get good lumpwood charcoal at a better price? I've tried the manufactured briquettes from Countdown/Mitre 10 but found they are basically crap. The other thing I found on turdme last night was coconut shell briquettes. Anyone used these before?

Or alternatively Nothing wrong with a Transit - I had one that had done 3 laps of Europe on one oil change and no air filter.... Still started every time first flick of the key (even in winter) although the best I had was 65 mph downhill with a tail wind and the door locks were merely a suggestion on the Ford options list.

Yeah, as others have said, rotate the bulbs 180 degrees in the socket. The filament position is super critical with free form reflectors (which is also why they go to sh*t when someone puts an HID burner in them). Aren't the reverse lamps in the boot?

Or the car was towed, and reported stolen incorrectly... Don't they already have this system running overseas? I'm sure I have seen footage of a cop cruising through a carpark with the system checking every numberplate he passed via machine vision. Might have been either Canada or the pacific northwest somewhere. Pretty cool stuff.

I think they can only use OEM for cars with rain sensors - just make sure you tell them. Get quotes from a couple of sources that you are happy to have do the work, and make sure they are aware that it has a rain sensor.

That looks like quite a good tidy rig - the skeg doesn't even look to have been beached.... With 70hp it will never set any records, but still enough for the kids to ski behind (adults might struggle a bit).

As many have said - the motor condition is paramount as you can't get a taxi home if it packs up. The 14ft Sea Nymph we had when I was a kid was a great family boat. They ride well (much better than the ali boats) and aren't too much of a handful when launching. However, the old man bought another one a couple of years back and they are certainly a lot smaller when you get to 6ft+..... Nothing wrong with a well maintained Johnson or Evinrude although my personal preference would be the Yamaha every time. One to avoid is the old Chrysler's although I think most of them will have corroded away by now. Also consider the 16ft Bonito - they were a good family boat in their time. And make sure you sea trial it - some boats look fine (like my old mans Ramco) but can be bloody wet when you turn around to come home. The gullwing Sea Nymphs are pretty good in this respect.

Yes a DICE unit & a STD BMW world mode tuner - does all you need and looks factory std. You can get these off ebay for around $150 USD - just make sure it is the world mode tuner. You could also try HellBM as Ray may have one in stock

I take it you have checked the spare wheel is bolted down appropriately?

Insurance write off?

Always loved these, and wanted one for many years. Just a pity they are as rare as rocking horse sh*t down here or I would have bought one ages ago.... Nice job!

Or the Happy Gilmore type.

Yeah I've tried to find Bosch ones (the only other ones I'll use) but they seem to be as scarce as rockinghorse sh*t... I've learnt the hard way with that one.

Non-OEM replacements are OK as long as they are reputable suppliers - I normally ask what brand they use if it is a mechanic I don't know. I won't let them fit any brand I haven't heard of (I recently had a "disagreement" with the insurance company that tried to put a chinese knock-off windscreen in) and stick with the known OEM suppliers. And to be fair, sometimes I will only fit BMW parts (like windscreen wiper refills - they are just so much better it isn't funny). I think you are doing the right thing by asking about that particular company of you have no baseline. The alternative is to trust the Merc dealer and leave a couple of zeros lighter.... If in doubt, Google is your friend.

Whisper sweet nothings into its CD slot? Bribe it with an ipod interface? Sorry - I've got nothing constructive to add.... Apart from getting the radio out is really simple if you need to - just lever the woodgrain moulding out (starting at the passenger door).

You really need teeth like Gary Busey or a South African accent to complete the package...