shotwood

People who chat in supermarket aisles, and leave their trolleys blocking access.

People who let their 5 year olds push the trolley without supervision.

Those who 'have to leave' when it's their turn to buy a round.

Those who go out for a group meal and insist on writing down what everyone had and adding individual totals up at the end, rather than divide the total by the number of people.

Those who grumble about leaving a tip, even when the service has been excellent.

People who believe everything they read in the papers...

Where do i stand on that out of interest, if the repair costs less than my excess, do i still have to pay the full excess, or just the cost of the repair?

The excess is how much of the expense of the repair you have to meet before your insurance will contribute. So, your excess is say £700, then that is how much you will pay towards the cost of any repairs.

In this instance you would have to pay the full £350, but that is all.

Look on the bright side Stu. You're £350 in pocket

Sorry to hear this. Pity It didn't happen to be on the Cromer Road did it? (I go past that junction quite often ;) )

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next thing i knew, i had a rover in the rear drivers side of my car

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Key point here is rear. You must have been in front of her for this to be the point of impact. It was your front door or wing, the case may be open to a little more debate. Diagrams will definitely help here.

BTW. Passengers do not count as witnesses. Take it from someone who has been there. A passenger is not regarded as an independant witness.

Hope you soon get it sorted mate and I know how you must feel..

See you around

bewitch

Glad you've got the 'tezz. Take it from me Plex, you'll keep on enjoying it. I bought mine exactly 1 year ago, and it hasn't dulled yet.

Looking forward to seeing the pics, especially now work has settled down to a more manageble level. :mat:

Somewhere between 5k & 6K, unless I'm in a hurry. Then it's nearer 8K... But then that's a 'tezza for you.

Clifford concept 600 on mine.

No problems at all. Cost was getting on for £500 fitted though.

Still they are supposed to be the best...

Sounds like a bad case of bronchitis there Scorps... :P

...or is the Doc holding your...

Money on its way Craig. You sure chippiestu4 hasn't been near your engine?

Hopefully it's only the gasket.

Oli,

When was it imported?

What I'm getting at is how many miles has it done over here? and how many in Japan?

As far as servicing goes, I won't have mine done at a main dealer, but I will still keep all the invoices for documentation, so I would expect some proof of servicing if it has done the majority of it's miles over here. Then again, how much is being knocked off for no SH? Personally, I would expect at least a grand for no proof, probably more.

Might be worth an AA/RAC check for peace of mind.

With that proviso, sounds pretty good to me, provided you can live with the GAB suspension. it will be nice to see you finally kitted out. :D

I'd agree with Steve.

A rental car will tend to be properly maintained, particularly at the higher end of the market.

These are often better buys than the 'pipe & slippers' vehicle that has only done 3000 miles a year, usually at the weekend at 30 mph in top gear... ;)

Provided the interior shows little sign of being abused, I would go for it, particularly if the price is right.

You've still got the two year warranty to fall back on.

No problem Oli. They are very firm but if you do go down the 'Tezza route, give us a shout.

I'll try and get some pics this weekend, work permitting.

I've ditched my GAB coilovers and fitted the Apexi ones. What a revelation. I think the GAB's were desgined for tracks/very smooth roads. No good for this country then...

I wasn't aware of the aftermarket suspension until I picked the vehicle up. Wouldn't have stopped me buying it, just wouldn't have paid any extra for it. ;)

Are they worth it?

A definite resounding yes! B)

Ok, the turn-in isn't quite as razor sharp, but mid-corner bumps no longer affect the line. The ride is well controlled and really smooth now.

I was surprised by how adjustable they are. A few clicks on the top knobs makes a considerable difference. Had a play this weekend and got the ride set up to my complete satisfaction.

A very worthwhile mod. B)

BTW, I could claim to be a mechanical genius and rabbit on about how easy they were to fit, but my mate has his own commercial garage and he fitted them for me in about 3 hours. He reckons they were easy though. :D

The main reason for an Altezza having problems in the SVA test is emissions.

This may be down to who carries out the SVA preparation. Mine had no problems and she's got a TOM'S ecu fitted. If anything was going to cause problems, I would guess this would, though I stand to be corrected.

What is the whole process to get the car on the road in the UK, do you have to go through an Import agent or can you do it yourself

Depends on how much work/research you want to do yourself, and the degree of risk you are prepared to take in order to save money.

I don't mind admitting that I was lucky. I hadn't factored in the possibility of a duff jump start wrecking my ECU. As it was it just cost me an extra £140 for the transport and fuses.

An agent has to absorb this risk, but then you pay extra. It's like all things in life, you pays your money and takes your choice.

Personally, I'm glad I took the risk, but then that's me. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

My cousin, who lives in the States, brought his wife over here for the first time last year. She complained bitterly about the price of petrol.

Then she found out her maths were wrong. She'd worked out litres to gallons correctly, but divided the resultant price by 1.6 to convert to dollars rather than multiplying it... ;)

She only found this out the day before they returned, otherwise he would not have been allowed into the pubs quite so often. :D

maybe you should test drive a Supercharged is200

Hmmm. I've never been known to say no, well not on offers like that. :P

If anything, mine would put Oli off. It's nowhere near as refined as an IS200, especially with that loud exhaust...

If you're anywhere with easy reach of Norfolk, then you're very welcome to try my baby out.

Well, FWIW, here's my opinion.

Servicing & maintenance:

1) Altezza

2) Honda

3) Lexus

IMHO a dealer service history is not so crucial with a 'Tezz. As long as it has been service correctly, then the resale will not be affected by a non-dealer service history as much as the other 2.

Cost of ownership:

Difficult to say especially when you take depreciation into account but I would say same as above. The 'Tezz can be imported for considerably less than the cost of an equivalent IS200 so the depreciation starts from a lower baseand you can use toyota parts rather than the Lexus equivalent. (So I have been reliably informed).

Resale:

1) IS200

2) Accord

3) Altezza

An import will always be more difficult to sell. Depends on how long you aim to run the vehicle. 2-3 years, deffo the IS200. The longer the period of ownership, the less it will matter. (As a vehicle gets older, I think it generally looses its 'exclusivity factor' and the source becomes less important than the condition.)

Practicality:

1) Is200

2=) Accord/Altezza

The IS200 is a smoother, more relaxed drive than the other two. Other than this, no difference.

Fuel Economy:

I don't know about the Accord, all I can say is the 'Tezza will probably

be around 2-5 mpg better than the IS. I get around 27-29 from mine.

Performance:

1) Altezza

2) Accord

3) IS200

Not much between Accord an 'Tezz, but the 'Tezz just edges it in my view. Anything like this is very subjective, but I love the overall driving experience of the import.

From the above, I reckon the Altezza just edges it, but then you'd think it strange if I said anything else :P

At the end of the day, they're all great cars and you won't go far wrong whichever one you choose.

As Scott says, I don't think you'll be dissappointed with your decision. Get the engine over 4000 rpm and she'll go like stink... Around the bends as well as the straights. The 4 cylinder engine is lighter than the 6 cyl AS variant. The lighter weight should make the handling better, though I've never had a back-to-back drive to test the theory.

I've only had mine for just over a month now, but I've already racked up 1200 miles.

Be warned though, it is all too easy to reach 3-figure speeds without really intending to... This comes from someone who was pulled over on Friday night and given a £30 fixed penalty... for illegal number plate spacing. Nothing to do with the fact that Mr Rozzer wanted to give me a £60 and 3 penalty points for 'excessive speed'.

I was lucky that:

(i) I only travelled a short distance at this speed before slowing down

(ii) The panda car couldn't catch me while I was at this speed.

(iii) I am very wary when a vehicle comes up behind me at high speed, so I didn't do it again...

So enjoy the car Jasear, but be careful. :D

Hil everyone. Does anyone know what that little swich under the steering wheel tilt gear is for? I have an Altzz AS200 Auto.

Also I want to know how easy is it to sell my Tezz. Would I be better off part exchanging it or is there a better way of selling it? Please help.

I'd suspect it's the radio band expander.

If you have a Japanese stereo in the car, then the FM bands covered are 76 Mhz - 90 Mhz. The switch should allow you to receive all the fm stations abvoe 90 Mhz. Just flick it and see.

The display on th eradio won't change (at least it doesn't on mine) but you will be able to receive all the UK stations.

As for selling, you will always get a better deal selling privately, but the price offered will be lower than for a comparable Lexus, unless you find someone who specifically wants a Tezza. But then you paid less for it when you bought it didn't you?

Enjoy it and don't woorry about selling. I intend to get several years out of mine before worrying about selling. :D

Thanks for these. Made me smile.

Maria, what are you going to do when he phones you back and asks 'Are you the lady looking for a screw?' Could take a lot of explaining...

i am the youngest

i lied.....................im sorry

How can we ever believe a word you say again Matt? :)

Hmmm... Trying to think what it reminds me of.

First impression was like an Alfa 147 that's gone through that 206 advert style treatment. (Where the indian drives it into a wall, gets an elephant to sit on it and panel beats into a rough 206 shape)

The side looks like a Maybach

The front? :yack:

Doesn't work for me at the moment. It may grow on me...but I have my doubts.

Hmmmm. Beer and Barbie. Now there's something that may tempt this yokel out of Norfolk.

All I'd need to do is persuade the missus to drive the Tezza...

Sounds an excellent idea to me Steve