shotwood

She's an Altezza, and always will be in my ownership. Why would you want to import a car from Japan, then hide the fact? I always guess. :P (and no dents yet... ) AFAIAC the visibility is no worse than any modern-day car. Came back on a the A146 last night. Covered 26 miles in 31 minutes and obeyed all he village speed limits. Need I say more about the handling/stability? :D Edit: Must get the 'n' working on my keyboard :duh: Steve, we need a spelcjeker! :D

Wxman, I'm sure that everyone reading this post can see your point, but surely your argument is with EBay, not LOC. Paul (Fargo) has given negative feedback, which is a start. The goods were not as advertised. I think that where Led_Auto_Design has become confused is the use of corporate images on EBay (e.g. Nokia phones Electrical goods etc.) It is common practice to use these 'stock' images to sell a product. The difference is he is NOT selling one of your products so using your pics is wrong. You need to take this up with EBay. I'm sure there are many like me who are watching this thread with great interest. If your product is good enough, then let it prove itself. What we don't want to see is a slanging match. (Not here anyway... ) Hmmm... now where was... ;)

AFAIK the TOM'S ECU should increase the torque more than the outright power. Without driving another Tezza and doing a back-to-back comparison, I wouldn't like to say what the difference is... Very stable, though mine does have stiff suspension. (Soon to be changed to APEXi coilovers). Turn-in is crisp and from 4000 rpm onwards, she flies. :P Not yet. I am hoping to go to the dyno session at TDI later on in the year. Everything on the car was fitted in Japan, so I'm in the dark there. Haven't noticed any quirks though so I suspect the mapping is fine. Though I stand to be corrected My advice, if you like Jap performance and good hadling coupled with a bit of luxury, is go for an Altezza.

It depends on how you like to drive the car. If you expect an Altezza to waft you from 40 to 80 on a wave of torque in top gear, then prepare to be dissappointed. It will do it, but 80mph in 6th is around 4000 rpm and the vvti is just about to kick in... If you don't mind changing down a couple of gears to make rapid progress, then you've made the right choice. I find mine nimble, comfortable and plenty fast enough when I need to ahem... get a move on. Let's just say I haven't noticed any problems when cruising at 'immediate driving ban speeds...' (On a test track of course occifer... :winky: I picked mine up in February and so far its been everything I expected, and more. But then I knew what I wanted from a car, and thanks to this club, what to expect.

Thanks guys. Yes, the warning beep sounds and yje interior lights come on, just no light at the base of the door. Looks like further investigaion is needed. Seems strange that both have gone. Oh well, out with a circuit tester this weekend.

What a bummer. As Scorpion said, petty jealousies at work here. Can't view the damage though. Works firewall deems it an innappropriate site... Hope you can get it repaired without too much hassle

My son told me last night that I had a couple of bulb blown on the Altezza. He had just been in a Volvo and when you open the door, a red light glows at the base. He pointed out that mine didn't come on. I had assumed they were simply reflectors set in the base of the front doors, as I cannot see an easy way to remove the red perspex. However, he has got me wondering. Are they lights or simply reflectors? If the former, how do I remove the perspex front? Thanks

This could be useful if you need a guide to import duty. Have used it several times. AFAIK it the 'bible' for import duty charges, but I'm prepared to be proved wrong ;)

Illegal? Moi? Non non monsieur. Just my 'Speed camara mode' ;) Actually, you don't know how near the truth you are...

Hmmm, have to modify my garage entry. I've got those on my 'Tezza. Thought they were standard fair but obviously not :D See here for some in Aztec fire.

Steve, TheDon has given some v.goog advice. It is defo worth seeing the CAB or a solicitor experienced in employment law. I went down that avenue a few years ago and the solicitors advice stopped me making a catastrophic mistake. AFAIK, most will ovver 1/2 hour free consultation with no obligation. My advice would be do this ASAP, then at least you'll know where you stand and what to do.

Hmmm, having just imported and Altezza, the funds wouldn't stand it quite yet, but next year... Mind you, could I live with a LHD vehicle? Have driven a couple, but not that enamoured with them on the roads round here. Those old tractors don't half take up some room.

Just doing my 'I'll check Ebay before going home' stint and found this vehicle for sale in the States. Buy it now for £8500! I knew cars were cheaper over the pond, but this seems ridiculous. Almost makes me want to emigrate...

Bummer. How did that happen? (If you don't mind me asking) Hope the damage isn't too great

Apologies if this has been posted before. Snappy Answer #1 A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets. As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket. He opened his trench coat and flashed her. Without missing a beat she said "Sir, I need to see your ticket, not your stub." Snappy Answer #2 A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy replied "No ma'am,they're all dead" Snappy Answer #3 The cop got out of his car and the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window. The cop said "I've been waiting for you all day." Quick as a flash the kid replied, "Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could." When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket. Snappy Answer #4 A truck driver was driving along on the highway. A sign comes up that reads 'Low Bridge Ahead'. Before he knows it the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under the bridge. Cars are backed up for miles. Finally, a police car comes up. The policeman gets out of his car and walks around to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says "Got stuck, huh?" The truck driver says "No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas." Snappy Answer #5 A minister was seated next to a Texan on a flight to Dallas. After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken. The Texan asked for a whiskey and soda, which was brought and placed before him. The flight attendant then asked the minister if he would like a drink. He replied in disgust "I'd rather be savagely raped by brazen whores than let liquor touch my lips." The Texan looked at the minister, then handed his drink back to the attendant and said "I didn't know we had a choice" Snappy Answer #6 A university lecturer reminds her students of tomorrow's final exam. "Now, I won't tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury or illness, or a death in your immediate family but that's it, no other excuses whatsoever!" A smart-***** in the back of the room raised his hand and asks "What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?" The entire class does its best to stifle their laughter. When silence is restored, the lecturer smiles sympathetically at the student,shakes her head, and sweetly says "Well, I suppose you'd have to write your answers using your other hand."

I remember racing a mate on one of these. He rode my 'racer' while I rode his chopper. Er.. no, better rephrase that. Well, OK, you know what I mean :P Anyways, over a 200m sprint I did beat him. unfortunately, I discovered the meaning of 'tankslapper' at the end of the run. I can't recall which parts of me hit which parts of the bike or ground, but it was all rather painful. The phrase 'form over function' still comes to mind whenever anybody mentions them.

I've never had one Sob! Can I now? Please Steve? Huh?

No, I don't mind at all. Check your PM's I'll try to get some pics this weekend.

:) :) I wonder who that would be? After the last experience, I'll take you up on that. As for plans, well, first I've got to explain to the missus how much it cost. She's seen the FOB price. I forgot to metion the import duties and SVA charges... Oh and the alarm as well... Once I've got over the hospital stay and bruising, I may look at changing the suspension and seats. Some new wheels would be nice, and then... Ouch.. Coming dearest.

I changed my email address because of the spam. Before I did, I was getting around 150 emails a day. :yack: I now use a forwarding service, with pop3 mailboxes and webmail access, if I need it. Whenever I have to register with a web site, I set up a new email name and forward this to a specific mail box. If I start getting any spam, I can forward this address to a bit-bucket, and I don't even see it, let alone download it. These lowlifes are a massive pain to anyone who use the net. Whatever you do DON'T ask to be removed from a mailing list. This merely confirms they have hit a valid address.

So it took almost 4 months of patient waiting, delays and foul-ups, but I'm finally driving my imported Altezza. :D The shipping shortage from Japan was the primary cause of the delay, but it wasn't helped by a lack of information from the import agent. I wasn't informed that the car wouldn't start at the dockside until a week had passed... The worrying thing was, the transport firm used couldn't get the car started even when attempting a jump-start. When I finally managed to get it transported to the SVA workshop, they informed me that several fuses had blown - usually caused by an attempt to jump-start the vehicle with the leads on the wrong terminals... Apparently, I was very lucky that the ECU wasn't fried. If I import another car, I'll sort out the transport from dockside to SVA myself. Can you imagine the difficulty of proving who was liabile in this case? Anyway, drove it back from Bristol to Norfolk last week, 250 miles of M5, M4, M25 M11 et al with no number plates, and guess what? Despite passing numerous police vehicles, I wasn't stopped once. Had great fun through the speed cameras though... It's now been registered and alarmed and has one happy bunny behind the wheel. The only fault I can find so far is with the aftermarket suspension - seems pretty, no make that very, firm to me. The rear suspension mounts have an adjustment wheel, which turns and appears to have no effect and is branded 'GAB'. The fronts have a slotted plastic screw which I will not turn. Anyone got any ideas on how to adjust these? I don't want to force the issue and break anything! Oh and I suppose I could add the zorst is a bit on the loud side. Sounds great, except when accelerating past a police vehicle... and the missus reckons I'm a big kid, and who am I to disagree with her? :D

A good reference site is: ADSL Guide The have comparisons and forums dedicated to different ISP's. Discussions can get quite interesting ;)

These Tezzas are becoming popular. Must be the enthusiam from Scott and co. that's having the effect. Your Tez must have been on the same boat as mine. (Hual Trooper?) I've gone Gold here rather than TOC. Everyone is friendly & helpful. Enjoy your motah

The greatest problem with uninsured drivers is a lot of them have nothing to lose. Let's face it, there are two things that most of us take into account before we break the law. a) The likelihood of being caught. B) The punishment if you should be caught. Remember any punishment can be moral as well as financial. Take two simple examples. Speeding and Drink-driving. Most of us will be guilty of the first. Very few (I hope) guilty of the second. Why? Simply a drink-driving offence has a greater chance of being detected and the punishment (Fine/loss of licence/loss of job/moral pressure - particularly if you have an accident) is far greater. With insurance, it seems that the detection is not the problem, so what do most of those driving without insurance have to lose? They have little money, so a fine will have little effect. Their car? Well, if they are driving an old banger, crushing it will pain them little and cost the taxpayer money. In some circles, the number of cars crushed will probably add to their kudos. Their freedom? To some offenders, this is preferable to their present accomodation. And before I get lambasted as a 'left wing softie', just ask yourselves, what will happen when they get out? (After costing us, as taxpayers, a small fortune for the privilige of staying behind bars) Exactly, repeat offences. As I see it, the only way to reverse the trend is to give them something to lose. (i.e. a job.) If all their peers were in work, then a non-contributer to the group would soon lose his status. As an example, take the Gold membership in this club. Everyone likes to be helpful, but Gold membership is a way of putting something back in. Why should all the benefits of the club be available to everyone, even those who contribute nothing? The point I am tring to make is: When you join a club, the main questions to be asked is "What's in it for me?", and "Are the restriction/conditions for membership worth the cost?" Once you are a member, a decision to violate those rules is based upon the cost to yourself. If this cost is great enough, the rule will remain unviolated. The club membership approves the rules and approves any changes. We have to view the communities that the insurance dodgers come from as clubs and get them to amend their rules. Phew. Does that make sense? And before anyone brands me as a pacifist, I still subscribe to the 'You toucha my car, I smasha your face' school.' It's just I occasionally put my 'try to be sensible here' hat on... :)

He's obviously got good taste when it comes to cars then... :P Still, must mean you got a good price for it. Just think of all the extras you can add to the new one. :D Looking out for anything particular? or just a standard model to mod to your liking.