stevebish

Ah, had forgotten the keyboard layout!! Cheers for that Ricky! Shall have to stick to UK machines! The only Dell with 17" screen doesn't have a number pad and when specced to compare with the AJP tops £1500! I think I'm gonna end up going for the AJP, much easier upgrading at build rather than afterwards and won't invalidate any warranty.

Thanks for the advice guys. Just checked out Alienware, basic system with 17" screen is £1388, with the extras I can get in others machines it goes up to over £1500! Over 5kg's too!! Anyone else with good laptop experience and advice? Anyone know how I can get around the HP delivery problem? Cheers

Hi all, Looking for a new 'desktop replacement' laptop at the moment, want minimum 17" screen with full size keyboard including number pad. Max budget is £1300, preferably nearer £1000 though! The main contenders are HP's ZD8000 range, Acer's Aspire 1804WSMi and AJP's D870P. The AJP is based on a Clevo chassis. I like the HP but you can only get it in the uk with 4200 rpm hard drives. In the US you can 'build your own' ZD8000 and add loads of extras! At the moment the 7200rpm drive is not an option, it comes and goes apparently. The site HPshopping.com, will only ship to the US. Does anyone know if a US spec machine will work in the UK? Is it only the power supply that could be different? If it does work, can anyone advise how I could get one to the UK?? Any advice on the Acer and AJP is also very welcome!!! Thanks Steve

treasure

Not so long ago I was gonna sell the Lexus for a car that was cheaper to run and service, then decided that because of the amount of money I had lost in depreciation, I would keep it and let her drive it. (Lighter right foot!) The main philosophy here was that She wanted a new MINI and it would cost more than the Lex was worth. Now we find out that you can get a MINI for less than £10,000! Typical! Only last week I renewed my GOLD membership! Still, a worthwhile cause! :D So it's on the books again! I've browsed Auto Trader & Exchange & Mart for ideas on pricing but they all vary so much! I'm sure I'll get quite varied quotes here too, but can anyone suggest how much they would sell a IS200 Sport on a '51' plate with 64,000 miles, FLSH and excellent condition. If anyone is interested, PM me! :winky: Thanks for your help! Steve

You've been spying on me Nick! For info of those who replied, I ended up going for an older Mk2 Mondeo. I did look seriously at the Focus after your recommendations, but cash wise, just couldn't justify it. The Mondeo is bigger cheaper, with more gadgets and being one of the last Mk2's, all niggling problems have been ironed out. :winky: I have an X plate 2.0 Ghia. It has 6 disc in-dash changer, cruise control, trip computer, big useful boot with split folding seats, full Ford SH, new tyres all round and the previous owner spend £1000 on it in August at a Ford dealer! All for £2995 with 6 mths tax thrown in! :D It also helps that because I have owned one before, I already have a Haynes manual and roof bars for it! Thanks for all the replies! Steve

Kazdul Thats the good thing about Ford! You can get excellent second hand deals! I just missed out on a 01 X plate new shape Mondeo 2.0 Ghia X for £4000! The car has more toys and gadgets than the IS and much more practicality! You cannot argue with that! On a similar point, the IS has lost silly amounts of value over the last year or so and will continue to do so now that a new model is on the horizon.

Hi monkeyra! (Nick) Cheers for your input, wondered if you'd see the post! The 140k 99V Ghia X I looked at was very shabby. Checked out an 01X Mk3 Zetec and that was quite shabby too. Just having probs finding a good condition Mondeo. I used to have a 1.8 Zetec 99T Mondeo before the Lex. It was good enough for me, but may well be swayed to a Focus by the reviews posted here! I think the Mk3 Mondeo is too big now. Drove one Thursday and it was HUGE! Didn't realise it was so big! Thats when I started to think Focus! Thanks all for your input! I'll post again when I have bought! Steve

Due to the amount of money I've lost on my car, I'm now keeping it and letting the missus run it. She'll have a lighter right foot and does less miles to keep the fuel and servicing costs down! I am gonna replace her car, Rover 211 SE ('99 V), with one of the above. Budget is £4000 absolute max. Want Ghia spec if poss, as want elec windows all round and as many other extras as poss. :P Has anyone got anything like this for sale? Or has anyone owned any of them to give ideas? :winky: Cheers Steve

Had Kumho KH11's on a previous car, they were too hard a compound, ok in the dry, but useless if it was at all wet/damp. It you want a cheap tyre, lots of people here rave about Toyo's. I have T1S's on mine still, lasted well and give good grip etc. Delve into the 'Wheel and Tyre' forum for more info. I went through two years worth of posts before finally going for the Toyo's!

CORSA'S!!!! Living in Luton Vauxhalls are everywhere!! Corsa's are driven by old women who can't drive, middle aged women who cant drive and chavs who think they can drive, but can't! AAAARRRRGGGGHHH! Horrible!

tennis

hydraulic

Bump! Someone must know an answer to this one! All we want to know is how to remove the map rading light/sunroof switch console! Pleeeaaase!!

Mine has started dying recently too! Have just visited the page and will buy when I get home! Cheers d3fy!

p.s. Anyone else looking for nice holidays should check out TripAdvisor.com. It's really helped me decide where to go! It has certainly stopped me from booking hotels that were just not suitable.

Thanks for the replies guys! I called the four that I had found and turns out its way out of our budget!! Real shame, looked lovely! Looks like were off to Hawaii now, with a three night stop in New York. The missus loves NYC and we both enjoy surfing, so Hawaii will be great! The Hawaiian hotel has their own dolphin pool with six resident dolphins! Yep, you can swim with them too! Hotels in NYC and Hawaii are both 5 star plus! All this for less than a basic package to Fiji! Thanks for the congrats Peter!

We're hoping to go to Fiji next June for Honeymoon. We've been looking at a resort called Tokoriki Island Resort. Has anyone been to Fiji or this particular resort? What I really need is names of travel agents that work that area. I have some from the net, but they are not always easy to find. Thanks in advance.

Any management speak- My manager loves the term, "its a no brainer", to describe something that should be done without any further discussion! My company has three "Values"! They are, "Going Beyond, Opening Doors & Enjoying Life"!! How F******g annoying are they?!?!?! F*** going beyond and opening doors! As for enjoying life, thats what I do when I go home!! Also people who give a running commmentary of what they doing! I have one sitting opposite me right now!! AAARRGGGHHH! :megaangry: :shutit:

Thats really strange! Very impressive! The Ford Scorpio looks weird!

Happy Brithday Guys! Have a few on me!! :winky:

Fancy that, I was just about to post almost exactly the same question! I thought my bulb had gone until I tried to remove the cover and it flickered a couple of times. I've tried just pulling the cover off with flat bladed screwdriver but to no avail. Any help will definately be appreciated! I'm in this one with ya Pete! :winky:

My recent IS screen replacement was Pilkington glass. It had the heating element, but the rear view mirror boss was slightly too low. I accepted it though, was only minor. This was through RAC Auto-Windscreens.

sticky

I'm afraid my next car is likely to be a Skoda Octavia Estate Diesel!! Simply can't afford to keep the Lex much longer! It will probably go after my wedding next June. I wanna use it for the wedding ya see! I find the IS too impractical, with no split folding rear seats etc. Can't afford to go the Sportcross route either.