Tomm

I've PM'd you all the necessaries. Cheers J Dog.

That's nothing to do with being a finance-phobe though. That's just wanting to spend as little money as possible on a car, which is fine. If you have the cash in the bank for a (new) car, it's still not always sensible to buy it outright. Often a lease / PCP deal will cost you less in depreciation, plus it'll free up your money to do whatever you want with it - invest it etc (in my case save it for a house deposit). A lot of people seem to have an anti-finance view without really looking into it.

Thanks Jardo. I don't want a new car - I've got my eye on a car that's no longer in production (e86 Z4 coupe ). With any luck, though, it should be something that depreciates less than (E.g.) a standard Golf because they're rare (ish) and sought after. So in 2 years time I'm sure it'll be worth more than a Golf I could get for the same money now. Now obviously that wouldn't factor into any HP agreement but the GFV ought to be higher, so the monthly repayments might be less on a PCP deal? But equally if I went for a HP deal, at 2-3 years in I might expect to have some equity in the car? Re warranty - obviously it'll be out of warranty. Is that a problem particularly? What happens if the car blows up half way through (or even right at the end of) a PCP deal - who foots the bill? I'm just failing to see the real difference between PCP (over 2.5 years) and HP (over 5 years). Both allow you to change cars easily at 2.5 years. I suppose PCP is more predictable which some people like, but that's about it? Also - help a brother out. What's the car industry like at the moment? I'm imagining this month / quarter has been pretty terrible for the sale of cars? I'm hoping that I can use this as leverage... But your 41 cars this month seems like a lot?

Can anyone (Jardo?) explain the pros/cons of buying a used car under a PCP agreement, rather than a standard hire purchase (HP)? My current car is just over 2.5 years into a 5 year HP deal - at this stage I can do one of a few things: Give it back with no issues and owe nothing (under the 'rule of halves') There is some equity in it (my finance settlement figure is less than the value of the car - even at trade) so I could trade in easily Or of course I could keep paying and keep it for another 2.5 years until I own it outright (but I'm getting itchy feet and fancy a change) This seems to be pretty flexible - but people seem to think PCP is more flexible. As I see it, if you get a car on PCP (over, say, 2.5 yrs to keep it comparable), then at the end of the 2.5yr agreement you have the same basic options as I've put above. You could either: Give the car back owing nothing If there is some equity in the car, trade into another car Extend the loan/get a bank loan to pay off the rest over the next 2.5 years at a similar monthly cost Seems it's basically the same deal, except that a 2.5 yr PCP deal would have a more expensive monthly cost than a 5 year HP? What's the advantage to PCP?

I love my Civic (FN2). It is, more-or-less, all things to me. Fast, turns in beautifully, has such nice neutral handling for a FWD, loads of toys and has room for bikes in the back. I'm sure it's not properly fast (compared to modified stuff) but it's faster than 95% of the cars on the road. Plus it sounds so sweet and it encourages you to drive at 8000+ rpm (VTEC yo etc). I've never driven a 'teg but I'd imagine they're a very similar experience to my Civic - To whoever that said an Integra has no character, I can't believe that's true for a second. Awesome cars. I'm thinking about changing it at some point - just because I fancy a change, and at the moment my 'car history' isn't very extensive, but I honestly can't think of anything that ticks all the boxes quite so well. Maybe on an objective level, an S4 (avant) would be a better all-round car. But they don't excite me at all.

Now you get to go car shopping! Always an exciting time. Is your neck still broken though?

What's that based on? It sounds counter-intuitive at best.

Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Vy_5teig5zs#! Looks rattly as anything but fun! Good luck to the guy. Revolver - his current bike (that he bought) is FWD, but the one he wants to make is RWD with two wheels at the front.

I had exactly the same symptoms on my old 1.6l 8v 6n Polo. I have no idea whether they share the same architecture or whatever but cleaning out the butterfly in the throttle body worked for me. When I took it out it was filthy and black and although wasn't obviously sticking, when I cleaned it the problem went away. Worth a try anyway. It's pretty caked-on black stuff, I used some brake cleaner IIRC. Oh, and wear some rubber gloves or something - I had black hands for days after I did mine! The throttle body is between the air filter and the inlet manifold, and it's what the throttle cable actuates. So it should be pretty easy to find.

Shit that looks bad. Sounds like it was 100% their fault - which is even scarier. Glad you're ok, sorry about the Leon!

Let's not forget some people even enjoy their work - they find it rewarding and interesting. But no, you're right. These guys are nolifers.

Sorry I didn't realise there was a Blur 'Classic' that existed before the LT / XC (and later Tr) versions. They look like a lot of money for a pretty old frame - no doubt helped by Santa Cruz's 'boutique' image. They're probably OK, suspect they'll be fairly flexy and the geometry probably won't be especially modern. I'd go for something more recent, personally, although it sounds like it'd work OK with all your bits so definitely not the worst idea ever.

Aren't Blur XCs more like 100mm? The older 130mm frames would be a Blur 4x?

The guy's eBay history includes some trials stuff (Onza mod tyres). Anyone know who's behind these?

One bike has forks with 3 crowns One has 1 crown The Patriot has braking arms attached to the swingarm (instead of the main triangle), adding extra weight and rattle but nothing else Backwards cranks on the Commencal It's f**king bat shit crazy. My money's on Pete Wright...

I've yet to really get into the films section, they're all a bit shite. But the TV section has some really good stuff Breaking Bad Arrested Development (a must if you've never sen it) Californication

Service interval for Rock Shox is 40 hours for the bath oil. Which (on my revelations) is only 5ml in each leg. Obviously it depends on conditions but I'd say that's about accurate - I service the lowers every 1-2 months and you can tell the difference before/ after pretty easily. The damping oil is different - I don't know what SRAM quote but I only ever touch it if there's a problem. Surely you're not riding 30+ hours/week anyway?!

Yeah I was gonna say, you don't want DMR Motos or Holy Rollers for cross country use, especially not in this weather. They're for DJ or BMX track stuff. All year round - High Rollers. They're not super-fast but they're a decent compromise A Maxxis Larsen TT is a pretty decent summer tyre with enough grip for off road use in the dry I'm sure there are plenty of others though.

Continental recommend that if you can't afford two sets of tyres, then you can use their 'winter' tyres all year round if you like. My girlfriend has winter tyres on her Golf - has had for 3 years and 20 000 miles (in UK, in average conditions all year round) - still plenty of treat left so they don't wear that quickly! It's quite impressive how much traction they get on snowy / icy roads compared to the normal road tyres on my car. In the dry, my Civic has far better traction, but in the snow hers wins easily. Even if it's really slippery, they tend to slide predictably rather than just give out, which is nice (and safe, obviously). I don't really know how they perform in summer if you're pressing on, but in terms of wear rate they're not an issue at all. She says she'd just buy winter tyres all the time from now on. TL:DR winter tyres are good in winter.

My Boxxer Maxle has a problem which makes it seem as though the bolt is rounded (it isn't) but it's really hard to describe. I'll do my best. When you undo the first allen bolt, the wedge on the opposite fork leg sometimes doesn't come out evenly. This means that it doesn't expose enough of the other allen head (the one used for taking the maxle out fully), so you can't get any purchase. When you undo the wedge section, make sure the inner section of the maxle is evenly spaced between both legs. You may need to hit one end with a hammer. This might free up a bit more of the thread and allow you to use the Maxle as usual. Does that sound anything like your problem?

http://www.limboproducts.co.uk/ I've only heard good things about these.

I personally would recommend any of the big French alp resorts. 3 Vallees (Meribel / Val Thorens / Courchevel / Les Meniures / St Martin de Belleville) Portes du Soleil (Morzine / Avoriaz / Les Gets) Paradiski (Les Arcs / La Plagne) Espace Killy (Tignes / Val D'Isere) Chamonix Mt Blanc Alp D'Huez <I'm sure I've forgotten some other big resorts> There are plenty of reasons to branch out and go somewhere else but for a first time, you can't really go too far wrong with any of those.

Andorra is in the pyrenees not the alps and the snow can be pretty variable. Also you don't get as much height. I looked into it a few years back (resort called Soldeu) and decided it was basically going to work out just as expensive as an alps trip, but with likely worse snow. Al you can get a board bag for peanuts. E.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TSA-The-Snowboard-Asylum-Snowboard-Bag-not-Dakine-Burton-/121051579204?pt=UK_SportingGoods_Skiing_Accessories&hash=item1c2f3c8344 If you're into eBay, have a look for second hand snowboards. They seem to go for not very much dollah, for £200 ish you should get something pretty nice that won't really lose value.

I'm surprised that you can get a setup for such a small amount of money, but it looks decent enough. Don't forget to budget for boots though. A lot of people say if you a budget of, say, £400 for boots/board/bindings, then you should budget at least half that for your boots. I wish I'd taken that advice when I bought stuff first time round to be honest. Of course you can hire boards in resort, but whilst ski hire is pretty decent the French don't seem to care about renting decent snowboards. You'll end up with a 4-5 year old board, scratched and unwaxed with no pop left. If you can buy for less than £250, I say do it. You should be able to get a lot of that back via eBay if you decide you don't like it. Have a read up on reverse camber snowboards (try here: http://www.eternalsnow.com/snowboard-camber-comparison.html). Some people say that reverse camber boards are easier to learn on, other people say they teach you bad habits. Certainly they're more forgiving and you're less likely to catch edges. On that site, one of the other deals (only slightly more expensive) is a reverse camber board. http://www.absolute-snow.co.uk/V/Flow_MERC_FREESTYLE_Snowboard_Package_156cm_L_BB_Sack-(55097) - Might be worth considering. As for bindings, the Flow 'step in' bindings on the deal you linked to are possibly not the right choice. The back folds up to hold the boot in rather than doing up the straps. This is easier / quicker but they're less responsive and a real problem when they fill up with snow. A lot of people use them for snowdomes when you're in/out all the time but for real mountains I wouldn't bother. The Burton FS bindings that come with the deal I linked to should be decent enough. If you're size 12 you'll probably need a wide board.

Ooooh, nearly at lunar distance (238,900 miles).