Shamaz Majid

Yep, the red one is very Ferrari-esque...perhaps even better!

Ever since I had my Z re-sprayed last year, I've been meaning to get round to taking some fresh photos which show it off in the best pose possible. So far, the best I have found are shown below, and were taken off this forum. Thanks to the donors! The one below is my favourite and the Z looks truly exotic, not to mention very modern. The one below is also very classy, and I believe is Jimmers? Not found one of the front yet, but my personal opinion is that the dead on look is the best. Does anyone have any great photos that show the Z in a very classy and exotic light?

I can't speak for the pre-facelifted model but I sat in the 2011 model and I have to say the interior quality was fantastic. Everyone has their own opinion and standards of course, but having owned a string of Mercs (and Micras!), I have to say the quality both inside and outside was far superior. The fit and finish of Japanese cars has always been far better than their European counterparts, so that shouldn't really be a surprise...even a Micra has far narrower and better panel fits than most Mercs and BMWs. Would I spend £70-80k on a new GT-R? That's a good question, and unless you have that in your pocket to spend, probably an academic one. If it was me, it would be a Ferrari...simply an emotional decision.

That the GT-R is an awesome machine has never been in doubt, and as a life-long Nissan fan, I've always been very proud of it. The looks however have always disappointed for a car of this stature, especially in photos. Seen a few on the road, and they are certainly far more impressive. This weekend however, I happened to be in West Way Nissan in Aldershot and got the oppoerutnity to look at one very, very close. [ATTACH]58343[/ATTACH] It was the new 2011 model and I have to say that up close and personal, I was incredibly impressed. It's big; much bigger than you would imagine. The build and finish is also outstanding and easily as good as anything you will see from Porsche. In fact, the model on display, in a black metallic colour, oozed quality and I have to admit looked simply awesome. On top of that, each component and part looked like a piece of jewelery...stunning. Even my wife liked it... [bTW, they had at least 5-6 more used samples stood outside, as well as a dearth of 370 hardtops and cabriolets. The hardtop continues to disappoint me, however the soft top looks very nice.]

For those of you who know diesels, what's the situation regarding the life of turbos on these cars and how much can they cost to replace? We know that turbos on petrol cars can be troublesome (especially on older cars), but with diesels so popular and having such high mileages, is the situation the same or do they last much longer? Thanks.

Generally reads well and you come across as conscientious, diligent, hardworking and polite. A model employee! Just check spellings, grammer etc. before sending. Print it on decent paper and use an A4 envelope. These small "old-fashioned" things still make a difference. Good luck and all the best.

Excellent. Glad it's been so useful and happy to help...I've gained enough insight, help and advice from the forum.

Ok, so it's been over a year since the original post but I finally had a reason to get to the stereo again, and in the process took some photos of the aerial mod. Just to summarise, some of the Zs have 2 radio antennas in the car; the obvious external one and an internal one. The mod described here allows you to use the internal antenna, which is great if: 1. Your external is broken; 2. You have removed the external antenna; 3. You don't want the external antenna to come up. The description is in the original email, and the photos are as follows: 1. This is the adaptor/plug showing the lead from the car plugged snugly in to the lead from the radio. Note that when using the external antenna, the clip on the plug from the car goes in to the grove from the radio lead. [ATTACH]58227[/ATTACH] 2. Pull out the plug, and it will look like this. Basically, pin 1 currently goes in to hole 1, pin 2 in to hole 2. [ATTACH]58228[/ATTACH] 3. Now rotate the plug 180 degrees so that pin 1 goes in to hole 2 and pin 2 in to hole 1 and push back in. The fit will now not be so snug as there is no grove for the clip, but it still sits tight and so is unlikely to pop out. [ATTACH]58229[/ATTACH] That's it! All should now work and your radio should work (assuming the signal in your area is decent). You can also disconnect the power antenna cable to prevent the antenna from coming up when the radio is switched on. I hope this is useful.

Ever since our family car was written off a few weeks ago, I've been working on deciding what to replace it with. I've finally decided on a S-Type, but would welcome advice and feedback from anyone who's owned one or even is in the trade. I know the pre-2004 cars have build and reliability issues, but the later cars are supposed to be quite good. It would be good to hear which model you owned, engine size and what issues, if any, you have had. Also, has anyone owned the 4.2 V8 model? Any issues and what's it like on fuel? Thanks and much appreciated.

BT are indeed very expensive and about twice as expensive as the rest for unlimited broadband. How anyone can survive on 3Gb per month I have no idea...I use that in a day!

The experience (in terms of speed) will depend on where you live and whether your exchange has been upgraded. There are plenty of BT and Sky exchanges that are NOT upgraded and therefore their claims will not stand up and you will be gutted. The use of "up to" should be outlawed. Unfortunately this information is not available to the public or even the operator/sales person who deals with you so the best bet is to ask neighbours. If you are fortunate enough to be in a cabled area, it is the BEST in terms of performance; period. Virgin customer services is however appalling so if things go wrong, you could end up regretting your decision. Personally I'm with O2 for broadband (superb service and speed in my area with FREE and LOCAL customer support) and BT for the line itself. For sheer reliability and service, you cannot beat a line from BT. Everyone else will just mess you around (from very, very bitter experience).

Count Duckula was fantastic as well, not to mention Danger Mouse. David Jason at his best.

Awesome cartoons. The "old man" in me has to say "they don't make 'em like they used to!" and I think he would be spot on. Nothing but trash these days. Same for the TV movies. The 80s were great with Knight Rider, The A-Team, Airwolf, Street Hawk etc. Again, nothing at all these days.

That's bad news Nick and I hope that it resurrects itself again in the near future.

I used normal unleaded for a year and all was fine until I put in momentum/v-power 6 months ago. The difference was spectacular and almost immediate and I have never looked back. Mine is also an NA and is now much faster and 2-3 mpg more economical. BTW, I have found Tesco's Momentum better (and cheaper) than V-Power.

Exactly! I had the same problem when I was spoilerless. A frosty morning was a nightmare and I couldn't believe that the weight of the frost would make such a difference. Mind you, now it doesn't hold at all. Looks like quite a common issue but not surprising considering the age of the car.

Thanks guys. I've had it for 18 months now and it's been faultless, so wasn't really worried from a reliability perspective. More concerned about wear and tear bills like the clutch, brakes, tyres etc. as these things on a Z are a tad more expensive than your average motorway cruiser. Thanks again.

Too true! It's only going to be a short-term solution for the next couple of months so I should be able to grin and bear it. My Merc used to do 30-32 on the motorway, and this does between 26-28 so although a difference, not huge. I'm more worried about whether I'll do any serious damage and wear away something very expensive. Obviously sports cars (especially those developed 20 years ago) were not designed to be rep mobiles, where as E-classes, 5/3 series. Mondeos, Vectras etc. are and eat miles for breakfast with little impact. I'm assuming the tyres will wear quicker and more oil changes will be required.

With my daily driver written off and the Z now having to step up, what do I need to be aware of as far as doing regular high mileages in the Z is concerned? Any additional maintenance I need to carry out? Do any of you do regular high mileages in your Z? Any parts/components that need special attention/more regular replacement? Thanks.

Thanks Jeff. The reason I think it's the struts themselves is: 1. When the car had no spoiler, the struts were quite weak and even heavy rain would make the tailgate come down. 2. As soon as the new spoiler was installed (totally dry and in superb as-new condition) the struts could not handle the weight. How much difference would removing the counter-balance weight make? What does it look like? Thanks, Shamaz

Hi all, The gas struts which hold up my tailgate have failed. What's the best solution? I assume I need new ones; does anyone have a pair that works well or is there a way of re-gassing them (I doubt it but worth a try!). All suggestions welcome; as you can imagine, it's a pain opening it at the moment. Thanks, Shamaz

I love Mercs and would always recommend them, however please be advised that almost all Merc between 1999 and 2001 have serious rust problems. We're talking 1970s Fiat type rust here. The E-class and CLK (same car) are the worst offenders. Mechanically brilliant though. I loved my 2000 E280 and was still faultless at 179,000 miles until it was written off...

It's shocking what's written off these days. My Merc E-class has just been written off despite having only a damaged wing and front bumper. The car is in excellent condition and drives like a dream, yet the insurance company managed to get a quote of £3.5k for the work! (I reckon it should be no more than £1k max assuming astronomical labour rates). Now about to start the negotiation of the settlement, which will doubtless be painful.

Oh dear...

Oh no...what a bad day. Late last night noticed oil dripping from the bottom of my Merc. I was taking it to a garage this morning when I crashed...in to a bus! Basically I turned a corner (slowly) but the front of the car skidded wide and in to the path of an on coming bus. Thankfully both were going no more that 5-10mph, but the Merc has lost the front wing and the bumper is smashed. I think the bonnet may also be slightly damaged. What a pain and I'm 250 miles from home at my Dad's! Thankfully it's driving OK...but still leaking...a bad day. Mind you, to put things in to perspective, I only have a car problem. Others (such as Joanna Yeates) are no longer with us. Shamaz