Chris H72

Any chance of making this easier. Bikini babes are hard to come by in this weather!

Hmmmm well I do teach in a school with plenty of international students in the sixth form.... But sadly I think attempting this challenge might cost me my job.

Maybe the v50 then? I think they look great inside and out, especially with the floating centre console (avoid wood finish though). Early ones around 54 plate are not much over 3k now if you don't mind miles. I saw a lovely v50 D5 outside work the other day. Looked it up and the performance is great but they seem to be newer and quite pricey. Most are autos too.

I like the E46 BMW 320d and it seems to be getting better value now. Or maybe the Volvo V50 2.0 diesel?

Always hard to watch a car you love drive away. But then... Car shopping is also fun. What you getting?

Damn, I stayed in a cottage opposite a farm just last week!

Get the lacquer on it ASAP or it will continue to peel and the paint underneath will fade. That's what happened on my spoiler which then needed a complete respray.

You can't really calculate mpg by putting 25 quid in at a time because the gauge is not very accurate. The only way is to brim the tank, run to almost empty and then brim again to work out how much was used. Personally I use esso standard unleaded because that's what the garage round the corner sells. My nearest shell station is ten miles away so that's the best part of a gallon to get there and back. Sometimes if I need a fill up and am passing a shell I'll put v power in but there is no real difference in mpg as far as I can tell.

Also depends on the tyre you want as price isn't always consistent between different sites. I like the kumho Ecsta ku39 which is cheapest from black circles. Same price as camskill but for fully fitted.

Recently had my bumper sprayed by what used to be chips away and is now car body express. Same thing really, just a local guy running a franchise. He quoted 100 for any section and I needed the spoiler doing as well because a big pack of lacquer had peeled and the paint faded. So 200 all in. Here is the bumper before (courtesy of parking w**ker)... And the respray which was only the damaged area that he managed to blend in... I'm very pleased.

Does look lovely Geraint. Isn't that astral black rather than storm blue though? I've had nice comments about mine which always makes me smile given how cheap it was to buy. Noticed a bloke with a cayman s checking it out the other day. He could've saved himself a few quid!

I'd say it's a bad idea as you lose engine breaking and are not properly in control. In my mind it would cause the brake pads to wear faster because they are doing 100% of the work.

Drove 10 miles back from my gf's this morning then another 5 mile trip to the gym and supermarket late morning. That's not an average day though. Over the weekend I did a couple of hundred mile round trip from tamworth to Northampton, then to Peterborough, back to Northampton and back home again. I generally do around 1300 miles a month and use the car very day.

I always loved the looks of the gen7 but while I was married I had to do the sensible and boring 5 door family hatch thing so never imagined I would actually own one some day. When that marriage ended I did think about buying a celica but bottled it and bought a 207 GT diesel instead. Not sure why I did that really! I suppose I wanted something with sporty looks but low running costs. I learned that compromise is not always a good thing when it comes to cars and after a year of dull motoring sold the pug for a 2 door coupe. A celica then? No. Again I thought about it but ended up buying something cheaper, a puma. I got the puma because my best mate has one and I was completely hooked on the way it drove. Say what you like about them, those things really put a smile on your face. Kept the puma for a year until I just couldn't bear the sight of rusty wheel arches any longer and decided the time was right to buy that celica I had always wanted. At first I was looking for a 140 but after reading the forum and checking insurance and running costs decided on the Tsport instead. The lure of lift was too much to resist! So far so good and I still love the car. It's been great to own but has cost me a bit more than I was expecting as maintenance was clearly not a priority for the previous owner. Anyway, hopefully all sorted now so I'm looking forward to another couple of years of fun ownership.

I think ams meant the engine management light. Unless this is on showing you there is a fault then a code reader is unlikely to find anything.

Hehe now THAT is middle class!!

Meanie. You're just upset because your organ was not of sufficient length to win the challenge.

Now that is just so super cute that I think we can live without a few extra keys! She looks so pleased and as a music educator I am all for positive piano experience so..... Devious has it. Or rather his daughter wins the challenge and should pick the next one. Something to do with pink I'm guessing.....?

If you can get the police in the photo then even better. It's not compulsory though.

Haha devious, the look on your daughters face says it all. Dad has finally lost it! If you could get a pic of her in the boot playing it then you have definitely won. But she will need to choose the next challenge...

That will never happen. If I really do turn out to be the only piano playing celica owner then the challenge can be revised to make it a bit easier. Would like to give folks a day or two first though.

It's easier than getting birds to land on your car! Trust me, someone can do it....

Middle class? Did I mention bonus points for gold candelabras??

You couldn't have a gen7 convertible, it would mess your hair up.