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[Wangswong]

Fantastic folks.

Re. the mileage. I bought a low mileage Escort (think it was 44k) and it blew within 6k. Same thing happened with a new Focus company car. Pistons through the block. Kinda bad with only a few k on it but the Jag was 12 years old, high miles and kept going strong. Made me realise that mileage is nothing without a bit of TLC / luck.

You can't know for sure if the 60k ones have had their knackers ridden off them for sure. Just have to go with gut instinct and a bit of research.

Suspension I can deal with. The GTO sits low as hell and I can feel everything. Personally, I prefer it that way compared to some of the lifeless newer cars.

Spec wise.... it's really hard to choose. Sunroof would be a bonus (but seems a very rare option by the look of it) but mainly because my son wants it (he's only 5 bless!) It seems that radio 5 and 6 give the same kind of audio but the 6 looks better?

Not really interested in the nav. Seeing as the unit can't play movies on it (for the kids stuff whilst travelling) it's not much use!

Filter's part of the cause anyway. I don't do a service without full filter replacement, even if the old ones look fine. Works out pennies compared to the damage / issues you could have by skimping.

Thanks for the input guys. It's appreciated. Just waiting for a house sale to finalise then it's Brab time!

[mr singh]

my forfour regularly get a good stomping on the loud pedal and its still going strong.

youll find that because its a Mitsubishi lump under the bonnet its fairly solid and they are tried and tested units in some older models.
its best if you get parts from mercedes as it will work out cheaper than going to your local motor factors

on the brabus you will get a FULL panoramic 'glass' roof and there was the option of a sunroof but thats like pulling hens teeth.

as for your video play back issue, you do know you can get them portable DVD players that hook over the rear seats  .

as for your Jaguar... im surprised you havent complained about the thumping in to gear when putting it in to drive!!

[Wangswong]

The kids are at the age where they have psp's / ds3d's anywhoo. The lack of dvd would only hinder my wife really. Just means she can't watch her usual tat!

Got a 6g62 in the GTO and that gives me faith in mitsubishi lumps. Never had an issue with it.

The Jag lol. Drive was never an issue really. Reverse was a PITA though. Felt like I was literally driving into a post every time.
I did swap over the disks / pads and change the brake fluid on her once. Was so tired I forgot to bleed the system. Put it into drive and.....it drove through the damn garage door! Wife walked in and laughed at me.

[CrazyG]

Just one last word of advice....nothing new for those 'in the know'...
When you start up, if it's from cold, wait a minute or so to allow oil
round to the turbo before pulling off.
Until the engine is up to temp you will get restricted boost, so don't boot the car till then.
When you get near home....stick to the speed limits and allow the
turbo and engine to cool down....'pussy foot' it basically...or.....
if you can't managed that, then pull up outside the house/flat and
sit in it for a good few minutes to allow it to wind down and cool down.

Follow these simple 'rules' and you will have an enigne/turbo etc
that will last for a long long time. Ignore them and your wallet will
suffer.

[Wangswong]

Don't worry about that. I know the drill!

I'm lucky enough to have a petrol headed uncle who's got a Sierra RS500. He's let me drive it a few times and it's the same procedure.

Route to work wise, I have around 6 miles of slow B road before I hit the A1. Plenty of time to let things warm up / cool down on the way back home

Can't wait to get into one now!

[Wangswong]

Looking at this but it's got me puzzled.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201304286500846/sort/default/usedcars/model/forfour/make/smart/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/radius/1501/keywords/brabus/postcode/ne659rz/page/1?logcode=p

If you look at the engine bay pic, just next to the battery is a shiny new bit (End of the ribbed plastic piping) This definately isn't the standard part but, more importantly, what the hell is it??!

[mr singh]

its what id call a mickey moues air filter. a cone filter if you will

[Wangswong]

O.....k.

From what I read on here, that's a pretty poor place to locate it due to sucking in the engine heat?

Sorry but I'm used to Jags / Fords where the box is in a completely different place

[mozilla]

Its not too bad if the lower part of the airbox is still there, heat comes from the lower front of the engine

And not really any other place to put it really.

[Wangswong]

Always struck me as false economy on any car to buy one of these.
Is there truly a gain? Figures suggest otherwise on many forums.
Some seem to work better with stock boxes / filters and I assume the 44 brab is the same?
They do make a nice whoosing noise though lol

[mr singh]

personally i wouldnt bother with a cone filter. the standard set up i think is better. the designer has spent time to get everything running right and then you go and change parts for 'performance' that you might not even get, obviously there are certain parts that WILL work

[Wangswong]

Indeed.

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Universal-Turbo-Whistler-Exhaust-sounder-Turbo-Sound-XL-MP-TSD04/806138_464433420.html

I hear this adds 50bhp to any car 

[Problemchild]

Induction cone filter - makes the car sound lovely!!

Looks like a well looked after car!

JJ

[Wangswong]

It does yeh. Hoping that it's been looked after on the service history too but will have a thorough look before deciding anything.

Well the house sale is through in writing but still no money.
Should be any day now so fingers crossed the Brab is still there

Tragic story of how we got the house though.
My wife went to drop the kids off to her mothers and called her to let her know (early morning). Her mother picked up and hung up straight away.
My wife took 5 minutes max to get there and found her dead in bed with the phone in her hand. She phoned 999 and tried to get her onto the floor for chest compressions. Thing is, she was around 20 stone and my wife's 8 stone....... couldn't shift her.
She went to get a neighbour (a nurse) and she said not to bother.
Seems she had a clot on her lung and killed her at 52.

Sorry to ramble but behind everyone's a story