unclefester

Saggy new leather can sometimes be fixed by leaving the roof down on a couple of nice warm sunny days, it tightens the leather and pulls things into shape.

martin j

Gaxxy, do you wear your pants on the outside of your trousers? you certainly seem to be the superman of service depts, a creature seldom seen.Tis pity you're so far away from most of us to be of "service" carry on with the good work.

Bundle of Mayhem

He does - he did it in Italy. T'was a sight to behold

Bundle of Mayhem

Will that work with my face

unclefester

It hasn't worked for mine

Bokkie

I'm back from my mini break & had a great time - thanks to all for their lovely messages.

An update on Jenson, currently sat on the drive in the drizzle, poor baby!

Many thanks to the guys at Johnsons Honda in Milton Keynes: Kieran who made the time to go out with me in the car, listen to the noises and try and allay my fears. And the guys on the service desk who had numerous discussions with Bristol Honda on the way forward.

For the record, Johnsons are NOT the local dealer who failed to recognise the sound of a terminal engine clatter. And to be fair to the dealer who didn't, I suspect there are many folks (dealers, owners & mechanics alike) who would not be able to identify this noise or locate its origin - hence my earlier post about thinking it was exhaust, cat or a rattling heat shield!

I recorded the clatter of my engine on my iphone - not brilliant quality but recorded for posterity. And am now considering renting out this or my ears (proceeds to charity or a new car) to other concerned 09 S owners

As for the most recent noise, turns out it was a dry bearing on the clutch. Gaxxy, to be fair to Johnsons, as Fester says above, they were erring on the side of caution, especially given the history of the car. And FWIW Kevin the Magnificent agreed with their original diagnosis when we took it for an early morning drive It's only when the car was opened up that the true cause became apparent.

A massive thank you to Kevin the Magnificent for making the trek up to London to collect the CRZ and then getting up at the crack of dawn to meet me at Chieveley for a car swop.

And Gaxxy, for the record, I was up at 4am!!!! Left by 5 to ensure I had time available to get the car onto an AA truck should the worst happen and still get down to Southampton for my ferry.

A huge thanks to Gaxxy, Mark and the guys at Bristol Honda for stepping into the breach once again; for repairing Jenson & ensuring I had a suitable replacement in the shape of the fantastic CRZ. Gaxxy, I feel I should sponsor an S2k meet at Bristol Honda! With tea & cakes...or beers!

And a big thank you to Gaxxy & guys from my little passenger whose face lit up when she saw the replacement car - she loved it! There were constant squabbles about who got to drive in it. (CJ, you're right though, none of the kids wanted to sit in the back! )

loftust

Hurrah!

Now Jenson...stop being a PITA!!!

The Loon

What's your take on the CRZ Trish...it looks the part but is it a fun drive ?

Bokkie

Why are you calling my car a flat bread? Mmmm....is it cos he's been on a flat bed truck?

Thanks Lofty

I'm off to do some miles at the Suffolk Summer Meet this weekend - and the new engine is run in so it's all the way!

Bokkie

When Kevin (I'm sure you're tired of me going on about how great he is but Hudsonbay will back me on this ) handed the CRZ over to me, he gave me one of the most comprehensive introductions to a car and it's gadgets I've ever had! He could be a salesman!

The CRZ is a striking car - the one I had was white and it got LOADS of attention - much more than the S ever does. It's a beautiful piece of engineering. Just a pity the back seat is so restricted on leg room. I particularly liked the concealed connector for my ipod! The interior is well laid out, with all knobs & goodies to hand. It has cruise control for the lazy or tired amongst us. And the usual trip meter and radio controls on the steering wheel.

The kids loved the shark fin on the roof (at least that's what they called it). They thought it was the best car ever - so much so that I've been instructed to leave it to them in my will!

The girly stuff aside, you want to know about the drive don't you Loon?

I need to set the scene: I was driving this on the Isle of Wight. So, promptly forgot about sports mode & spent most of my time in Normal or Econ. And as much as I hate to admit this, the car turned me, a speed and petrol loving freak, into a green plodding old fa*t It's such a smooth drive, the suspension is taut, and the car has quite a punchy response (although not in the green mode!) that I found myself trundling round the island quite happily.

I found the car a little difficult to reverse as vision to the rear is somewhat restricted but nonetheless managed a perfect reverse park on the ferry - much to the utter amazement of the male crew - who all came out to have a gawk at the car.

The car was a joy to drive. Especially when I discovered the sports mode on the way home - I had a little race with a Golf TDi down the backroads - needless to say, he ate dirt! It handles surprisingly well, held it's own in the corners and let the throttle win the day. A big :thumbsup: from me although it'll never replace the S!

For me, as nice a drive & as stunning in looks as it is, the fuel economy is just not good enough to justify it as my beater - I really do need a motorway muncher.

But all of that aside, it's a rather striking car and a surprisingly good drive for a greenie!