RK2707

Very nice in black I must say. (going green with envy) Now to convince the missus to let me trade the Territory..........................

Dunno if this has been mentioned before but heres a few more things that BF gets: Traction control: all sedans & XR utes Dynamic stability control: XR6T & XR8 & Territory and Fairlane & LTD Performance brakes: XR6T & XR8 & all V8 sedans ABS: latest version of Bosch software 8.0 Tyres have also been changed mainly for NVH reasons & many other little bits and pieces mainly for refinement. All the info is on the GoAuto site, Go Auto A bit of a leap forward methinks or should I say I hope.

I'm looking to trade the sedan on a ute also and goin by the prices here it seems there is a fair margin for negotiation. With no disrespect guys some prices here are very very low. Were there any other influencing factors like factoring your trade in value or say if you are an ABN holder. I'm looking at spending 40k driveaway max for a T ute auto. I think I can get it but not sure if I will in Sydney, may have to go interstate for a better deal. I'll keep looking and post if I manage to get a great deal in the future.

Yeah we had a great day too. I guess I was lucky that Ken was behind us on the way up, might have been left behind otherwise , but then again maybe not Anyway looking forward to the next one, as long as theres no walking involved Cheers Rob & Fi

Sounds good, as long as the coffee isn't International Roast Rob

Saw a Menace sedann today & yeah I must say I was a bit put out by the colour I was actually hoping to replace the phantom with this colour but I think it'll be something else. Have to agree with the other comments though, there has been some tough aussie muscle in the past with similar paint so maybe it will grow on us. Only time will tell I guess.

Count me and the other half in too, if I can keep up that is.....no turbo here Rob

Anyone tried the any Bridgestone tyres or Dunlop FM901 in 17 inch by any chance ???

Car & Truck mechanic by trade. Worked for a fleet manangement company for a couple of years and an automotive assistance company also for about a year. Fixed pokies for about 2 years for Aristocrat for a sea-change (interesting job - not). Currently employed by Hino Motor Sales Australia as a Technical Service Rep for the past couple of years and for a few more to come I think as well. Cheers Rob

If this was a dealer for the manufacturer I worked for they would be given a formal notice of warning. This can go on for a while but eventually the franchise will be revoked. Don't know what Ford would be like about it but in my opinion they would be gone.

I'm sure some of you have experienced a scraping noise coming from the rear wheels at some stage and have returned to the dealer to get it fixed and nothing was fixed ! I've complained for 2 services and also taken it back again to no avail so I had a crack at fixing it today myself and guess what.......I did. Funny that. Basically the handbrake shoe linings are rubbing up against the brake disc causing the noise. The edges of the shoes were very rough at best and also quite sharp. Got out a file and chamfered all the edges and then cleaned them up with a bit of emery paper and it fixed it. Believe it or not some of this information was from a Expensive Daewoo Technical Bulletin to rectify the same sort of noises in Commodores ! I forgot to get some photos just to show what I'm on about. Hopefully it is a permanent fix. It's a pity that the dealers couldn't fix it.

Love it. After seeing Vibe I thought that was it for purple. Next XR was going to be either Rapid, Envi, Lightning Strike or Mandarin ( in no particular order of preference ) now my mind is made up. Menace it is.

Yeah Barry good point. It's the bloody dealer that lets us down at the end of the day, being sales service or parts, they can all cause a problem or 10.

I was a Expensive Daewoo fan for a long time until BA came along. I made the switch and have not looked back. Have owned a few Holdens previously and yeah they weren't too flash but in reality the things that annoy me with my XR6 are just as fiddly as what annoyed me with previous Commodores. All in all I think they both are a good package and each to their own at the end of the day. In my opinion it is the aftersales service that has let the brand down. Yeah sure quality can be an issue but geez we're driving $45000 Falcons not $145000 Mercs or Benzes. You get what you pay for. The brand has grown too quickly and the service will take a while to catch up. Unfortunately that's life. I'm not sticking up for Ford but I work as a Tech rep for a truck importer so I can see all sides of the story, believe me ! Having said that I'll get another XR6, hopefully a T this time and I hope its as good and if not better than my current ride. My 2 cents worth. Rob

Thanks fellas. Goin to try and fix that damn scraping noise from the handbrake while I'm at it too. Cheers Rob

Guys and gals, I have three questions, any help is appreciated. 1. Has anyone here changed their own coolant. Any tricks in bleeding the cooling system ? 2. Anyone attempted to do their own handbrake adjustments. I understand how it all goes together but once again anything I should look out for ? 3. Finally does anyone know what the wheel offset is ? I'm just going to do the work on my car myself as I cannot trust the dealer to do the right job and its money in my pocket anyway. Cheers, any thoughts are appreciated. Rob

If you're in Sydney and live in the Shire DON'T go to Dominelli Ford. Expensive, poor service and generally useless. Theres my 2 cents worth ! Rob

Looks like were in front again. What can I say :banghead: :banghead: Rob

I've done a few days of driver training in previous years and I tell ya it is well worth it. Like Paul M I have done them at Amaroo and at Oran Park & I feel they are a real confidence booster and really opens your eyes to the dangers we can face in everyday driving. As far as I am aware Ian Luff runs a school at Oran Park and theres another one going by the name of Bill Hartnett Industrial Road Safety who ran the ones at Amaroo years back but I think they are now run at Quakers Hill where the DECA site is for heavy vehicle driver training. It's well worth looking into doing it. I support it 100%.

The missus and I were just leaving Forster to come back home and no more than 5 mins after leaving the inlaws place a toolbag in a Nissan Pathfinder didn't stop at the pedestrian crossing we were at and hit us square up the back No damage to his bullbar but a fair bit of damage to ours but the main thing was that we were all ok and the car was and still is driveable. Now its just an inconvenience to be without a car until it gets fixed. I WAS a fan of 4wd's but now I don't know. On a better note we spotted a Phantom T with purple NSW plates XRSEXY with a very nice set of 5 spoke alloys and a creme coloured leather interior and what looked like an APS exhaust. Pity I didnt have the camera.

Theres not too much you can do with the Dunlops that are fitted to the car. Just enjoy the engine note I say. I have to disagree with the tyre pressures quoted by Dallas. 30 psi as per the tyre placard is perfect for local running around, any higher and your ride suffers as well as excessive wear in the middle of the tread. Its great to reduce noise but that's about it. My 2c worth

Yeah I sure know how ya feel too. Ours was keyed only after having her for about a week. Worst part about it is I still haven't got it fixed, it's hard to decide if I should have it fixed under insurance or fork out the cash myself. One of those borderline decisions. All I have to say is f c

I have dealt with Altos in Sydney before with fleet maintenance issues and I've had the same dramas in regards to what is warranty and what isn't. Alto would have to be the worst dealer by far in this respect. Most other dealers have been ok but still not acceptable as far as I'm concerned. The dealers are only watching their backs in regard to warranty due to the fact their auditors are very, very strict and reject quite a high percentage of claims due to poor information of the repair which is a dealer issue and certainly not our problem. We should be able to go in and get it fixed under warranty at no charge to us. And that's that. I for one always argue the point because I know my warranty policies and know how the system works. If you don't get anywhere with the service advisor ask to speak to the service manager or next in charge. Failing that, stick your complaint in writing and send it to the Dealer Principal. Guaranteed to get a response then I assure you !

Cro Go to www.fearfactory.com and www.blabbermouth.net and theres a bit of info about what has gone on. For the tour as far as I am aware, Byron from Strapping Young lad will fill in for bass duties and the new album as well to be released around April '04 called Archetype.