Hiro

Still good, may only be one car though as the Soarer is being her usual temperamental self, plus it's a bit lairy on wet roads :P

Just to clear things up - exactly which car did you test drive? ^^This one OR ^^This one?

That's rich coming from the person who couldn't even tell they were test driving a different model car to the one they wanted to buy... And you'll be surprised what stores will do when someone is whacking a grand down on the table - I had committed to buy but hadn't paid, and wanted to make sure I was getting exactly what I was paying for. I specifically wanted to open the box in the store (we're talking Harvey Norman by the way, not some mom-and-pop corner shop) because both the printing on the Nikon box and the Harvey Norman sticker said it came with a 55-200mm lens (which is what I wanted) but it was scanning into their computer as the 55-300mm kit - so we opened the box to make sure I was getting what I wanted, then manually fixed the computer so the receipt printed what was correct and I was on my merry way. If the box contents had been wrong, then they would have been replaced for the correct ones and then it is the store's responsibility to either correct their mistake or inform their supplier of the problem.

The Great Fire Sale of 2013 - Parts edition Items: AE82/4AGE 1) AE82 Seca rear speaker delete pods - handy if you have rear speakers in the parcel shelf and don't want ugly holes 2) 7-rib bigport 4AGE cam covers + oil cap - SOLD 3) 7-rib bigport 4AGE TPS - p/n 89452-12050 - SOLD 4) 7-rib bigport 4AGE fuel rail 5) AE82 front grilles - 1 red, 1 black 6) AE82 Twincam steering wheel 7) AE82 Seca rear garnish - SOLD 8) 4AGE bigport cam gears AE101/102 9) AE101 Levin 3-point strut brace 10) AE101 Levin 3-spoke leather steering wheel - SOLD 11) AE102 Sprinter liftback front lip 12) AE101 FXGT 3-door rear window trim JZZ30 13) Airbox + snorkel 14) K&N panel filter - 33-2054 Location: Newcastle, NSW Item condition: 1) Good - could use a clean 2) Poor - suitable for custom/respray 3) Visually good - electrical condition unknown, but spring rotates fine 4) Good/poor - oxidation on the FPR, would need a good flush and clean 5) Red - poor, missing all but 2 clips, no Toyota badge, small chip 5) Black - V. good, all clips present and correct, Toyota badge with minor scratching on 1 or 2 letters 6) V. poor, suit complete retrim - leather very weathered, worn through in 1 or 2 places on rim, 1 spoke split. Metal slightly rusted, couple of marks on horn pad and missing 1 clip 7) Good - 1 scuff mark (might be able to polish out), a couple of paint dots (also might be able to polish out), superficial cracks 8) Good - all teeth intact 9) Good - a few scruff marks from cable ties and bolt heads 10) Good/poor - Leather weathered/worn in a few places but relatively intact - would suit retrim if pedantic 11) Good - never installed, most clips/pins present. Fits 102 Sprinter 5-door liftback but can be modified to suit sedan/hatch 12) Good 13) Good - suitable for Big Freaking Intake modification on 1J 14) Good - needs clean, unknown kilometres (came with car) Reason for selling: 1) No longer own AE82 2) No longer own 4AGE 3) No longer own 4AGE 4) No longer own 4AGE 5) No longer own AE82 6) No longer own AE82 7) No longer own AE82 8) No longer own 4AGE 9) Replaced with 3-bar TRD item 10) Replaced with 4-spoke FXGT Momo 11) Bought FXGT front bar with lip 12) Mis-translated Engrish on Yahoo Japan/Import Monster 13) Replaced with custom alloy intake 14) Replaced with K&N pod filter Price (all + postage unless noted otherwise, pickup welcome) 1) $20 2) SOLD 3) SOLD 4) $20 5) Black $30, Red $20 6) $25 7) SOLD 8) $25 9) $75 10) SOLD 11) $50 12) $50 13) $20 14) $75 Pictures: See following posts Contact: Here via PM SMS only 0401907794

Pioneer sub and sub box sold

If it is something of value, of course I do (I'm not going to ask the checkout chick at Woolies to open the packet of TimTams to make sure that I got the full 11). I bought a ~$1k DSLR camera package just before Christmas, and I made sure that the contents of the box matched what I wanted before I left the store. If I was buying a car, I would check to make sure that the VIN/spec etc matched what I had ordered, new or used. There is an old Latin saying that is very appropriate to car buyers - Caveat Emptor; let the buyer beware. Basically not only is it the seller's responsibility to supply the goods as described, it is also up to the buyer to confirm that they are receiving what they want. In a lot of transactions, the act of payment, delivery or package-opening is enough for the buyer to accept liability and thus void right of return

Are you trying to say it wasn't even the same MODEL car (as in you test-drove a ZZE but bought a ZRE)? And you still handed over the cheque?

Like I said in the other thread, you don't NEED to see the front of the car to know where it is. You have binocular vision and a brain for a reason - you can determine distance and size (and don't give me any crap about distortion, we're talking about looking through a 1.5x1m pane of flat freaking glass here). The car doesn't magically grow overnight, the extremities are always the same distance away from you. Thus, when parking you don't look at YOUR car, you look at how far away the OTHER cars are. That car that is 3m ahead of you? No worries, the front of your bonnet is 2m away so you won't hit it if you nudge forward a little. That car behind you, you can still see a part of it's bonnet in your rear view mirror, right? Good, that means you've still got a little way to go before it gets too tight. Are the other cars sticking out onto the road a bit more than you? Better use your side mirror to make sure you're not about to hit the gutter. And if you're so damn paranoid about running into things, get some freaking parking poles (they're fully hektic JDM-yo) and look like a granny. If you still run into things then (or park 5m away because you're so scared), then I'll send you enough money for a bus fare to go to the RTA and cancel your license, because you shouldn't be driving. Not poor design, poor driver skill and laziness. And you know why there is more damage to the front corners? BECAUSE CARS GO FORWARDS 99% OF THE TIME. When you go forwards, you hit things in front of you, causing damage to the front of the car. The funny thing is, whilst you are less likely to be hit by parking in between two bays, you are much more likely to get keyed for being a douche (and fined for parking illegally too) :P You're not paranoid, they really are out to get you

Fixed :P

I know I own an "old" car (although two mid/late 90s cars are hardly "old" in the scheme of things), but as I said, I have driven quite a few BRAND NEW cars, and whilst I do tend find the visibility poorebecause I fear for my life that some dark and dangerous evil is lurking in the blind spot behind the A-pillar As for "no camera I know does this", ever seen a wide-angle reversing camera? You know, the ones that show a ~180 degree field of view on the dash screen but just ends up looking like a fisheye? Yeah, that's not distorted at all Oooh look, it's even from a Toyota....how fitting And people love to bitch, moan and whine over the tiniest little problems rather than just suck it up and enjoy all the good things. The same people are the ones that take a car back to the dealer 5 times to trace down a mysterious and very annoying noise that just happens to be a stone stuck in the tyre. Car reviewers point these things out because that is what they are paid to do - review the car and note all the good and bad bits. Ever fully read a Commodore review? Yes, almost all of them will say that the A-pillar is annoyingly large, and that the handbrake action is un-natural, and that the dash is dated, but how many reviews say that it is a bad car and you shouldn't buy it? Almost none, because on the whole it is still a decent car, just with a few niggling issues like every other car ever made. They are passed fit for sale because Australian drivers are supposed to have passed mandatory driver evaluation tests and know how to drive a car safely and properly, including head-checks, properly adjusting mirrors, and eliminating blind-spots by constantly shifting eyes and head. And judging by your inability to pull up at a petrol pump I'm surprised you still have your license. Hardly. Would a new car salesman be driving around in a 370,000km '97 Corolla sedan? You don't happen to sell blind-spot mirrors and reversing cameras by any chance? I'm 6'2" and can't see the leading edge of my bonnet (the 101 Levin seats sit lower than the stock sedan ones), and can't see ANY of my boot in the rear view mirror. How many times have I hit a car in front or behind? Never. Can I park in a ridiculously tight car park that others would baulk at parking a bicycle in? Yes. Why? Because I KNOW how far away the extremities of the car are, I don't need to see them, this is called EXPERIENCE. Can you open the door to your bedroom in the dark? Of course you can, because you know exactly where it is from experience, you don't need to see it. Can you type without looking at the keyboard? Of course, because you know where the keys are and where your hands are, from experience. I most certainly hope you don't go around all day looking at your shoes to see where you are walking, because THAT is an accident waiting to happen That has got to be THE stupidest thing I have heard in a long time. Car manufacturers deliberately designing cars to make them more likely to be in an accident AND POSSIBLY KILL PEOPLE just to make a few extra bucks on spare parts. I don't know, those front lamps are pretty damn big. Could easily lose a small car in that blindspot. And man, no side- or rear-view mirrors, forget about reversing camera too. . Instant Deathtrap

Cast iron actually :P

I don't OWN a new car. I have DRIVEN plenty of new cars however. You're twisting my words. I never said that poor visibility is a good thing, I said that a trade-off in visibility is required to ensure adequate crash safety and cost. You could make paper-thin A-pillars out of unobtainium which performs excellently in a crash AND gives you perfect visibility, but you would need to be a millionaire to buy a new car. It is the old "3 desirable options, can only pick 2" problem - you have crash performance/occupant protection, visibility, low cost - pick 2 and the one left over is negatively affected. Personally, I prefer my cars to not cost the earth and not kill me in an accident, so I would accept a trade-off to visibility (especially since it can be corrected - you can't easily strengthen an old car and you can't make an expensive car cheaper, but you can move your head and install blind-spot mirrors/cameras/poles) As for "most accidents are in newer cars", that is because people BUY new cars. The FCAI reports that 1.112 MILLION new cars were sold in Australia last year, that is one car for every 20 people. Australia's population growth rate is about 1.5%, that means that there are more new cars being sold than there are new people being born - ie there is a turnover in the car population, people get rid of older cars and buy new ones. As for "mirrors distorting the distance" (I can guarantee that the cameras are distorting the perspective too), there is this thing in your head between your ears called a BRAIN. It interprets things for you, and learns and adjusts to things. If it can't work out that the car that looks far away in the side mirror is only 2m behind you after driving for 30 years (and driving the same car for more than a few months), then you shouldn't be driving.

Needs less black/grey moulding around the rear wheel arches. Looks like a fake off-roader. Besides, I thought we've already seen the look of the upcoming new sedan, is this supposed to be a sneak-peak of the replacement?

2 words - crash safety. Thicker pillars, smaller windows and higher belt-lines increase strength and occupant protection in the event of an accident. And, as you said, aid in the mounting of additional airbags. Exact same reason as to why cars are getting bigger and heavier over time despite improvements in space efficiency, materials and design. Car manufacturers have to compromise between visibility and occupant safety. By your logic the safest car would be a glass bubble, because you can see everything, yet I shudder to think what would happen if someone ran in to you. Conversely, a tank with slit windows is incredibly safe in an accident, but you can't see anything out the windows. Somewhere in the middle is the best compromise. Using an older car is not a good idea, because whilst visibility might be much better, crash performance is much worse - your current Corolla might be a 5-star ANCAP car with a visibility rating of 3, but your '94 model might only have a visibility rating of 4 (I have a '97, I'm rather tall and even I can't accurately determine the front or rear of the car without shifting my head and experience) but an ANCAP safety rating of 2 STARS under the current system....that's right 2 whole stars, as safe as a Great Wall or Chery which get slammed in modern reviews for being deathtraps on wheels. At the end of the day, the general public (ie Joe and Mrs Bloggs with 2.5 kids and a dog) want a safe car to protect their family, and can live with minor inconveniences like thick A-pillars and poor reversing visibility (or get workarounds such as reversing sensors/cameras). I would argue that despite newer cars having worse visibility, accidents are more likely to be caused by the extremely poor level of driver skill in this country, thick A-pillars or not. It only takes a fraction of a second to move your head to check a blind spot, but Little Miss Princess in her cosy new Civic with the music blaring and tapping away on her iPhone is much more likely to hit the kerb or another car when reverse parking because she is off in her own little La-La land. Hell, my wife (with ~6 years driving experience) can reverse-park her 5m long Soarer (as big as a current-model Commodore) with a bonnet a mile long and big thick pillars just as well as I can, it comes more down to skill and awareness than it does vehicle design.

Gyp (often spelled jip, past tense gypped) - to cheat, swindle or rip off. Considered to derive from gypsy, who are classic stereotypical con-artists and thieves

Fair enough, looks like Toyota tended to chop and change their Ultimas....AE9x had an Ultima hatch (Seca), AE102 didn't, AE112 and ZZE122 did, ZRE152 didn't

Are you sure you bought an Australian model? All ADM Corollas have been 1.8L (except for the 2.0L ZRE Ultima) since 1999

Ultima is the top spec for the sedan, Levin is top spec for hatch. And I'm a little worried about the 150,000km interval for the timing belt (I know that is what Toyota recommends) as the earlier AE102s (with the same engine) recommend 100,000km...

The Great Fire Sale of 2013 - Audio edition Items: 1) Eclipse AVX5000 single-DIN flip-screen DVD head unit 2) PIoneer TS-A6962E 6x9" 3-way speakers 3) JL Audio 12W0 12" subwoofer 4) Pioneer TS-W301R 12" subwoofer - SOLD 5) Twin 12" ported sub box - SOLD Location: Newcastle, NSW (some items will post) Website: Here + assorted other forums Item Condition: 1) V. good - fully working when removed, screen flips perfectly, no damage to LCD or scratches 2) V. good 3) V. good 4) SOLD 5) SOLD Reason for selling 1) Replaced by double-DIN GPS unit 2) New car has much better speakers 3) Bought as pair, changed to single for convenience/space 4) SOLD 5) SOLD Price: 1) $200 + postage 2) $40 + postage 3) $100 + postage (would prefer p/up) 4) SOLD 5) SOLD Pictures: 1) 2) 3) Contact details: Here via PM SMS only 0401207794

1) BG Pete 2) Rolls87 3) jaay 4) juvenile 5) ChrisZRE 6) Hiro (AE102) 7) Cara (JZZ30)

Two weeks away now, time to start planning....might be able to bring the Snoarer down too

Practice makes perfect :P Still yet to play around with low-light/night stuff, might need a faster lens for that

Took about 20 in total, playing around with angles and perspective, that one would probably have been around 5 or 6