possumboy

I am still under warranty. As long as the mechanic follows the service book and uses genuine parts you are cool. I recommend Mark's Motors in Clifton Street Prahran if you are in that area of Melb.

Mark's Motors in Clifton Street, Prahran. Small shop run by a guy who is an ex-Toyota mechanic. One other mechanic and his dad work there. They have done most of the family cars for almost 20 years now. Cheap, reliable, no-BS, good reports and very observant for faults and future problems.

Yeah, this sucks. But justice sometimes catches up. A mate of mine owns a shop in a busy shopping street and some guy does a bit of touch parking when reversing into a spot out the front. Leaves a big dent with his towbar in this car. Lots of people see it. They guy gets out, writes a note to leave on the car, and then leaves to 'find a bigger spot'. Everyone seems cool because this guy left his details. A little while later, the girl who owned the dented car comes back, reads the note, looks at the damage and is really upset. Turns out the note says something like "i'm only writing this note because people are watching, tough luck" etc. The bad luck was on him as the girl from the shop next door to my mate had written down the evil guys rego and then gave it to the damaged car owner. Moral - Karma will catch this guy!

Where to start... Studied architecture at uni. Was a garbage man in Subiaco while I was a travelin' man. Graphic artist and designer for 8 years (hey, Mercury, any Mac 'warez' disks about? ) Now I am a highschool art, woodwork, silversmithing (metalwork) and history teacher. I just love to torture them kiddies! Oh, and Sport1vo - they guys were right - you are a grouch! ;) I wouldn't go searching for everything before I posted, maybe some tech stuff, but not everything. Lighten up :P

Question had to be asked...what did this guy do to loose his licence for 4.5 years? I presume that is what he meant.

Looks like I missed out! Damn that having to work! Did you use my directions or did you make it up as you went?

Guys, call me about 80% certain that I can make the meet, but 0% for the long drive. Got some work I gotta do! Would you guys be interested in me photocopying the Melways and marking those roads I suggested?

I might come along if I am free, but even if I can't I can still offer some advice on the roads down there as I used to live in Geelong and was in Apollo Bay recently. If you want to do the Great Ocean Road, don't do it all. The bit from Lorne down to Apollo Bay is nice and you can get a couple of great bits of forest/mountain driving in aswell. Look at map 527 in the back of the melways. There is a great loop of road you can do. Go from Geelong out towards Colac on the Princes Hwy. Lots of options here through towns like Moriac and Modewarre, but lets stay on the main road until Winchelsea. Chuck a left towards Bambra, Deans Marsh and into the top of Lorne. Lots of tight corners on forested hills through here. Go along the Great Ocean Rd from Lorne to Apollo Bay. Lots of nice driving on the coast. You can go to the town, or just short of it you turn right back towards Colac. Road goes forest again to a town called, you guessed it, Forrest. Up via Birregurra to the Colac-Geelong bit of the Princes Hwy. Go back to Winchelsea and just out of town take a turn north to an old mansion called Barwon Park (it is on tourist maps). Great photo op with this bluestone house with a white cast iron balcony out front. Quick blast back to Geelong (road not well policed) before a quiet cruise to Melbourne. My 2 cents worth!

The best bit about hassling them politely, but repeatedly, is that you are not breaking any laws yourself. Murphy's Law states that you will get caught red-handed the second you do something to get them back. When they get sick of you, just say that all they have to do is do the right thing (it's not like they don't know why you are there!) and pay up. Then you will go away. Patience, young GrassHopper! (hey, get their phone number and I'll make quasi-legal phone calls to them to up the pressure!)

OK, had this happen to me. 1. Don't make up a witness or do anything illegal. 2. Give the details to your insurance company, but don't bother to claim. 3. As suggested above, appeal to the nicer side of these people. Always be polite (suggest that they may have been "mistaken" rather than call them liars). Give them a genuine quote. 4. Knock on their door and say Hi every time you go to your mates house. They will soon be sick of you. Might weaken their resolve if they get the feeling that they will never get rid of you. Remembering, of course, that if you are always polite and never break the law that they can't do much about you hassling them. 5. Ask your local free legal service about the small claims tribunal (cheaper than trying to sue someone, but same net result) 6. Give this information to the people on your next visit. 7. Never give up. I had to call a guy for 3 months to get $700 out of him that he owed me. I ruined his life and he figured it was easier to pay me to get me to stop. 8. Don't forget to do some amateur detective work. Check their mailbox one day to get their names (OK, that is illegal, but be quick!) or even check the electoral rolls (at the Post Office or a public library?). Getting their names will lead you to their phone numbers! Yet another way to give them the ****s! I have had to chase people a few times for money owed to my side business. I have always got it but sometimes it takes some dedication. It is only an extra 5 mins to your day to hassle these people if you visit your mate (you are already there). Calm and patience - even if you never get the cash, you will hopefully have gotten your money's worth by ruining these bastards lives. After 6 months it is time to give up or start sending pizza deliveries and other pranks around.

My rolla had a crash where it was driven (by my beautiful and lovely girlfriend) into the back of a car with a mutha-effing huge tow bar. Bumper was stuffed (as was number plate) but the quarter panels and bonnet were untouched, but now a little moved. Interior was a bit like your pic - that central frame with the horn was dead in line with the towbar and had been shoved back into the radiator, bending it like a banana. Luckily no leaks and the car drove fine for the few days it took to sort the insurance. AAMI took the car and came back two weeks later like new. Only criticism is that the panel fit between the bumper and the quarter panel on one side is not *quite* perfect, but it is hardly noticable. Hope this reasures you man , your car will be fine!

They have got to be off a boat - big bugger marine diesels

It is certainly an ok drive. There was nothing bad about it.

Mum is already happy about the petrol prices. She has had it over two weeks now and done about 600km and has not needed to fill it - still has a third of a tank.

I have now taken the Prius for about a half hour spin with my Mum as co-pilot and as 'instruction manual'. Drives like an automatic Corolla really. Pulls very smoothly from start and if you are accelerating a bit the engine will kick in before you get to 10kmh. Sound proofing is pretty good so it is not much to notice the engine - a good soundtrack would hide it :) . I drove it from the parents house down some 50km back streets and then onto the Nepean Hwy which is an 80 zone. It kept up with traffic fine and pulled ok from the lights to keep up. I floored it a couple of times and the little 1.5lt engine starts to sound a bit thrashy. Did a bit of driving in a carpark with the 'stealth' mode engaged. This is a button that you push to force the car to operate soley as an electric one. Designed for quiet entry/exit from home and no exhaust driving in garages and carparks with confined spaces (and air). It turns the engine on if you floor it - I guess it thinks that there is an emergency and gives you the power back. For everyday driving, like what Mum does, it would be great. I know most of you boy racers in the Sportivos would find it a bit sedate, but I guess that 99% of the drivers in town wouldn't notice. B) I'm going to see if Mum will lend it to me and my girlfriend in a few weeks when we go to Apollo Bay for the weekend and drive the Princes Hwy past Geelong and do the Great Ocean Road. I am keen to see what it is like on a long stretch of clear road.

She didn't get the full electronics pack as she thought she would never use it. At the age of 67 she reckons that it is easier to pick up the Melways than fool with the SatNav. The only extra thing she got on the base car was park assist.

She finally got it (had to wait for one to come from Japan) and she is a very happy woman. I have yet to drive it but I had a lot of fun sitting in it last night trying to work out how to turn the damn thing on! It doesn't have a key, just this black plastic thing with the lock and unlock buttons on it. Looks like a chunky old remote locking keytag. You get in and slip this keytag into a small slot. Then push the power button (just like some home appliance) and you get he dash etc. Push the button again and the engine fires up (must have foot on brake). Gear shift is on the dash to the left. Reverse, neutral and drive are in a line with Park and a 'B' setting off to the side. The 'B' is engine braking, or rather regenerative braking that means that instead of putting your foot on the normal brakes as you go down, for eg, a hill you engage this baby and put extra power in the batteries. Dash is cool. All digital and right at the bash of the windscreen. There is no normal set of console controls. If you want to fiddle with the air controls you have to use the small touch screen in the centre of the dash. Common controls (radio volume, fresh/re-circ air, radio mode and tune) are also on buttons on the steering wheel. There is also a normal radio volume dial on the centre console. Everything else is via the touch screen. There are lots of cool things in this thing. Little trim things that make it a bit of a luxury car. Looks good too. The only thing that I would take some getting used to is the digital aircon controls - you would have to play with those at a red light. I'm too used to the old fashioned ones! Hope to drive it this weekend (it was getting dark and peak hour when I visited the parents so I didn't want to have my first drive of it then). Mum is already really happy with the fuel usage. She has put about 400km on it so far and the computer is telling her that she is doing 5.5L per 100Km.

Thanks Skitzo, got that font now. I'll set up the art for the Toyota Owners sticker and if anyone want it I will email it. Or perhaps it could be put up on the site to download?

And who could forget that extra toggle on the gearshift in Mad Max's XB Falcon which engaged the supercharger!. Electric clutch just like on your aircon.

Nice Skitzo. Love the symbol too. I might move the text off the top of it or use a colour with more contrast. I am trying to find a copy of the Eurocentric font used in the other Toyota owners club sticker. I'm on a Mac computer and can't find it (and I own over 10,000 fonts from my graphic days). If someone has it can they email it to me? I can convert it from a PC to a Mac font easy.

Pumping unleaded is a bit like pouring light beer from the taps. Frothy - lots of head! The frothy stuff comes back up the filler pipe and trips the stop thingy (not sure how they work). I sometimes pause for a second or slow down a bit right near the end. This means the froth has time to settle or doesn't get produced. If it is clicking off early on during your fill, then just shift the angle and amount of insertion of the nozzle.

I hate how the warning light comes on so early and also the way Toyota gauges (in general, many models) drop quickly in the first half and then seem to sit on empty forever! How many litres is the current 'rolla tank anyway? 50?

Show me one and I will do the artwork and then email it around. I will do it as a vector art eps file created in Adobe Illustrator.

I like that idea. We could work it out and create a .eps file that people could download. They then take it to their friendly local sign writer and get a copy cut from vinyl at any size you want (small for side window, big for top of back windscreen) to suit where you are putting it. This would save a lot of time an money involved in printing a bunch of stickers up and dealing with orders and mailing them etc. The artwork is free, the printing is at your cost depending what you want.

I can help out doing any professional production work to get it ready for the printers. Used to work in graphics industry (now a high school art teacher! :D )