jm79

Thanks happenmight. The car itself is 5 years old, so im thinking is it worth it (even though it looks in great condition)? I obviously want the car looking great for as long as possible, but if it's a case of me buying some quality 'off the shelf' products and applying myself twice a year (or so) to get the same effect, then I guess it's a no brainer.

I know it's a typical after sales product, however, I do like the sound of it and although it is fairly new to the market it does seem like a good product. The dealership is offering it to me for £350 but I don't think I would want to pay more than about £200-250. If I was able to negotiate, does anyone else have this on their car - if so, is it any good? Does anyone know if I can get this done in Sheffield for the price above? What are the other (cheaper) options for a good wax/polish product that I can apply myself 2 or 3 times a year to give a similar level of protection?

Thanks for the heads up. I will take this on board, however, I also have two friends who have had these and they say they have been fantastic cars (hence why I was sort of drawn to them). I guess with most cars, there will always be two completely different experiences. Just thinking out loud, but maybe the previous owner hadn't looked after it or serviced it properly and you were unfortunate to take the brunt of the inevitable repairs. I will keep your comments in mind though, so thanks for the feedback.

I was hoping for a medium sized hatchback (akin to the Focus) as there will be times when we use it as a family car at the weekends. I have thought about the new Golfs - the Bluemotion in particular which gives really good mpg but I fancy a change after I had a few issues with my current Golf (although I know the newer models will be much better now).

I live in Dronfield and I have just accepted a new job offer which means I will now have to commute to Nottingham (motorway side) from J29 every day. My 2001 Golf 1.6 petrol car is going to have to be replaced with a more efficient car (preferably a Diesel) and I was looking to spend no more than £9-10k (on a good 2nd hand car). Ive done some research and I really like the 1.6 TDCi Ford Focus Zetec 115 and there are some good deals out there for less than £10k for these with less than 25,000 miles and under 3 years old. The official MPG looks good as well although I am more concerned that the actual MPG is reported closer to the 45mpg mark. I'm also considering other cars such as Audi A3 (but will prob have to settle for a pre-2010 version with approx 50k miles if £10k is my limit). Can anyone recommend any other similar cars that are reliable and have good MPG (through experience) more around the 50-60mpg. If any Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec drivers can also clarify mpg for these as well. Thanks

Thanks sophiec1979 - I will let my partner know.

She basically wants to learn some basic skills to make some proto-types for some ideas she has. Once she has a few proto-types she can then approach professional manufacturers or clothing retailers to hopefully get her ideas/designs out there. So the course isn't so she can mass produce them by herself, it's just so she can turn some of her ideas into reality so she has a working proto-type to demonstrate. Anyone know of any courses or individuals that would provide one on one training would be much appreciated.

My partner is wanting to know if there are any courses or workshops in Sheffield (or nearby) that teach people how to make their own clothing, more specifically, lingerie. She has a few ideas to start a small business but it would help if she knew how to create her own designs herself. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

Which part of Dronfield RiffRaff?

thanks mlfc

Yep completely agree with everyones view on rrp and as a marketeer myself i dont use it for similar reasons. However if anyone can offer an answer on the question to satisfy my friends desire/need to use it, please post below.

Im actually inquiring on behalf of a friend who is selling some clothes on an internet site. He's asked me as I work in marketing...and even im not sure - I thought RRP was still commonly used and although I have seen SSP (or is it SRP), ive not noticed it as much as RRP. I suggested he asked the question on here but as he doesnt have an account, im asking for him...

Does anyone know what abbreviation should be displayed these days on prices if showing a recommended retail price (RRP) on products? Is it RRP or SSP (suggested selling price)? Ive seen both used now, and was wondering if SSP is now replacing RRP (for terminology reasons).

Thanks for the input ttparsons, I will take it into consideration. The house is a semi-detached, built around 1975. Im not very experienced at identifying if the current floor boards have been lifted, so I can't comment on that. Ive also received some advice that if I am to drill pilot holes and fix screws close to existing nails, then I should put the screws to the outside of the existing nail as tradesman generally run piping/wires in line with the centre of floor boards. I appreciate that this wont be the case for every house, but all advice is welcome and taken on board.

We moved into a new house earlier this year and some of the rooms upstairs have very creaky floor boards. They are square edged floor boards (in good condition still) but the nails are rubbing causing the creak. Im wanting to do this job myself and I was going to buy a detector to help me locate pipes/wires under the floor boards before inserting screws. However, ive heard they arent that accurate and can give confusing signals? As the nails dont have a head on them (making them difficult to pull out), if I drill a pilot hole within 5mm of an existing nail and insert a screw, is this a good way to work round it (assuming a nail wouldnt be put there in the first place if pipes/cables are there)? I have a small box room which I applied this theory to and it worked but I may have ridden my luck, so wanted to check before I do the big rooms! Any advice appreciated.

Thanks Micky ET. Will check it out now...

Can anyone recommend any good packages (through experience), im only looking at a package that is around £10 per month that will cover me for boiler repairs, central heating and also include an annual boiler service. Something similar to the British Gas 100 & 200 packages, however the £99 excess seems quite high and was wondering if there were more competitive deals out there? Note: I appreciate that £99 excess might be really good in the event of a really expensive repair, but was just wondering what other packages people recommend.

If this is a short term thing, try searching on Google for 'hot desk sheffield'. There are plenty of places renting desks out.

I guess at this point, i'm only assuming it's condensation, so any advice would be great. Basically, we have a small smooth concrete step/surface (only about 1cm high) in our kitchen that is directly below the uPVC kitchen door (leading to the back garden). Ever since about 6 weeks ago, the surface of this 'step' has been getting a wet residue building on it daily. I have a large sponge nearby to keep wiping it dry. We've only been in the house since May this year and (as above) the problem has only started about 6 weeks ago. Im therefore assuming that the concrete is creating a perfect surface for condensation to form (from central heating, cooking, etc). The water residue does not appear anywhere else in the kitchen (and it's not dripping off the door window either). Am I right to assume it is condensation, and if so, is there anything I can 'paint' on it or apply to stop this happening?

Personally, I would wait until your seller has found a house to buy if you want to avoid the risk of losing money. What you also need to keep in mind is that if your seller doesn't have an offer accepted on a house soon, your buyers may get impatient and pull out in favour of buying a house in a chain that is ready to move. Just my opinion though (from personal experience). Others may disagree.

I personally think a house will sell itself if listed on Rightmove at the right price, at the right time...and sometimes with a bit of luck thrown in. We therefore put our house up for sale with an online company with a fixed fee and we had loads of viewings/offers and it would have sold easily if we weren't gazundered 1 week before exchange Anyway, we therefore put it back on the market with the same company and had no interest for months...typical. So, we decided to bite the bullet and try selling it through Hunters to freshen things up. I personally felt that the house still sold itself (on Rightmove), however, what really made the difference using a high street agency was the amount of hours the agency put in trying to keep our sale together when we hit problems down the line after accepting another offer when interest picked up again. I have to say that their huge effort into sorting the issues definitely saved the move falling through. Im 99% certain that an online agency (in my opinion) would not have put in the same time/effort and the sale would have been lost, again. So my point is...the cheaper option is not always the best. Hunters were worth every penny for the % of the sale they took imo. Good luck with whatever direction you choose though.

We are wanting to sell a Silvercross Classic Sleepover pram but it has got a few marks on the material in places where its been in storage. It therefore could do with a wash but as we've not used the pram for a while, I forgot how it all comes apart, etc! I would list it on eBay, however, as some parts need a clean, I dont think it would sell. Does anyone know any companies/shops that buy 2nd hand prams to clean up and sell on themselves. Im happy to sell at a low price just to free up some space in the house!

Can anyone recommend any decent mattress stain removal sprays/products that I can easily get hold of from a store in Sheffield. It's mainly to clean up beverage spillages, however, the stains are a few months old, so will need something that is quite tough.

Im wanting to do some pointing in our attached garage as some of the brick work is missing (or worn?) mortar. As ive never done pointing before, what is the best 'off the shelf' mortar to use to do the job? For example, would the multipurpose mortar at B&Q suffice?

Maybe going off at a tangent a little, but a few years ago I had a problem with my VW. Luckily, it was still under warranty but only for about 3 days. I took it to my local VW dealer and they couldn't identify what was causing the problem. They told me to bring it back in the following week if the problem continued... ...1 week later, I took it in and surprise, surprise, they found the problem..."£400 please as you are just out of warranty". I argued that I brought the car in to be looked at when it was under warranty but they refused to budge on it. They offered to go halves with me in the end after a huge argument with head office but it still was unfair I had to pay that. I took it in for an MOT later on and they advised me the car needed £1000 of minor repairs. I had them checked out by a reputable local garage...none of the "repairs" were required. Needless to say, I never used the VW dealer after this.