Fozzie

I believe the early ones had a reputation for being pretty hard, but I think they were overhauled a few years ago and the redesigned ones were supposed to be much better.

^ That too.

Take the details to the police - even if you never see your money again, you can make his life difficult. Also worth looking to take him to the small claims court; it'll take a little while to see the process through, but there's a good chance you'll get your money back at the end of it.

What's irritating is when people write about their alloys and coilovers, followed by "too much to list". If you actually want to sell the car then fucking list it you helmet - can hardly expect someone to part with £5k if you can't even be bothered to write down the details of what they're paying for.

Yea should be fine mate, I don't think you'd have any issues at those boost levels.

I'd personally go OEM too. People have had a lot of issues getting Athena gaskets to seal properly (plus it seems that there's some dodgey copies floating around as well). Unless you're planning on running silly boost I just don't see the Athena ones being necessary.

Regardless of the mechanicals, in my opinion the styling is utter crap - it looks high and narrow. Even if it was a feasible option to get hold of one, I'd still give it a miss.

No worries - you might get slightly lower economy as the Paseo is a very 'slippery' shape, which helps with mpg. On the other hand, the EP70 is a lighter chassis, so either way it should be pretty good

The 5EFE is ridiculously economical considering its age. Lots of Paseo owners report 45-50mpg on a long run. A high mileage one should be fine as long as it's not smoking lots or making any nasty noises. If you keep on top of all the fluids and filters then you shouldn't have any issues. Any engine can go pop mind you, sometimes it's just luck of the draw!

If the sweets are a selling point for you then go nuts, I don't even like them so frankly it makes no odds to me either way. As been said, it's a clamp - a piece of metal with a hole in each end doesn't have to have a brand name on it to do its job. Personally I think it looks awful, but I don't doubt it'll do what it's supposed to!

It's a nice touch if it's unexpected, but the concept falls apart if you're trying to use a 10p pack of gummies as an actual selling point. Popping sweets in the box was obviously a good idea that someone had a couple years back and now everyone else has jumped on the bandwagon, then you end up with this - soon people will just be selling a couple of multipacks with a battery clamp thrown in haha.

http://www.ukstarletowners.com/topic/106192-coilovers-or-standard-suspension-with-lowering-springs/#entry1215536

Yea sounds like a fair plan, might as well go new if it's the same price as a used one anyway Not sure what the difference is between the 'stages' but it's generally pretty minimal anyway.

I wouldn't be so sure, you'll need to factor in decking the block, checking the head over, honing and cross hatching and then reassembly, plus all the new gaskets and seals. You getting the head checked at the same time? May as well if you're going to drop all that cash on the bottom end tbh!

Some forged engines have turned out to be nails, but then others have been ok. I guess you save a bunch of cash in return for a bit of a gamble!