Can I just add a note about drilling holes in the boot area - Please delete this if not required.
When drilling through the boot floor please be extremely careful if anywhere near the petrol tank. (Most cars have the tank under the rear seat so are ok).
In the days of fixed carphones where the Transciever lived in the boot it was not unknown for installation engineers to not check and drill straight through the floor and though the top of the petrol tank, obviously the consequences of a hot drill bit into petrol / petrol fumes isn't ideal!
Looks like his wiring technique was acquired at Heinz filling cans full of spaghetti........... Infact he's got a 'catering' size spaghetti tin tie wrapped onto the exhaust.
I reckon he's knocked at least 50% of the true value of that car!
Though in the dealers defence, he does generally only sell Omega's so I would hope he knows all about the Omega's issues, things like the replacing the tensioner and rollers etc.
I agree it's over priced but on the +ve side it's a late plate, low mileage car with a decent warranty, on the -ve side it would be nice if it had the colour screen and was cheaper!
Does the CID have surface mount components? If one could possibly be got for £50 and it's a normal PCB (Unlikely) it'd be worth it as a guinnea pig to dismantle etc but you'd need to set up a test rig and have tech 2 to hand.
Got a feeling that you'd have to have access to GM's security databases though....
Who is the display made by? Siemens? Is there any avenue through the manufacturer of the screen?
V8 SD1! If one car sticks in my mind its the V8 SD1, wish I still had mine.... then again I think the only thing remaining would be the engine, the shell would have dissolved years ago.... infact it nearly had when I got rid of it.
Swapping from Auto to manual has never been a problem (apart from me counting the gear changes and thinking 'Why?'), instinct seems to kick in as soon as I get in a manual and i've performed emergency braking in both without problems.
I guess it's just what you get used to, I've driven Automatics and manuals ever since I passed my test so I never have to think about it but if you are an infrequent Manual or Automatic driver I guess it could catch you out.
Becomes natural after a while. People who left foot brake for the first time tend to pull an emergency stop so don't try it unless you've got no one beind you. I don't ride the brake pedal with my left foot, I just move it across when needed, in traffic it's a lot easier.
Don't know why I do it, just feels easier, you don't have to move your foot from the throttle.
I read in Car Mechanics that Land Rover have developed a new head gasket for the K series (as used in Freelander) and it's supposed to be a lot stronger than the previous version, it hasn't been in use long enough though to prove that it is any better.