I have a TL and just like you, had tried getting it to work in Nigeria.

To answer your question, you can't get it to work here. It was designed for the U.S. and Canada primarily. The navigation system was built by Alpine and only an Alpine DVD Rom will work in it. Alpine has no DVD maps for Africa.

Your best bet will be to run the cables going into the DVD Rom unit in your trunk to an after market unit. This way, you can use the screen for much more but you will lose all Acura nav and audio functions as well as voice commands.

If you really want a mapping solution for Nigeria, you should get those units you mount on your dashboard or windscreen that offer turn by turn navigation for most parts of Nigeria, so you can continue to use your factory navigation screen for audio, calendar, calculator, phone book and trip computer.

To replace your screen, go on eBay.

Tamakay:
I presume the girl story to be true because a similar thing had happen to my niece in 2008. She was charmed or hypnotised by these guys. She came back home hurriedly that day packed all her mum jewelries and money to them. After collecting everything, they blindfolded her and left her in the bush near Agbarho in Delta State. She only regain her self from that trance after they had all abandoned her. She came out from the forest around 6:30pm and before then we were already planning to report to the police of a missing girl before a bike man brought her home. I just hope the Op is reading my experience and allow the girl be because if she actually stole that money I don't think she would've returned to the house.

You certainly missed the part where it was stated that the girl committed the crime after waking up from sleep. The experience of your niece, if true, should not make every other theft attributed to jazz valid.

As long as people can commit crimes, provide a defence of being under an unexplained influence and thousands rise up to demand their immediate freedom, Nigeria will never be out this dark age. An age of greed, of deception and violence.

It's like the insanity defense in the US, which every serial killer or mass murderer hides behind. The police always charges the suspects to court and the state provides evidence, based on proper police investigation, that the suspect, during the commission of the crime was conscious of right and wrong.

I can bet that 99 people out of a hundred who claim to have been hypnotized will not pass a decent interrogation or polygraph test. Our criminal justice system is just as damaged as every other system in the country, so the police will ask victims of crimes, sometimes very violent crimes, to accept their fate, settle with the perpetrator out of court so they, the police can profit.

Worse still, as a country, our sense of right and wrong is warped. Which is why thieving politicians continue to thrive. Would anyone here asking the OP to let the girl go be so forgiving if someone broke into your home and murdered your child or partner and blame jazz? A crime is a crime and must be condemned.

For you, OP, do everything in your power, as long as it's legal to bring the girl to justice. Crime must and should be stamped out of our country, one thief, one fraudster, one armed robber, one kidnapper, one murderer, one corrupt police officer, one crooked judge, at a time.

DonX001:
OP sorry for your travails. I can imagine the frustration, I've been through something like that before.
From experience, I've come to the conclusion that there is no point in buying Naija used cars, it's just a one-way ticket to heart ache and palpitations and constant spending.
If you don't mind those, then you can go ahead and buy them.
Of course I'm not saying you can't have issues with tokunbo and new cars, horror tales also exist from them, and in fact if you frequent car forums online, you'll also hear tales of woe from owners of brand new cars.
But the difference is the proportion of horror tales. For brand new cars, it may be less than 1%, but for Naija used cars, it's like 99%.
But of course, if that is the only thing within your budget, then you'll just have to go along and pray fervently every morning when you approach the car.
That was my case with my first car.

I found the bolded as amusing as it is true. Just a few days with this vehicle and I'm apprehensive every time I approach it, wondering what new problem it would throw up. Driving it is equally a nerve wracking experience. Every bump, every thud, every rattle and your heart stops, fearing the worst. It's a very stressful situation to be in.

inihood:


How unfortunate.

Summary: if you want to buy a luxury vehicle, get a luxury vehicle specialist. If you want to buy an everyday beater, any mechanic "can" in theory do the inspection, but never vice versa.

God will turn your pain into joy very soon when you can afford to get a replacement.

How sad that so many here on nairaland often advise those with lemon vehicles to sell it to the unsuspecting, instead of declaring a loss and selling to the wreckyard at a loss and moving on. I want to believe that you would not wish your enemy the sort of pain you have passed through which is why you wrote all the above.



The parts I have highlighted is because while I respect professionals a lot. I believe that if you are indeed a professional, you should be able to answer the question why, to defend why you hold a position, and never say, take it from me, take or leave it, but don't why, or I cannot explain.If indeed you know it that well, you should be able to tell. As it turns out, many believe that you should trust them just because they are professionals and when things go wrong like now, they are in no position to mitigate your losses or share your losses, they might even be unable to say sorry, and will stupidly and foolishly defend the untenable. Professional opinions have been later discovered to be wrong or to have arisen from unreasonably held biases, which only dispassionate analysis has unearthed.

Many mechanics are specialists in a particular brand and rather than being humble enough to admit that they do not know about the other brand, will mis-advise based on their insecurities and biases and in order to milk some more cash from the unsuspecting.

Here was a clear case of lack of humility, because he should as an expert have given you sensible advice, go and meet someone who specializes in that type of vehicle. He should have told you to give him time to make contacts and introduce you to someone. But by being proud and arrogant, he has to an extend destroyed your trust, and caused you immeasurable loss. While it is possible to remain friends with him, the friendship will change because relying on his expert advice has caused you pain, the loss of money which can be regained, time which cannot and extreme discomfort. By the way, did you pay him for this advice that has caused you much grieve?

Here is another consideration, even after meeting an expert, it never hurts to seek a second opinion from another expert. When a window regulator failed, one expert told me I needed to buy another. So I went somewhere else and I was told, something fell out, I will fabricate it and it will return to normal. It never hurts to seek a second opinion.

May God bless your heart, sweep your pains away and make you smile again.

Thank you sincerely, for these kind words of encouragement. I was touched by your prayer.

Per my friend, he has only come out recently to admit he should not have done the inspection. I was stunned when, telling him about the steering rack problem and the propeller, he expressed surprise, asking if the car was actually a 4WD. So I get what you mean man. My payment for this 'expert' advice? A lunch at some fancy place and 5000 for his transport.

Hello Siena,

Fantastic job you're doing on this forum. Your commitment to helping VW and Audi owners is legendary and as a new owner of a 2008 VW Passat V6 4Motion, I can't help but seek to make your acquaintance. I've tried contacting you via the forum's Send Email feature without success.

Could you please provide me with a means to reach you? I'm very interested in obtaining fluids and OEM parts for the car. I look forward to hearing from you.

koluray:
Your bad bro, you could have arranged a professional PPI and that would not cost too much

What's a PPI? I know PPE.

DGD1:
my very fear about 9ja used cars.

bro, please sell that crap better still dump it somewhere.
by the way how much did you buy the car, because you have spent over #400k changing one part to the other.

am not judging you, but I believe if yoou had thought off buying a lesser price but dependable car(toyota or honda).

the headache and wahala of buying a car and have not enjoyed it could be very disheartening

You're right. I did consider buying another Accord, even an 07 Camry, but the allure of the Passat's 3.6l V6 engine and four wheel drive was too great to ignore. Now it's put me in this mess, the very same thing that made me purchase the car. If it hadn't been a four wheeler, the problems it's giving now wouldn't exist.

I guess in life we live to learn. My first experience of the all powerful 'German car' has been negative. Would switch to a much reliable Japanese once I raise enough cash. If I ever have to buy a German car again, it has to be brand new. Save me some headache.

seunt4ut:
With my vast experience in tokunbo automobile VW products are not advisable to buy in tokunbo.

It was after these problems and speaking with VW specialists that I got to know this. Volkswagen build cars (the modern ones that is) in a way that makes them very susceptible to failure. The cars require experts only to fix and OEM replacement parts.

But in an attempt to get such expertise and original parts, I learnt something new and shocking. I spoke with the VW Service Centres in Port Harcourt and Owerri regarding bringing the vehicle for a fix and all they wanted to know was if it was the American version of the Passat. Tell them yes and they say no, we dont work on that. It's a Passat for chrissake! I'll see how the pad coming in from Onitsha goes and call them again to claim it's a Nigerian Passat. Maybe that's what they want to hear.

mrsage:
I have been able to learn from you. Maybe you should just sell it and cut your losses. It's difficult though.
I believe that a problematic car will always be problematic.
All the best.

Selling it now is not an option for me. And yes I agree with you, it seems the car, for the time being at least, would continue to give problems. I would just hang on and try to raise the funds for a replacement.

seunt4ut:
Problem like this is very common in used car. For someone to forgone its car ; there must have been some reasons. I bought a sienna from Benin rep after three days of driving it the vehicle steering rack started linking oil ,few weeks after that the gear box had to be replaced etc. Another experience was last month when I recommend Honda Civic 2008 naija used ,advertised on Nairaland to a friend of mine ,he contacted the seller and they reach agreement after three days of driving the car the hybrid battery stopped working , like play like play he had to replace it and the cost of the battery is 400k Naira. I felt bad when he told me.

That's painful. 400k after 3 days of driving. Damn.

Lexusgs430:
Simply put, those who have ears, let them hear. If you want to buy a used car, a tear down inspection is a prerequisite!!!!

A prerequisite my brother. If the seller is uncomfortable with such detailed inspection, walk away.

This is a story about my experience following the purchase of a used car from a Nairalander. I made costly mistakes and have learnt the hard way and wish to enlighten other buyers interested in used vehicles.

I had bought two vehicles in the past, both being tokunbos. First car was an 04 Accord, second, an 08 Acura TL. Both cars performed flawlessly for several months after buying them and somehow, this created in me, a false sense of safety going into the purchase of this used car, a 2008 VW Passat V6 4Motion. My Acura TL got stolen and I needed a replacement quickly as my work involve a lot of road trips. My budget wasn't high enough to replace the Acura so when I saw this used V6 Passat, I was intrigued. For me, it represented power and comfort and I decided to buy it.

Naturally it was advertised as first body, no fixes to be made, bla bla bla. I had a long phone conversation with the seller and we extended our communication to Whatsapp, where he sent me more images of the vehicle. We settled on a price and that weekend I went to see it. This is the point where my trust in the seller and in the car itself had me commit my first big blunder.

When going to inspect a used vehicle, go with an auto technician that specializes in that brand of vehicle, not just any mechanic

I went to inspect the vehicle with a mechanic friend who sadly, is a Honda specialist. He had worked with me in my Honda and Acura days and I wrongly assumed he was qualified enough to perform routine checks on this VW Passat in other to certify the car worthy. Of course he drove it, over rough and smooth roads, tested horns, wipers, lights and checked tires briefly. He told me the only thing he noticed was that the shocks needed replacement, said engine was okay and transmission was smooth. Shocks weren't major issues I felt, and concluded it was safe enough to buy.

Always, always, get a used car raised and get that specialist mechanic to go underneath for a thorough inspection. Where possible, remove the front tyres and check the suspension and engine bay extensively. Know what components are bad, what would need instant replacements so you know just how much more money you'd be putting in after buying it (if you'd still be buying it). A TEST DRIVE IS NOT ENOUGH

My friend said shocks were bad. If only he knew.

Since buying the vehicle, the following parts have had to be replaced: shocks (all four), two front brake discs (each costs 15,000), ball joints, hubs, linkage, tyre rods, shafts, camber, the beam (a 25,000 component) and being a four wheel drive, the propeller pad. Total cost? N158,000 including labour.

But my worries were far from over.

Never, never ignore any warning lights on a used vehicle. NEVER.

In the pictures the seller provided, there was a warning light for the steering. When I saw the vehicle too, it always flashed after ignition and disappeared after a few seconds. Seller said it was because the battery was removed (oh, I changed the battery too, 20,000 aside the 158k). That the Passat works like that. I went online but couldn't find anything definitive. He convinced me a simple scan would clear it if I was too concerned.

But just two days after paying for the vehicle, on my way home the car broke down. That warning light turned red and gear refused to move from P to D. Not even N. It was embarrassing because it happened at a narrow, but busy corner and I'd blocked off the road completely. Car finally entered N briefly and was then pushed to a corner. It happened around 10:20 pm and there was little I could do except pay some guys 5,000 to secure it till day break.

I contacted some guys the next day who charged 15,000 to run a scan and clear the error. But the error could not be cleared. That's because the car had a much deeper problem. The steering rack had a hole, caused by the propeller, caused by broken pads. And so a search for a steering rack began.

It was not found in Port Harcourt and the only one seen in Aba was not a direct match for the car. It had to be ordered from Lagos. The guy who had it in Aba set a price of N60,000 for it but the 'ordered' one from Lagos, according to the men doing the ordering, cost 95,000. According to them, the rack itself costs 80,000. Cost of delivery, 5,000. Cost of 'programming' the new steering, 10,000. I did my best to bring the price down without success. When a parts dealer knows you've got no choice and your car can't move without his part, you're in trouble.

Above all, the mechanic who would install the new steering rack said he'd charge nothing less than 20,000. "Oga this car na big car, the work na big work. Na one full day I go use loose the steering comot, then put the new one. I no go take 10,000. No, I no go take 15,000."

So I paid 80,000. The steering came in after 4 days of stories, was installed and I paid the balance of 15,000. Then paid stubborn mechanic his 20,000.

Add this 115 to the 158 and the 20 and its about 300,000 spent already. If anyone had used all of his money to buy a used vehicle and discovered these problems, certainly you'll be parking that 'new' car for a long, long time.

But there's a reason I am posting this this morning. Yesterday was when I regained possession of the car. Drove it briefly. Everything seemed fine. On my way to the office, it broke down again. Luckily it wasn't far from a garage where VW cars are repaired. Mechanic checked. "Oga, your propeller pad don scatter." So the propeller pad that cost 8000 didn't last a full day of use. Called stubborn mechanic. "Oga, no be my fault. Na the boy wey bring the part. Where you dey? I go come tomorrow," (even though the time was around 1pm).

This morning, someone has proceeded to Onitsha with 14,000 to look for the pad because it too wasn't found in PH and Aba.

If only I had gone with a VW specialist for inspection, raised the car and done a thorough assessment. If I hadn't perceived that warning light as insignificantly as the seller made it seem, I wouldn't be in this position. Of course, I regret buying the car but it's too late.

So if you are in the market for a used car, take these precautions and save yourself the expense and arguments with stubborn mechanics and spare parts dealers.

[Note: This post is for the purpose of informing others, not eliciting sympathy for my misfortune. It already contains admission of my naivete in the purchase of a used car. It would be unwise to abuse or insult me further. ]

nativedoctor:
hello friends,
i have been wondering why 4x4 suvs keep having steering problems.
i have had a prado that i changed steering rack and power steering pump twice.
i changed steering rack and pump of my 4runner once and ball joints and tie rods.about 3 times.
now i have a landcruiser and i have to replace both front shafts . the pump has also started squealing.
other 4x4 suv users i know also have similar issues.
what could be the cause?

I have a 2008 VW Passat, V6 4Motion and I have had to change my steering rack as well. In my case, the propeller tore through the rack, causing stiffness of the steering before eventually failing. The propeller did this because as I unfortunately found out too late, the propeller pad had broken, causing the propeller to drop a few inches and make contact with steering rack.

Perhaps this could be a cause of steering failure for other all wheel drives.

Interesting comments all round. However, for those who are questioning if her ad revenue can buy this house, think again. Whether the house is actually 850m is another matter entirely but the fact is, Linda buying a house now shows just how much was spent by the political parties during the campaign.

I heard reports of PDP paying as much 15-20m a week to advertise on her blog. Add that to whatever she'd been making in the past and it's no longer difficult to place revenue from her blog as the only means by which this house was acquired.

Per her being unmarried, what has that got to do with anyone and her decision to buy a house? She could be single until 80 if that makes her happy and its entirely alright in my opinion. Life is too short to live it worrying about the opinions of others. Find what makes you happy, as long as its legal and do it. Nevermind what your neighbour or Nairaland thinks.

Not sure why no one has figured this out yet. The OP has other registered usernames on this site. This particular post should in fact had emanated from a female moniker, but he made an error. The moderator, without taking time to read carefully, sent it to the front page and we have on our hands, a plethora of advices and homophobia.

Linus, go get a job man. Put your mind to good use.

Jascon4, you've made a good observation. Why the ladies here are taking it very personal, I fail to understand.

For those who are upset by the allusions of the OP, it's either you're guilty of the same actions or you don't fully understand the points made. Agreed, not every girl in a hotel is there for a sexual rendezvous. Most are there for many reasons, beyond sex.

What Jascon has stated and which I agree to is that, while not every meeting a girl holds in a hotel room is for purposes of sex, it becomes distasteful when a girl has on her Facebook page or Twitter handle, or Instagram, dozens and dozens of photos of herself in various hotel rooms. Unless she is some sort of hotel inspector, then she has no other reason, aside sexual, to be in these rooms. And when I say rooms, I mean rooms. Multiple. At different times within a given period.

Of course, it's not any concern of mine and I will never make a direct complaint to an individual who does this. But I, like the OP reserve the right to express our objection to this practice. Just as anyone in favour of it maintains the full rights to a complete acceptance of the action. But express your support and solidarity without abuses. That's how grown ups behave.

Finally, and to clear one little notion. I also frown at the assumption of sexual activity that people make in reference to hotel rooms. I despise it in fact, but in this instance, there is no other basis for a girl, single apparently, taking photos in over 20 different hotel rooms. I have had cause to unfriend certain people as a result of this on Facebook. Where every morning on my news feed, I see some girl pouting, lying or standing in a hotel room.

So yes, not every meeting a girl holds in a hotel room indicates sexual activity. But one girl, in tens of hotel rooms, even hundreds, can only mean one thing.

Licolnpix, quite clearly you seem intent on running yourself out of business with this I WILL SEIZE DATABASE OR CPANEL mindset. You do not have the right to withhold access to the database of a website you built for a client. Absolutely not. Building a website for a client is not the same as running software as a service.

Besides, what 'codes' are in the database? Databases hold no codes. They hold data. You instead write codes to insert, modify, delete or pull data from a database. Codes are not stored in databases. You can tell that to your clients, not in a forum where there are other web professionals.

If your codes are so important to you, build a platform where the client can have access to the complete database records, along with the means to modify and export the data. With a highly functional CMS, no client will have the need to access phpMyAdmin on a remote server. Unless he or she wants to modify database structure (which surely would mean having a qualified staff).

I have been in the business of website development since 1999 and have had no need to restrict clients from accessing CPanel, regardless of scope or complexity of work done. I have worked with clients in the manufacturing, health, sports and engineering industries, with very demanding projects and have not, nor will ever restrict CPanel access.

I do not want to go into the request, or demand for monthly retainers as that is another unprofessional conduct that underscores your lack of experience, expertise and wisdom but I'd leave it to your client to decide how to progress on that front.

In closing, if majority of the posters here, including web design professionals have insisted that your action is wrong, forget the contract grammar, then it is. If you choose not to deal with your client on a friendly and helpful basis, on a basis that shows goodwill, regardless of your need for money, then you should not be in the business altogether.

I just had to come back to post this after experiencing a thoroughly enjoyable, express delivery service from MyUS.

For a package that Amazon delivered on Friday, October 31, MyUS completed consolidation and repackaging in less than 24 hours. On Monday, November 3, it notified me that my package had been picked up from their warehouse by DHL. Using the 1-4 day expressing shipping method I opted for, I was surprised when a DHL dispatch driver knocked on my door late Thursday afternoon to deliver the package.

I spent N9800 to ship this 3.2 lbs package and I have had more than my money's worth. To think that I was enduring delivery times of 6-8 weeks on Shippyme, sometimes even longer, just shows how relieved I am to find and use a different delivery company that truly understands what it means to be EFFICIENT, something Shippyme will never get.

I have a Premium account on MyUS and will never ship with anyone else. The service has been phenomenal and I'll encourage everyone to use www.myus.com - Shippyme and Circuit Atlantic provide consistently shocking services that there can be no redemption. To even call them and have one lousy customer rep tell me I should contact their US office to verify the status of my package is something I'll never have to go through with and I'm immensely grateful.

tuoyoojo: 15) Need to urgently set up a collective bargaining agreement
committee to look at the following allowances for JOHESU members
a. Headship allowance
b. Administrative allowance
c. professional allowance.
d. Excess work load allowance
e. Health and safety site allowance
f. responsibility allowance

That's d part of the demands I like best. I think u guys shud also add
Coming to work allowance
Sleeping on duty allowance
Comestic allowance
Furniture allowance
Giving drugs to patients allowance

FG una know the needful
"Sack em all"!

I think you forgot to add eating on duty allowance and verbally abusing patients and their families allowance.

Benue State is indeed one hell of a place, with no economic or social development so the Governor deducting workers salary is completely unforgivable.

I spent three months in Benue sometime in 2012. Two of those months I stayed in Makurdi before rounding off my activities in Katsina Ala. The living conditions of the residents are shocking and Katsina Ala was so underdeveloped there was just one bank in the town, a First Bank. I can clearly remember a handful of the staff in my hotel in Makurdi seeing my vehicle plate number and appealing to me to take them back to Port Harcourt. To do any work, they said. Any work outside Benue was better than what they were going through. They told bitter stories about their state and Suswam.

Three of the guys and one lady were graduates. Their frustration was so strong I was overcome by pity. They were earning 3500 a month despite the hotel being quite upscale, with rooms ranging from 12,000 to 25,000 a night. The guys said the only alternative they had was to drive okadas. One said he'd worked in a restaurant, earning 2000 monthly before securing the hotel job.

As has been mentioned here, the drinking bars are the only thriving commercial activities in the town.

The irony of my experience in Makurdi was a room on my floor, accommodated by a newly appointed commissioner. This fellow had three to four girls brought in every night, girls from the schools around. Every morning before I left the hotel, I would see him gather the male staff on duty and complain about how the girls from last night "finish me". The hotel manager told me he was appointed the week before I came in and since then, has left his home, where he has a wife and three young children, to be "finished" by girls every night in their hotel. He never gave a tip, they complained, but every morning, each of the girls left with at least 20,000.

The graduates who wanted to leave with me said the commissioner personified everything that was wrong about their state government. Uncaring, wasteful and shameless.

angela98: If u are bored of sex u need to get out of that marriage. Try another man. Marriage is not a prison. Just give another woman a space or chance to come into his life. A woman whom will never be bored of his sex...marriage is not a do or die.

With how quickly you recommend getting out of relationships or marriages you are more than likely single yourself. At the drop of a hat you ask ladies to break up and go in search of new loves. Are you in a fantasy world? Is that how life works?

When did trying to make a marriage or relationship work become a crime? I advise you not to provide further counseling to distressed people. Ultimately you'll only cause them more sorrow with this jump ship philosophy of yours. All too often in life, whether in our personal or professional lives, we would face tough situations. But as they say it's tough people who last, not the tough conditions.

Based on your advice, a woman can end up getting married to 10 different men in her lifetime because John did this or Michael said that, or as it is in this instance, I'm bored. You need to offer advice that takes a whole lot into consideration and is fully reflective of the world we live in. This is no Wonderland, with a man standing at the next corner, waiting to sweep up a damsel in distress.

Cheers.

Indeed Shippyme are terrible. There are two separate occasions where they have rendered very bad service. Took ages to deliver items that I even wanted to be shipped expressly. Charge insane amounts. Just about everything is wrong with Shippyme. Use them at your own risk.

What's the cost of it?

J0nyb0y: i just wanted to place an order worth 30k 2day on konga.. Una don discourage me

I've ordered a product well over 100k on Konga. Was quite naturally skeptical at first but I received the device on time and in good condition.

I've used both and will declare Konga the better retailer, mainly due to how swiftly my orders were confirmed and shipped to me, despite residing outside Lagos.

Jumia took more than a week to deliver each item I ordered, even more than a fortnight to deliver a particular product. On two occasions they accepted payments for products that they didn't have in stock yet displayed on their website.

For Konga, my orders arrived three days after ordering. The last order (in November) arrived in two days. I was really surprised to find the DHL chap at my door. My only concern with Konga is the number of unprofessional customer care reps I've had to deal with but I can live with that, if it's the price to pay for quick deliveries.

Oh, you're equally more likely to have your order returned with Jumia and get refunded.

Send an email to the address above.

Hello,

I'm interested in the services of a graphic designer with a great understanding of Photoshop, Fireworks and Adobe Illustrator.

There are couple of projects my company is handling currently and we would like to have a designer to work with on certain elements. Tasks basically will be logo and icons creation as well as image optimization and editing.

Engagement is project based and scope of work covered will decide remuneration.

If you're interested or know someone who will be a great addition to our team then please send an email to rumin8

Thank you.

Rumin8

gonzaga:
We know for sure that the government had neither sent invitations to 53 countries or shortlisted 53 Nigerians for any kind of award. For who then are these phones been ordered for?

Erm, I'm sorry but how do you know for sure that the government had neither sent invitations nor shortlisted 53 for award? Saw it on NTA? Or you follow Abati on Twitter?

This government has shown a readiness to throw money around on meaningless activities so you can't be too certain that they are unwilling to throw more money again on these gold iPhones. While the above photograph may be doctored, it doesn't change the fact that orders for 53 iPhones may truly have been placed by the government.

I can't wrap my head around all the Nigerian/Ghanaian bashing but I think this picture just sums up the incredible xenophobia in South Africa, which this thread was meant to highlight and address. For those who are somehow justifying the violence against other nationals in South Africa, whether by the police or by regular citizens, I say think again. The Mozambican Ernesto who is seen burning was not a drug dealer. He was just a regular guy caught up at the wrong place and time.

You might be in your plush offices and apartments in Joburg saying the victims of assault deserve it due to their criminal actions - which we have the legal system to address - but pray you're not caught up one day in a xenophobic attack. The mob won't ask for your papers bro, your non South African heritage will be enough to hand you a speedy, brutal death.

We must say no to xenophobia. We must say no to racism. Regardless of the actions of the subjects.

jodeci01: @ Rumin8 and Learn2know : am also considering the 09 TL , i would like to know your general(if possible detailed)experience so far - is it reliable?, where do you maintain it? is it the SH-AWD? Am so glad to find people using it

Seeing your post late. I can't speak for the 09 but I can tell you that the 08 is an exhilarating car to drive. On the road, it's powerful and accelerates with a roar that excites me every time. Despite its raw power, it's very stable and rides smoothly, corners well and doesn't rattle in the many holes that litter our roads. I know you will be eager to know about fuel economy but this too is not a problem for a car this big.

Reliability: I have only had to change brake pads in the 14 months I've had it, aside the basic oil and filter replacements. It's really a solid ride so don't worry at all. Sadly, mine is a FWD. The SH-AWD is a feature introduced from the 09 models upwards.

thelastPope:

The responses on this thread really worry me. Intellectual leaders? Hitler was a very intellectual leader and about the greatest orator of the 20th century. How did it turn out again? Babangida was a very clever leader. Someone remind me how it turned out again?

The nonsense posts from people like ballabrigs remind me of the UNILAG-MAULAG saga. The biggest reason MAULAG students and their supporters were against the name change was because the name didnt have "swag". The same pettiness is being displayed shamefully on this thread. Ghadafi was a great orator but was disgraced and murdered. Robert Mugabe is another great orator who turned his country into a land of famine and hunger. It is sad that kids like ballabrigs are trolling NL talking children stuff. GEJ is GEJ! What Nigerians voted him to provide is not great speeches and interviews. It is good governance and so far, he is doing ok with that. He still has a long way to go but he is on track. I am glad that he really doesnt give a £"!$%^&*(()) about what some silly NLs have to say. Petty toddlers like you insulting your elders. How can you grow? SMH!

Jonathan is doing okay on good governance? Really? Did you intend that as satire, my friend?

There is Wheelers MC in Lagos - www.wheelers-mc.com

Learn2know:

Yea same year and spec as yours. got it like 2 month ago.
I've somehow stick with Mobil.
Have you done anything to your navi to make it locally functional?

No, there's nothing you can do to make the navigation work here. I've spoken personally to Acura and they say its not possible because the map is for US and Canada.

Mobil is okay. Just do well to change your oil frequently, forget that oil life reading. I dropped by at my Total lubricant guys to do a random evaluation of the various fluids and even though the oil life on the gauge read 50%, they said (and showed me) how bad the oil really was. Twice this has happened. So that's it, mate.

^^ Ah, no. The owner's manual says it requires premium fuel but where in Nigeria will you get that? I just buy from guys like Total and Oando. At least I know it won't be the sludge that some of the petty fuel stations sell. You use a TL ehn?