Best Smoker Barges - 1 - 5 Large [Vol 3]

[GBB]

volks al said:

Zwolf said:

I seem to have acquired a more economy-minded motor too.

Only 2.3 litres and five cylinders. So far enjoying mpg beginning with a three.

even 3* mpg would be good.

The merc seems to do 22 ish if I do 60 or 100 leptons on motorway.

Perfect, a car whose economy doesn't drop if you thrash it!

My 535 seems the same, 20mpg all day long, rises to 24 ish if I do some motorway driving.

But that said my 328 did 22mpg average in similar conditions and my S60 25mpg, I did get 35mpg out of Jag 2.0d.

Len, guessing thats a T5? If you are getting 30+ mpg then this could be the ultimate performance/economy/comfort/handling barge.

Not quite a barge but definitely an orphan is this - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

[Mustard]

The 500SEL and the 740iL both look good..... pedigree articles !

[crazy about cars]

Always loved this car (dad of me ex used to have one but his is manual) but too bad the insurance is mental on these and they dont qualify for Classic

edo said:

1992 Mercedes-Benz S Class S500 BUSINESS EDITION 4DR AUTO 5.0

4 Doors, Automatic, Saloon, Petrol, 64,000 miles, Metallic Black. Full Service History, HPI Clear, excellent condition, full leather interior, Air conditioning, Electric windows, Electric mirrors, Electric seats, Heated seats, Radio/CD, Foglights, airbags, ABS, PAS, Alloy wheels, Finance Available No Deposit Requite, P/X Welcome, First To See Will Buy. Insurance Group:20. £2,450








http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

[GBB]

Being lazy (and not knowing where to look).

Does anyone know how many big petrol 5 series were sold last yr vs 10 yrs ago (or something similar as an approximation)?

Virtually every E60/F10 seems to be a 520d so curious to know the relative size of barge population in 10 yrs vs today.

[Zwolf]

I like the look of that Calypso 740 Long very much. 1 owner a big +, assuming they didn't stop caring about it ten years ago.

GBB - sadly not a T5 Ovlov, but a V5 Golf. Absolutely great little engine, frugal too - until you boot it anyway.

Thankfully the MkIV Golf chassis does not encourage or inspire that method very much, but to hum back and forth it's perfectly fine with a decent ride very much in its favour. Bumwarmers and a glass 'roof made it unignorable.

I did used to get 26-30 from a manual S60 2.4 T5, post facelift though so it was imbued with a sixth cog that helped. Knock 3mpg off for the slightly less powerful 5 speed 2.3 T5.

[Mustard]

GBB said:

Being lazy (and not knowing where to look).

Does anyone know how many big petrol 5 series were sold last yr vs 10 yrs ago (or something similar as an approximation)?

Virtually every E60/F10 seems to be a 520d so curious to know the relative size of barge population in 10 yrs vs today.

Sadly minute .... IIRC our tally stands for F10/11 at about 2 x 523i's 3 x 535i's against loads of 520d's , few 525 & 530d's and a couple of 535d's

How the market has changed, bear in mind we never got a 520d till 2007 and now it's at least 80% of all 5's!


Due to the power of the 20d engine, 6 pot diesels are becoming a rarity never mind petrols (only NA petrol six is the 530 I these days, and ive never seen one )

Edited by Mustard on Saturday 31st March 12:39

[GBB]

Looks like we need to max our barginess now, although I guess it just means we;ll be driving 20yr old barges in 10 yrs time not 10 yr old ones.

Zwolf said:

Thankfully the MkIV Golf chassis does not encourage or inspire that method very much, but to hum back and forth it's perfectly fine with a decent ride very much in its favour. Bumwarmers and a glass 'roof made it unignorable.

Golf MK4 always struck me as a victory for style over substance, an ex-colleague has a leggy 130GT TD which is always a nice car to be driven in, and the V6 4 Motions appeals as a mini-barge with very reasonable spec (one with the heated leather recaros anyway).

The other mini-barge that appeals is the Lexus IS300 Sportcross - I guess another big engined car that is becoming a bit of an orphan (not an enthusiasts car, not a posh enough badge and heavy on fuel) - this appealed - http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3317061.htm

[Mr E]

GBB said:

Virtually every E60/F10 seems to be a 520d so curious to know the relative size of barge population in 10 yrs vs today.

I think (from reading Evo) something like 70% of 5 series will be a 520d....

Bloke in my carpark has just collected a brand new 535i Tourer. Brave man. I wonder what it'll be worth in 5 years.....

[SuperHangOn]

sly fox said:

20 mins left on ebay for this LS400

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIte...

Blimey, no takers at £700! Not great pictures but it looks a clean car.

Its criminal how little those are worth

[tog]

My 300SE is on a classic policy.

crazy about cars said:

Always loved this car (dad of me ex used to have one but his is manual) but too bad the insurance is mental on these and they dont qualify for Classic

edo said:

1992 Mercedes-Benz S Class S500 BUSINESS EDITION 4DR AUTO 5.0

[crazy about cars]

tog said:

Is that a late 80s model?

[tog]

crazy about cars said:

Is that a late 80s model?

Yes, a 1988 W126. Multi-vehicle classic policy with Footman James. But even a 1992 car is twenty years old now so should still be insurable as a classic. It might depend on you having another car to drive as well though.

[hornetrider]

Mr E said:

GBB said:

Virtually every E60/F10 seems to be a 520d so curious to know the relative size of barge population in 10 yrs vs today.

I think (from reading Evo) something like 70% of 5 series will be a 520d....

Bloke in my carpark has just collected a brand new 535i Tourer. Brave man. I wonder what it'll be worth in 5 years.....

I did a little research on this a while ago and posted it in the thread

I looked on autotrader for available cars in petrol v diesel and tried the usual German suspects (3/5 series, A4/A6, C/E-Class etc). The newer you get the more the split goes toward diesel. In some classes petrols are now outnumbered 10 to 1 and I found 70% to be the best case scenario for petrol lovers.

The future will contain slim pickings.

[Jobbo]

Mustard said:

GBB said:

Being lazy (and not knowing where to look).

Does anyone know how many big petrol 5 series were sold last yr vs 10 yrs ago (or something similar as an approximation)?

Virtually every E60/F10 seems to be a 520d so curious to know the relative size of barge population in 10 yrs vs today.

Sadly minute .... IIRC our tally stands for F10/11 at about 2 x 523i's 3 x 535i's against loads of 520d's , few 525 & 530d's and a couple of 535d's

How the market has changed, bear in mind we never got a 520d till 2007 and now it's at least 80% of all 5's!


Due to the power of the 20d engine, 6 pot diesels are becoming a rarity never mind petrols (only NA petrol six is the 530 I these days, and ive never seen one )

Edited by Mustard on Saturday 31st March 12:39

Surely there was a 520d from soon after the launch of the E60 - 2005ish?

As for big petrols, I checked howmanyleft when I bought my 545i last week. Since 2002 would be late E39s, I think it's probably fair to compare 2003 E60s with today instead, due to the inevitable fall off in demand for a car being replaced. 161 auto E60 545i saloons were registered in 2003, plus 11 manuals, which isn't many. If you're an estate fancier like me it's even scarcer; only just over 100 545i Tourings of all forms (Sport and SE, manual and auto) were ever registered in the UK. There were about 70 550i Tourings of all forms too.

I've owned nearly 2% of all 545i Tourings personally which seems a bit mad.

[Strawman]

Unusual Jaguar V12 series3 Saloon with a Getrag 5 speed manual conversion.



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980-Series-3-Jaguar-V12...

[Mustard]

Jobbo said:

Mustard said:

GBB said:

Being lazy (and not knowing where to look).

Does anyone know how many big petrol 5 series were sold last yr vs 10 yrs ago (or something similar as an approximation)?

Virtually every E60/F10 seems to be a 520d so curious to know the relative size of barge population in 10 yrs vs today.

Sadly minute .... IIRC our tally stands for F10/11 at about 2 x 523i's 3 x 535i's against loads of 520d's , few 525 & 530d's and a couple of 535d's

How the market has changed, bear in mind we never got a 520d till 2007 and now it's at least 80% of all 5's!


Due to the power of the 20d engine, 6 pot diesels are becoming a rarity never mind petrols (only NA petrol six is the 530 I these days, and ive never seen one )

Edited by Mustard on Saturday 31st March 12:39

Surely there was a 520d from soon after the launch of the E60 - 2005ish?

As for big petrols, I checked howmanyleft when I bought my 545i last week. Since 2002 would be late E39s, I think it's probably fair to compare 2003 E60s with today instead, due to the inevitable fall off in demand for a car being replaced. 161 auto E60 545i saloons were registered in 2003, plus 11 manuals, which isn't many. If you're an estate fancier like me it's even scarcer; only just over 100 545i Tourings of all forms (Sport and SE, manual and auto) were ever registered in the UK. There were about 70 550i Tourings of all forms too.

I've owned nearly 2% of all 545i Tourings personally which seems a bit mad.

Sorry, I checked my facts, and you are right with 2005, but it was two years plus after the introduction of the E60

[sday12]

Strawman said:

Unusual Jaguar V12 series3 Saloon with a Getrag 5 speed manual conversion.



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980-Series-3-Jaguar-V12...

ebay ad said:

at 20:38:44 GMT, seller added the following information:

Being sold on behalf of a mate so please bear with me if you have any question or just call him direct, its his number above

He has also informed me today that the jaguar will be requiring a new interior head lining

many thanks

[treetops]

volks al said:

So I am looking at a new barge to replace the e430, something slightly more frugal.

Looking at

Honda Accord Cdti
Saab 9-3 tid
V70 D5
Mazda 6.

I know these are all diesel, but what about experiences? I really love the motorway comfort of the merc, so don't want to scrimp there, but it doesn't need to be such a huge estate.

Interesting....pm me on the merc.

[Caruso]

I've just got back from a holiday to Cornwall in my E39 540 Touring. I can't remember who said it, but the thing about the 540 is that 'it's never the wrong car'. Whether it be cruising effortlessly on the motorway, tackling an endless succession of bends on country back roads, bellowing past a dawdler on a wider single carriageway, or nosing quietly into the car park of a posh hotel...it just always felt like the right car for the job. I even managed a respectable 27mpg for the whole trip.

[Fox-]

Caruso said:

I've just got back from a holiday to Cornwall in my E39 540 Touring. I can't remember who said it, but the thing about the 540 is that 'it's never the wrong car'. Whether it be cruising effortlessly on the motorway, tackling an endless succession of bends on country back roads, bellowing past a dawdler on a wider single carriageway, or nosing quietly into the car park of a posh hotel...it just always felt like the right car for the job. I even managed a respectable 27mpg for the whole trip.

That nicely sums up whats so great about the E39.

I'd imagine the day will one day arrive where you can no longer nose quietly into the carpark of a posh hotel in an E39 without people wondernig if you've made a wrong turn. I don't think we are quite there yet - plenty of original-owners still have them - but the E34 hasn't got it anymore so the E39's day will sadly arrive at some point.

People still think mine is a 'flash car'. This cannot last.