Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 4]

[jonnydm]

Zwolf said:

jonnydm said:

Think id prefer an XC90 or an RX300 for £5k.

A £5k XC90 terrifies me in ways an X5 can only dream about. No thanks.

Interesting to hear you say that especially compared to an X5. Whats to worry about on say a D5? Autobox? 4WD system? Suspension?

[Chrisw666]

Jobbo said:

I think I've located this dealer. Here's a google maps link - the 45 degree view shows the stock just as well as the aerial shot: http://goo.gl/maps/A4QOX

Sorry to keep on about location; it's a good advert but the reality is a bloke selling off his driveway.

Not a bad part of Solihull/Shirley though. Further up the road it gets a bit iffy but that place is really close to some premium dealerships (including a BMW one) which would be a good place to source stock if you have the contacts and are a home trader.

[ATM]

Output Flange said:

ATM said:

I still think the 2004 S6 a few pages back for 6k-ish was a very good buy. Every time I go banging over the smallest bumps in the road in my super hard S4 I think to myself maybe its the bigger 6 I need with this v8 in.

Really? Mine is on 19s with 235/35 tyres and its not bad at all.

Observe

Surely worth extra money for no grass but sun, sand and errr instead?

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[hornetrider]

I buy the car, not the dealer. Mostly.

Still, we've probably established it'll be worse to drive, be less practical and be vastly more expensive to run than my existing family wagon for no real benefit.

With regret, ah'm oot.

[Max M4X WW]

ATM said:

Observe

Surely worth extra money for no grass but sun, sand and errr instead?

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I presume the MPG figures on AT have got mixed up on that?

[ATM]

Max M4X WW said:

ATM said:

Observe

Surely worth extra money for no grass but sun, sand and errr instead?

http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I presume the MPG figures on AT have got mixed up on that?

I daren't look at them.

[Baryonyx]

Zwolf said:

Lovely. Should have a space ball gearknob as a T5 though and it's Cedar Green, not Scabby Green (which is a very good thing). Would prefer it with two pedals though.

The manual 260PS T5 is quicker by the numbers than the heavier and AWD 300PS S60 R too IIRC. No active, switchable dampers to bork expensively either.

I do love a good S60 T5. Definitely without the Spaceball gear stick. I always thought they looked ste and even the basic black plastic shifter from police spec S60 T5's looks better.

Definitely my preference over the S60 R. The costs of the trick suspension going wrong on that are truly frightening and are enough to put me off altogether.

[Chrisw666]

A black S60R with Orange seats is a lovely thing to look at though.

[Baryonyx]

Chrisw666 said:

A black S60R with Orange seats is a lovely thing to look at though.

A bill for over £1000 a corner when the suspension goes wrong, significantly less so!

[SpeckledJim]

Baryonyx said:

Chrisw666 said:

A black S60R with Orange seats is a lovely thing to look at though.

A bill for over £1000 a corner when the suspension goes wrong, significantly less so!

Can they be retro-fitted with something more conventional?

[Chrisw666]

Baryonyx said:

Chrisw666 said:

A black S60R with Orange seats is a lovely thing to look at though.

A bill for over £1000 a corner when the suspension goes wrong, significantly less so!

>fingers in ears< la la la

[Zwolf]

jonnydm said:

Zwolf said:

jonnydm said:

Think id prefer an XC90 or an RX300 for £5k.

A £5k XC90 terrifies me in ways an X5 can only dream about. No thanks.

Interesting to hear you say that especially compared to an X5. Whats to worry about on say a D5? Autobox? 4WD system? Suspension?

Steering rack, the lack of drive to the rear axle (friction plates disintegrating in the rear coupling) that manifests frequently on pre-2006MY examples, autobox, injectors, turbo, the usual modern diesel stuff. That and they're slower than evolution.

A T6 ups the ante further still with a greater still appetite for eating racks, transfer boxes and gearboxes generally, as well as fuel economy that's heavier still than a V8 X5 (or even a later, 6 speed V8 XC90) along with performance that's more lethergic than the power output leads you to expect, by dint of an antiquated four speed transmission. Same applies to to the Mk1 S80 (apart from the transfer box bit, obviously).

Just no. They were scary borkladen stters when they were coming in PX at just below the £10k mark and retailing for £12-14k. I've seen too many of them that are utter liabilities and always lost money at the block as a result.

[Zwolf]

Baryonyx said:

Chrisw666 said:

A black S60R with Orange seats is a lovely thing to look at though.

A bill for over £1000 a corner when the suspension goes wrong, significantly less so!

Indeed. Lots cracked their blocks too, mostly under factory warranty, usually around cylinder 3. £5k rebuild if lucky, £13k new engine in a crate if not.

A poorly one will hurt in a way that makes an E39 M5 look sensible.

[Chrisw666]

Zwolf said:

Baryonyx said:

Chrisw666 said:

A black S60R with Orange seats is a lovely thing to look at though.

A bill for over £1000 a corner when the suspension goes wrong, significantly less so!

Indeed. Lots cracked their blocks too, mostly under factory warranty, usually around cylinder 3. £5k rebuild if lucky, £13k new engine in a crate if not.

A poorly one will hurt in a way that makes an E39 M5 look sensible.

As much as I want one I'm glad I didn't buy one at £6k a few months back.

[jonnydm]

Zwolf said:

jonnydm said:

Zwolf said:

jonnydm said:

Think id prefer an XC90 or an RX300 for £5k.

A £5k XC90 terrifies me in ways an X5 can only dream about. No thanks.

Interesting to hear you say that especially compared to an X5. Whats to worry about on say a D5? Autobox? 4WD system? Suspension?

Steering rack, the lack of drive to the rear axle (friction plates disintegrating in the rear coupling) that manifests frequently on pre-2006MY examples, autobox, injectors, turbo, the usual modern diesel stuff. That and they're slower than evolution.

A T6 ups the ante further still with a greater still appetite for eating racks, transfer boxes and gearboxes generally, as well as fuel economy that's heavier still than a V8 X5 (or even a later, 6 speed V8 XC90) along with performance that's more lethergic than the power output leads you to expect, by dint of an antiquated four speed transmission. Same applies to to the Mk1 S80 (apart from the transfer box bit, obviously).

Just no. They were scary borkladen stters when they were coming in PX at just below the £10k mark and retailing for £12-14k. I've seen too many of them that are utter liabilities and always lost money at the block as a result.

Well thats put that idea firmly to bed. Cheers as always for providing the low down, Len.

[hornetrider]

jonnydm said:

Well thats put that idea firmly to bed. Cheers as always for providing the low down, Len.

Quite. Scary st!

[Baryonyx]

SpeckledJim said:

Can they be retro-fitted with something more conventional?

Probably not, certainly not at any less cost than would make it economically viable. IIRC they employed driver controlled aspects including variable height and damping via controls in the cabin.

If you could rip out the fancy suspension and bung in some normal T5 bits you'd have lost the appeal of the car. It'd be much closer to the T5 but with a weighty, understeery Haldex system at that back, replete with the servicing costs that unit demands. After all that effort, the T5 would still be the better car.

The normal S60 is a pretty tough thing, putting aside the ridiculously poor ETM's. The R version suffers from some pretty serious issues and as mentioned, can throw some massive bills. No doubt they see awesome when they are working but there are plenty around now used, but I still wouldn't touch one with a stty stick, as cool as they must be if they are in working order.

[jonnydm]

hornetrider said:

jonnydm said:

Well thats put that idea firmly to bed. Cheers as always for providing the low down, Len.

Quite. Scary st!

So, nothing to worry about on X5s? Autobox surely at least..

[Zwolf]

jonnydm said:

hornetrider said:

jonnydm said:

Well thats put that idea firmly to bed. Cheers as always for providing the low down, Len.

Quite. Scary st!

So, nothing to worry about on X5s? Autobox surely at least..

Not nothing as no flawlessly reliable BMW exists, but nothing that I find as unsettling as what Volvos can at times dish up. The M62's head gasket issues had been solved by the time the X5 was introduced, they're all M62TUs (Technical Update, they gained VANOS on the inlet camshafts).

The automatic gearboxes on any 300lb ft+ BMW are always a cause for mild trepidation, but again you're dealing with the latest versions of the 5HP24 rather than the more inclined to be temperamental 5HP30. The E53 uses the same rear suspension design as an E39 Touring and they don't scare me either.

[Fox-]

hornetrider said:

Chaps. This is itching away at me for some reason I cannot quite fathom. Maybe it's the V8, maybe it's the double glazing, maybe its the 'fk you' of driving a planet eating 4x4 and never taking it offroad.

Talk me out of chopping in an E39 530i Touring for it.

What would be the point?

It basically is an E39 touring - just jacked up off the ground with 4wd and a big price premium

One thing I've never understood about the X5 is why it was released at the same time as the facelift E39 yet had prefacelift E39 style light clusters and no Angel Eyes or CELIS LED's - these didn't come for another 3 years. Odd.