Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 7]

[Rocksteadyeddie]

r129sl said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

r129sl said:

derin100 said:

SuperHangOn said:

derin100 said:

I think I've found them all in the one place: http://www.howardwisecars.co.uk/

R129 at £45,000 : http://www.howardwisecars.co.uk/index.php/car-deta...

And yet somehow it just doesn't have the appeal of a £4k early 300SL.

Without being churlish....Same here.

Same for me, too. I quite fancy an early and bear bones 300 SL-24.

Any reason for that engine specifically over a 500SL?

Only ask as I've had my interest piqued by an early 500.

Well, I've already got a 500. I like the character of the DOHC six. Revs beyond 7,000rpm, only really begins to take off above 4,500rpm, looks good under the bonnet.

The 500 is the one to have. It was supercar fast in its day and is still quick today.

Edit: just read cmoose comments. I'd still say it is a very fast car. Acceleration from 60 to 120 is very strong and it keeps going hard well above that speed. It is a very easy car in which to cover a lot of ground in not very much time.

I agree. The 500 makes the car for me. This was (and still is)a gentleman's express, and such a chariot should be propelled just so. The effortless grunt of the V8 is the perfect accompaniment, and is sufficient to achieve meaningful progress, without intruding unduly on one's hearing. The smaller engine is just trying a little too hard, and surely trying too hard is exactly what the R129 is not all about?

Having spent a lot of time rebuilding most of the front suspension and steering on mine, and post a new exhaust the car now feels somewhat as Herr Benz surely intended. Quick, quiet, and refined. The creak of the leather is the loudest noise you can hear inside at sensible speeds. Remarkable for a 23 year old car.

[idiotgap]

derin100 said:

I quite like the tone of this ad:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C522917

He doesn't mess about does he.

[E65Ross]

idiotgap said:

derin100 said:

I quite like the tone of this ad:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C522917

He doesn't mess about does he.

That's pretty strong money for the mileage, no? Mind you, last E34 535i that I drove had more miles than that and still felt good.

[tobinen]

CampDavid said:

560SEC prices on the up, this one made £40,250 at the weekend



http://www.silverstoneauctions.com/mercedes-560-se...

Blimey!

[edo]

E65Ross said:

idiotgap said:

derin100 said:

I quite like the tone of this ad:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C522917

He doesn't mess about does he.

That's pretty strong money for the mileage, no? Mind you, last E34 535i that I drove had more miles than that and still felt good.

He'll be storing it then.

[NastyNick74]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

190s have a FX4-like turning circle. And are narrow enough to fit anywhere.

[NastyNick74]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

190s have a FX4-like turning circle. And are narrow enough to fit anywhere.

[E65Ross]

tobinen said:

CampDavid said:

560SEC prices on the up, this one made £40,250 at the weekend



http://www.silverstoneauctions.com/mercedes-560-se...

Blimey!

Crazy money. Does look nice though.

[derin100]

edo said:

E65Ross said:

idiotgap said:

derin100 said:

I quite like the tone of this ad:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C522917

He doesn't mess about does he.

That's pretty strong money for the mileage, no? Mind you, last E34 535i that I drove had more miles than that and still felt good.

He'll be storing it then.

I think so too. As Ross said, with 224K miles on the clock, with by his own admission it has "IT HAS BLISTERS ON THE DOORS AND LOWER TRIM, MAYBE SOME OTHER AREAS"..and having taken the very softest,easiest and cheapest option to replace the metric wheels and tyres with E39 Roulettes (just about the most abundant 5-Series wheel on Ebay) I think that's quite strong money even though people like E34s?

Rest assured Chaps, over the past few weeks I haven't been taking the soft option with the 525i and have been working throughout my holiday over the past week and a half. By tomorrow I hope to have basically completed everything I can do myself and will then be getting in touch with my paint man to sort out getting the bonnet and front wings resprayed (because of stone-chips and scratches only). This is always the most rate limiting step.

[derin100]

E65Ross said:

tobinen said:

CampDavid said:

560SEC prices on the up, this one made £40,250 at the weekend



http://www.silverstoneauctions.com/mercedes-560-se...

Blimey!

Crazy money. Does look nice though.

It's the mileage that's done that.

[E65Ross]

derin100 said:

E65Ross said:

tobinen said:

CampDavid said:

560SEC prices on the up, this one made £40,250 at the weekend



http://www.silverstoneauctions.com/mercedes-560-se...

Blimey!

Crazy money. Does look nice though.

It's the mileage that's done that.

And probably knackered the valve stem oil seals, too

[derin100]

E65Ross said:

derin100 said:

E65Ross said:

tobinen said:

CampDavid said:

560SEC prices on the up, this one made £40,250 at the weekend



http://www.silverstoneauctions.com/mercedes-560-se...

Blimey!

Crazy money. Does look nice though.

It's the mileage that's done that.

And probably knackered the valve stem oil seals, too

But as I was saying on another thread today...that actually doesn't matter. What the market sees is the mileage. Whether this is for better or worse doesn't actually matter.

The only reason or justification that could be offered for putting this price tag (i.e £86,000) on this R107 :

http://www.howardwisecars.co.uk/index.php/classic/...

As opposed to, for example, a stunning low-mileage example at Charles Ironside at literally less than HALF the price (and even that isn't remotely "cheap") is simply the mileage.

[r129sl]

derin100 said:

E65Ross said:

derin100 said:

E65Ross said:

tobinen said:

CampDavid said:

560SEC prices on the up, this one made £40,250 at the weekend



http://www.silverstoneauctions.com/mercedes-560-se...

Blimey!

Crazy money. Does look nice though.

It's the mileage that's done that.

And probably knackered the valve stem oil seals, too

But as I was saying on another thread today...that actually doesn't matter. What the market sees is the mileage. Whether this is for better or worse doesn't actually matter.

The only reason or justification that could be offered for putting this price tag (i.e £86,000) on this R107 :

http://www.howardwisecars.co.uk/index.php/classic/...

As opposed to, for example, a stunning low-mileage example at Charles Ironside at literally less than HALF the price (and even that isn't remotely "cheap") is simply the mileage.

I agree. The market is not populated by informed enthusiasts. Even those with a genuine interest in cars are not informed and few of them are really enthusiastic. My experience of a lot of these top money cars is that they are poor. I have seen a number of Mercs from the very specialists, bought and sold at high prices, and the bottom line is, they're not that good. They have had paint; that paint has been mis-matched and mis-textured; they have been taken apart and badly re-assembled; they have borne body damage and corrosion; they have had damaged trim; and they have had bodges and mechanical failures. I am thinking of a 450 SEL, a 500 SL, an E36 AMG coupé, a CL600 biturbo, all of which were priced to kill. I have come to regard this as an opportunity, especially so given I actually prefer high mileage.

I knew the car the subject of the thread below. It was highly prized by its owner. It was sold through one of those oh-so-reliable specialists not so long ago. Look what was hidden within: http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/detailing/163218-ve...

[Justayellowbadge]

Not by chance South London based, is it?

It, or an equally shiny twin, parked next to me in the Lynx this afternoon.

I thought they made a nice pair, he probably felt sympathy.

[Zwolf]

Which makes me think of this: http://www.4starclassics.com/BMW-E39-M5-For-Sale-6...

A pre-facelift, 150k+ mile E39 M5. For £17k. About double what you'd expect, even with the recent firming of prices. Not so long ago, such a thing would have been the subject of this thread at £4,999.

blurb said:

In the last two years the owner has completed this staggering refurbishment and there is a truly eye-watering file of bills from BMW totalling in excess of £35k. Even both keys are new!

Begs the question of why sell now, rather than sit on it for a few more years until they have reached true classic status by dint of only 10-20% of the original amount built surviving in roadworthy condition...

[bigunit00]

This 88 560 sec looks nice for £4.5k.........

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1988-MERCEDES-560-SEC-AU...

[E65Ross]

bigunit00 said:

This 88 560 sec looks nice for £4.5k.........

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1988-MERCEDES-560-SEC-AU...

These things just ooze class, don't they.

Totally off topic, but how long do people on here (those who have smoker barges and who use them daily) keep their barges for, on average?

Initially I loved the E65 but after big expenses I fell out if love with it but it's been bloody brilliant lately I've noticed in the last 3 months or so I'm really, really beginning to love it. It's definitely a grower. Can't believe I've already done over 10.5k miles in it!!

[derin100]

r129sl said:

I agree. The market is not populated by informed enthusiasts. Even those with a genuine interest in cars are not informed and few of them are really enthusiastic. My experience of a lot of these top money cars is that they are poor. I have seen a number of Mercs from the very specialists, bought and sold at high prices, and the bottom line is, they're not that good. They have had paint; that paint has been mis-matched and mis-textured; they have been taken apart and badly re-assembled; they have borne body damage and corrosion; they have had damaged trim; and they have had bodges and mechanical failures. I am thinking of a 450 SEL, a 500 SL, an E36 AMG coupé, a CL600 biturbo, all of which were priced to kill. I have come to regard this as an opportunity, especially so given I actually prefer high mileage.

I knew the car the subject of the thread below. It was highly prized by its owner. It was sold through one of those oh-so-reliable specialists not so long ago. Look what was hidden within: http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/detailing/163218-ve...

I agree and can personally testify to the above.

My wife's E320 Estate is an ex-C.I car. It's a good car with all the "right" boxes ticked e.g working Mercedes A/C, wiring loom done, head-gasket done (all by the chap I bought it from I might add and not by C.I !) and now the head-gasket done again in my ownership (and the bd is still leaking oil!)...and I didn't a pay C.I-type price for it.

However, if I were paying that kind of price, I would have noticed that the bonnet respray is somewhat sub-standard and that the repair to a dent in the driver's door is also evident. It isn't bad...and even my normally pernickety friend couldn't find it until I pointed it out and then it's obvioud...but at those sorts of prices no one should be able to find those kinds of flaws at all?

As said, I'm not overly "anal" about this car at all. It's a working estate car. But it just goes to show and confirm the above?

When I embarked upon my white C124 300, I used a white Coupe that C.I had at the time as my inspiration as something to aim at. I now know for sure that what I achieved, even though it isn't absolute "perfection" and despite its mileage is probably way ahead of the target that I initially thought I was aiming at.

Edited by derin100 on Monday 28th July 21:53

[derin100]

Zwolf said:

Which makes me think of this: http://www.4starclassics.com/BMW-E39-M5-For-Sale-6...

A pre-facelift, 150k+ mile E39 M5. For £17k. About double what you'd expect, even with the recent firming of prices. Not so long ago, such a thing would have been the subject of this thread at £4,999.

blurb said:

In the last two years the owner has completed this staggering refurbishment and there is a truly eye-watering file of bills from BMW totalling in excess of £35k. Even both keys are new!

Begs the question of why sell now, rather than sit on it for a few more years until they have reached true classic status by dint of only 10-20% of the original amount built surviving in roadworthy condition...

As an example that really is....

Words fail me!

[Zwolf]

derin100 said:

Words fail me!

Likewise!