Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 7]

[edo]

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...

Dont care how much has been spent, that is silly money.

Reminds me of mine though - loved Heritage interior...

[BigBen]

bigunit00 said:

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

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

Didn't we have that one a few weeks back?

[phil_cardiff]

E65Ross said:

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!!

I've had my 9-5 since February 2011. It's a good car but if it were stolen tonight not a single tear would be shed by me. I'll be keeping it until it throws a major bill at me. As I only paid £2500 for it I can afford to scrap it when the time comes.

The only flaw in my plan is that barely anything goes wrong on them!

[r129sl]

phil_cardiff said:

E65Ross said:

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!!

I've had my 9-5 since February 2011. It's a good car but if it were stolen tonight not a single tear would be shed by me. I'll be keeping it until it throws a major bill at me. As I only paid £2500 for it I can afford to scrap it when the time comes.

The only flaw in my plan is that barely anything goes wrong on them!

I struggle to part with them. I had my 126 SEC for five years and only sold it because I couldn't afford to keep it up to standard and do up my 124 at the same time. I have had my 124 for over two years now and can't see myself ever parting with it; it replaced a 320 TE which I'd owned for five years before it was written off. And I have had my SL for over 11 years now; I can't see myself selling it. My strategy has been to get the 124 right (which it is) and now to get the 129 right (working on it) and then acquire a new (to me) one and start working on that. It'll be spring before the 129 is overhauled to a sufficient standard that I can think about a 140 or 201. Again, I'll probably buy at the cheaper/leggier end of the market (especially a 201) and overhaul it myself. I'd like a complete set, 201, 124, 129 and 140: surely the best cars ever built (and I think one could say the same of the E28, E30, E32, E34, E38 and E39 BMWs)?

[bmthnick1981]

r129sl said:

I'd like a complete set, 201, 124, 129 and 140: surely the best cars ever built (and I think one could say the same of the E28, E30, E32, E34, E38 and E39 BMWs)?

That would be quite something, all in smoke silver? What engine W140 would you go for?

[bmthnick1981]

r129sl said:

Mental money:

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

Thanks for posting this. I had seen it listed and wondered what it would make. I spotted it again on Twitter where I saw it behind a ferrari Harry Metcalfe bought at the same auction;



I think the wheels have added to the value but it looks like it has deep dish rears all round, not just on the rear?

[derin100]

E65Ross said:

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!!

The real long-term Bargers have tended to be my wife's cars.

1) Her E34 525i Touring. Bought with about 70-ish K miles on the clock for about £7.5K at the time (about 2002) and just a few £hundred less than my E30 M3 an the second most expensive car we'd ever bought at the time.
http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/525it/index.html

Sold in about 2007, in the condition it was in in the pics above, after more than another 70K miles of use and abuse for about £2750. That car took a pounding! Buyer's friend wrote it off on the journey home taking it to him.

[b] As an aside, flicking through those pictures...

In the background and in the garage, theres's an E28 now at 4-Star Classics; an E32 now at Avantgarde...and my 840Ci Sport. Yet outside, in the pouring rain, there's my E30 M3. Now, there's a story and an assessment of what I thought of their relative merits if ever one was needed. Hmmm..Nuff said! [/b]

2) After a relatively briefer time with an E34 525i Saloon...maybe about 9K miles ( http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/e34_525i/index.html ) she had an early E39 528i Touring until last year. So, at least another 5 years. Bought with about 65K miles on the clock. Basically doubled the mileage, had some outlay in terms of inevitable fairly big bill running costs (mainly suspension and head-gasket plus seemingly excessively frequent service intervals) but sold it on Ebay for £1600.

But still, given the abuse that it withstood over the years, not too bad in terms of Bargenomics?

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php?spg...

Edited by derin100 on Monday 28th July 23:09

Edited by derin100 on Monday 28th July 23:10

[jonah35]

Lexus ls460 on autotrader £6495. I bet with haggling that could be bought near thread budget and, if so, that has to be the winner.

[slippery]

bmthnick1981 said:

r129sl said:

I'd like a complete set, 201, 124, 129 and 140: surely the best cars ever built (and I think one could say the same of the E28, E30, E32, E34, E38 and E39 BMWs)?

That would be quite something, all in smoke silver? What engine W140 would you go for?

We'd all love to say the 600, but in truth, I think the sweet spot is the 500.

[jonclancy]

I saw this new Tyre place linked on Honest John. Apparantly, they are going to break the tyre-supply (re)mould with their new model.

Here's an example:

Any good? Deduct £14 per tyre if you're going to arrange fitting.

Edited by jonclancy on Tuesday 29th July 02:08

[r129sl]

slippery said:

bmthnick1981 said:

r129sl said:

I'd like a complete set, 201, 124, 129 and 140: surely the best cars ever built (and I think one could say the same of the E28, E30, E32, E34, E38 and E39 BMWs)?

That would be quite something, all in smoke silver? What engine W140 would you go for?

We'd all love to say the 600, but in truth, I think the sweet spot is the 500.

I think you're right. 190 E 2.6 and a S500. The only thing that's missing is a coupé and for that I think I'd go for a 24valve 124 rather than a 140 of any description, in the end, not being made of money and all.

Do you think that there Harry Metcalfe is having a crisis of some sort? He seems to have bought a lot of crazy cars recently. That said, his Lamborghini has been inspired from a financial point of view, the TR is bound to do the same, the early 350 SL likewise; and the Jag V12s (is he up to four?) and SL600 are all outside bets which cost next to nothing but might come good in spectacular fashion. So maybe not.

[Lowtimer]

Zwolf said:

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...

I am in two minds about this.

Could be lots of reasons why the owner is selling it now. The owner might have taken a fancy to a new project, lost his licence, or even have passed away. Everyone goes some time, and every car is sold some time. If Derin100 had kept every car that he's devoted considerable time and expenditure on, he would have had to move to a multi-storey car park by now!

Of course £17K looks massive for a pre facelift car with 150k miles, but do we not always say "buy on condition rather than mileage" and "buy the best car you car - the one you want is one that someone else has already spent all the money on"?

[derin100]

Lowtimer said:

Zwolf said:

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...

I am in two minds about this.

Could be lots of reasons why the owner is selling it now. The owner might have taken a fancy to a new project, lost his licence, or even have passed away. Everyone goes some time, and every car is sold some time. If Derin100 had kept every car that he's devoted considerable time and expenditure on, he would have had to move to a multi-storey car park by now!

Of course £17K looks massive for a pre facelift car with 150k miles, but do we not always say "buy on condition rather than mileage" and "buy the best car you car - the one you want is one that someone else has already spent all the money on"?

I guess this could be right. There could be any number of reasons why he's selling it now and as someone once said to me: "You can't keep 'em all!"

Also, through lack of restraint and errors of judgement I too have lost time and money on some cars in the past but it is the sheer scale of this guy's error of judgement that astounds? He's spent how much on it?!

Also, reinforcing what r129sl said about just how "good" some of the cars from some of these sellers really are...

The current owner purchased the car from us two years ago.....

I would have kept quiet about that if I'd been them.

[Adrian E]

jonclancy said:

I saw this new Tyre place linked on Honest John. Apparantly, they are going to break the tyre-supply (re)mould with their new model.

Here's an example:

Any good? Deduct £14 per tyre if you're going to arrange fitting.

Same price as mytyres on Contis and Michelin, so not ground breaking that's for sure! Just someone else....

[CampDavid]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

Could the next threadist owner of a CL600, S600, or SL600 please buy one of these exhausts from Japan.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5ZIomet8Yk#t=159

http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/how-to-make-a-used-m...

Amazing!

Let me help you with point 1 on that list

http://www.4starclassics.com/Mercedes-S70-AMG-For-...



I know, it's so far out of budget etc but c'mon, that's a full Yakuza spec S70 AMG. Noice

[Adrian E]

CampDavid said:

Let me help you with point 1 on that list

http://www.4starclassics.com/Mercedes-S70-AMG-For-...



I know, it's so far out of budget etc but c'mon, that's a full Yakuza spec S70 AMG. Noice

That looks fun - you'd expect them to at least paint the wretched front bumper at that price though! Not sure I could live with a car that big AND wrong hand drive though. Friend has an S8 manual imported from Germany and that's not the easiest to drive in town!

[Zwolf]

Adrian E said:

CampDavid said:

Let me help you with point 1 on that list

http://www.4starclassics.com/Mercedes-S70-AMG-For-...



I know, it's so far out of budget etc but c'mon, that's a full Yakuza spec S70 AMG. Noice

That looks fun - you'd expect them to at least paint the wretched front bumper at that price though!

No MoT or tax either. For sale: one barn ornament.

[jonnydm]

jonah35 said:

Lexus ls460 on autotrader £6495. I bet with haggling that could be bought near thread budget and, if so, that has to be the winner.

I saw that too. I'm not in the market for a car at the moment but I can certainly see myself in one of those soon. Bought my old LS on 120k miles for just under £5k at 6.5 years old so perhaps an '09 next year...

[Lowtimer]

derin100 said:

Also, reinforcing what r129sl said about just how "good" some of the cars from some of these sellers really are...

The current owner purchased the car from us two years ago.....

I would have kept quiet about that if I'd been them.

That is a very good point, which had actually whooshed over my head until you raised it.

[r129sl]

Adrian E said:

jonclancy said:

I saw this new Tyre place linked on Honest John. Apparantly, they are going to break the tyre-supply (re)mould with their new model.

Here's an example:

Any good? Deduct £14 per tyre if you're going to arrange fitting.

Same price as mytyres on Contis and Michelin, so not ground breaking that's for sure! Just someone else....

I seem to be forever buying bloody tyres. Anyway, I get them from tyreleader.co.uk whom I have found to be excellent on price and service, better even than camskill.co.uk.