Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 7]

[barchetta_boy]

I seem to remember that Russell Bulgin described the W140 S Class as "too self-consciously important" which summed it up well for me.

Now that modern car styling has descended into a cartoon hell of angry fish, there's something rather appealing about the W140.

[E65Ross]

0a said:

A pleasant enough colour combination and only £1,950 (so less than the bill I paid last weekend

How's it feeling, 0a? Bet it feels great after having that much spent on it!

Just wish I could justify spending that on the E65, I'd do it now if I could!

[harry kular]

I'm having a crisis of faith with my s124 today. The range of 260ish miles is really infuriating. I usually use my wife's e46 320d for most of my weekly business driving, but she needed it today and is fed up swapping. I'm about £1500 off making it perfect, but I'm tempted to sell it for what it owes me to date and rent some econobox. Got some other nice metal for weekends.

Advise me please!

[CharlesdeGaulle]

harry kular said:

Advise me please!

Don't drink any more. You'll see sense tomorrow.

[E65Ross]

260 miles is bad but it's not that bad. Certainly wouldn't put me off a car I liked. Which model is that, a 300? What's the fuel tank size on the W124 range?

[0a]

E65Ross said:

0a said:

A pleasant enough colour combination and only £1,950 (so less than the bill I paid last weekend

How's it feeling, 0a? Bet it feels great after having that much spent on it!

Just wish I could justify spending that on the E65, I'd do it now if I could!

Hi Ross. There are still a couple of things left to do with regards to the suspension to make it perfect underneath - in particular it needs new tyres and two bushes that I didn't have on my list. I've not really done significant mileage as I've been away this week. It does feel a hell of a lot newer though - in particular on poorly surfaced roads (ie a broken top dressing of tarmac) it's vastly improved - but it really was bad before. However now I'm raring to get on and fix the other areas on the list!

I need a 1,000 mile weekend trip to evaluate further in any case

I wouldn't imagine your car would be nearly as in need of refreshment as mine was - things like bushes really go proportional to both age and miles, though heavy cars with a big engine are obviously harder on their suspension.

As you know the W124 is very much my kind of car, so it's nice to have given in and have a focus for barge spending for the next few months with no regard for resale or rationality (why on earth spend money on one of the least desirable W124s - the 3.0 4 door?!).

Anyway, after I am done, however, I think I might try a cheap E32. Or a peugeot 205 convertable. Or a c63 on finance.

[harry kular]

72l. Just did the calculation: 18mpg on average. Feeling even worse now!! I've an SL500 and 993 to do the guzzling- I used to get way more than that in my e39 M5!

[E65Ross]

harry kular said:

72l. Just did the calculation: 18mpg on average. Feeling even worse now!! I've an SL500 and 993 to do the guzzling- I used to get way more than that in my e39 M5!

Is that from a 6 cylinder model? If so, that can't be right, can it!? That's awful! I get 23mpg from the 745i!! Do you do almost all town driving?

[0a]

harry kular said:

72l. Just did the calculation: 18mpg on average. Feeling even worse now!! I've an SL500 and 993 to do the guzzling- I used to get way more than that in my e39 M5!

There must be something wrong for it to do that, surely? My 300 does a regular 25, one or two better if I drive it nicely, never any worse, measured brim to brim. There's only so bad a 6 cylinder engine can be.

The more modern engines are reckoned to be much better but I am sure other bargists can provide more information.

My Audi A8 was atrocious for me, but the next owner replaced some kind of senser (note the technical term) and it was vastly better for him. Maybe it's the same here. New fangled engines, eh?

[CharlesdeGaulle]

0a said:

Anyway, after I am done, however, I think I might try a cheap E32. Or a peugeot 205 convertable. Or a c63 on finance.

Bloody hell, not you too? The thread's in danger of losing its mojo.

I really hope you've all got on the pop early this afternoon? You'll wake up in the morning feeling shamed and dirty, remembering the awful things you've said and done.

Then you look out the window at the 20 year-old rusting heap of st outside your window, notice the slowly expanding pool of vital and expensive fluid spreading across the expensively-laid driveway, and think to yourself 'how could I let the old girl go?' And, thus, normal service will be resumed.

[0a]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

0a said:

Anyway, after I am done, however, I think I might try a cheap E32. Or a peugeot 205 convertable. Or a c63 on finance.

Bloody hell, not you too? The thread's in danger of losing its mojo.

I really hope you've all got on the pop early this afternoon? You'll wake up in the morning feeling shamed and dirty, remembering the awful things you've said and done.

Then you look out the window at the 20 year-old rusting heap of st outside your window, notice the slowly expanding pool of vital and expensive fluid spreading across the expensively-laid driveway, and think to yourself 'how could I let the old girl go?' And, thus, normal service will be resumed.

23 years old, actually; it's a heap of st outside my window with really good suspension, and unfortunatly I'm still at work

[anonymous-user]

Mr Scruff said:

Call it £1k and it's yours! Off into the garage on Wednesday - timing most annoying as I'm at a 2-day meeting Tues and Wed (so someone has to drop it off for me) and then need to take it away for a long weekend Friday morning!

If you're after that sort of silly 4 figure money, then I'm just not sure

[E65Ross]

0a said:

harry kular said:

72l. Just did the calculation: 18mpg on average. Feeling even worse now!! I've an SL500 and 993 to do the guzzling- I used to get way more than that in my e39 M5!

There must be something wrong for it to do that, surely? My 300 does a regular 25, one or two better if I drive it nicely, never any worse, measured brim to brim. There's only so bad a 6 cylinder engine can be.

The more modern engines are reckoned to be much better but I am sure other bargists can provide more information.

My Audi A8 was atrocious for me, but the next owner replaced some kind of senser (note the technical term) and it was vastly better for him. Maybe it's the same here. New fangled engines, eh?

I may be wrong but it sounds like you do quite a lot of long drives, which are good for economy. If that's correct and Harry only does shorter trips, 18mpg is believable based in 25mpg average with a fair few longer trips.

[0a]

E65Ross said:

0a said:

harry kular said:

72l. Just did the calculation: 18mpg on average. Feeling even worse now!! I've an SL500 and 993 to do the guzzling- I used to get way more than that in my e39 M5!

There must be something wrong for it to do that, surely? My 300 does a regular 25, one or two better if I drive it nicely, never any worse, measured brim to brim. There's only so bad a 6 cylinder engine can be.

The more modern engines are reckoned to be much better but I am sure other bargists can provide more information.

My Audi A8 was atrocious for me, but the next owner replaced some kind of senser (note the technical term) and it was vastly better for him. Maybe it's the same here. New fangled engines, eh?

I may be wrong but it sounds like you do quite a lot of long drives, which are good for economy. If that's correct and Harry only does shorter trips, 18mpg is believable based in 25mpg average with a fair few longer trips.

I've tried the brim to brim method on a wide range of journies - a long drive to the highlands at a high cruise, thrashing the car for a tank around highland lanes, a trip back to London at 65mph, a full tank used on my usual route (mostly town and traffic) and it has always been about the same. It doesn't get any better because the old mechanical fuel injection is pretty simple so doesn't have any of the modern technology to get high mpg from a constant cruise. 18 sounds wrong to me - the BMW 732 got in the mid 20s easily!

Maybe he only uses it for track days though?!

[deeen]

bmthnick1981 said:

You're right, an auto would be better. Smart looking thing though.

I prefer manuals, but I'm a bit nervous about 105,000 miles, no history, and seat covers.

[harry kular]

Yes, it's either town driving, or climbing great big hills on country roads to get home again. My regular 450 mile 1-day round trip to Dublin Is done in the 320d, do that I don't have to stop for a refill. It's the e320, and has had lots spent on the engine, box and suspension, so I know it's as good as it can be unfortunately.

[0a]

Avoid the 320 then! What do you get from the 320d?

Getting back to barges, this looks rather nice: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

"Daimler Double Six 6.0 V12 4dr Auto New 12 Month Mot"

[harry kular]

E320T 18mpg
320d 46mpg

I hate it when my wife is right, it doesn't look too clever really...

[derin100]

Zwolf said:

edo said:

edo said:

Zwolf said:

edo said:

Too much gassing and not enough barges being posted chaps....

Strong money, but not many left with this sort of mileage.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

BMW 5 SERIES 535i Sport 4dr Auto 3.5
39700 miles

That's ridiculous VFM at £3-3.5k. Great find, as usual Edo.

Ta. I may get me a barge after the 6 series goes back end of August, just a bit early for me presently!

Seller just sent me this:

Looks great, somebody here should give it a good home. I'd be making a beeline for it myself if I weren't already suitably barged up.

Well, my friend is just on his why back from Southampton having just bought the above car.

Now, the following has to be taken in the context of someone who is never satisfied with ANY car and finds fault in all...even his brand new Mercedes C63 with 112 miles on it when delivered. To the extent that he phoned me immediately to tell me how awful the condition was (a tiny literally hairline scratch on the driver's kick plate paint) that he told his girl-friend to "park it 'round the back of the house because I can't bear to look at it!"):

I haven't seen it yet but apparently it's not as good as it was advertised as. As I said, I haven't seen it yet but this is what my friend has said so far when he phoned me whilst driving back:

1) Intermittent Front-end shimmy (especially when braking)

2) Marks on bodywork which will require paintshop attention. Seller's excuse "Oh, they were already on it when he bought it so not his fault" (or words to that effect apparently.

3) Pixels out on the display

4) Wheels need refurbishing

5) Black leather on driver's bolster marked (I'm sure that'll be nothing!)

I'll probably get to see and drive it tomorrow.

[jke11y]

Begs the question why would he do that to himself?!