Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 7]

[E65Ross]

Baryonyx said:

I think this is the tack Cat220 took when he changed his Jaguar XJ for the W210 E55 estate. Well, aside from the size of the engine! It seems he has a very understanding wife to go with his collection of cars! My wife just rolls her eyes when I mention the fuel costs of running a big barge...

Tidy Mercedes estate, and typically my marque of choice. In most cases, I would tend to choose a Mercedes. Aside from the fact I now have Cat220's old Jaguar on my drive...

How is the Jag going mate? I remember when I bought the 745i off Cat220, his wife was actually upset to see it go! They'd had it for almost 6 years IIRC and been all over Europe in it, so at least she understands why we like our barges

[r129sl]

RobinBanks said:

rongagin said:

I occasionally have a look at this thread and see what seems to be a long list of MB. I'm sure somebody will say there are loads of other makes, but it appears that my random visits are dominated by various E and S class MB.
Maybe no other make qualifies as well as MB
Maybe my timing is poor for other makes
Maybe the thread should be renamed "Best smoker MB Barges"

I don't dislike MB, but are they so good that they make up the vast majority of cars that qualify for this thread?

There are a lot of BMWs too. There is also the occasional Jaguar or Audi or Lexus.

I think it comes down to sales figures. There are a lot more big Mercedes and BMWs on the market in the UK than Jaguar, Audi or Lexus.

This has been said before and it is entirely fair and accurate. We do foreswear MB for a while every now and again. And there are some serious BMW, Audi, Jag and Lexus fans. It's just that MB really did some good stuff in the 1980s and 1990s: the products of the other manufacturers died long ago but the MBs keep going. All I can say is: post up whatever you like, it is bound to be appreciated. Or torn to pieces.

[E65Ross]

r129sl said:

This has been said before and it is entirely fair and accurate. We do foreswear MB for a while every now and again. And there are some serious BMW, Audi, Jag and Lexus fans. It's just that MB really did some good stuff in the 1980s and 1990s: the products of the other manufacturers died long ago but the MBs keep going. All I can say is: post up whatever you like, it is bound to be appreciated. Or torn to pieces.

You say that, but remember the W124 was produced in far larger quantities than the E34 IIRC, and I don't think they've lasted a great deal better. The e30 is still rocking around, and just as common as a 190e imo.

[r129sl]

BMWs were much more common than Mercs in my youth. No surprise as they were about two thirds the price and had six cylinder engines. According to that incredible reliable source, howmanyleft.co.uk, in 1994 there were 16,000 520is on the road against 2,000 E220s. Of these, 346 of the BMWs remain as against 626 Mercs. Now the E220 was new for 1993; the 230 E by contrast died in 1993; and the 520i was sold throughout. In 1994, there were 12,000 230 Es of which 637 remain. Whichever way you cut it, we started with fewer Mercs than BMWs but ended up with more.

According to that super-reliable source, Wikipedia, BMW sold 1.3million E34s between 1987 and 1996 where as Merc sold 2.5million 124s between 1985 and 1996. But Merc offered saloons, T-models, coupés, cabriolets, and limousines (not to mention a much wider engine and transmission range) whereas BMW only offered a saloon until 1992 when the touring came along.

Edited by r129sl on Tuesday 7th October 21:54

[dom9]

cat220 said:

GreatPretender said:

Do I win the internet?


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-Mercedes-E500-Avant...

That's slowly creeping down to the 4k mark. Should be there before Christmas at this rate.

I thought I recognised that one from eBay and this thread - Has it been sold/ relisted before?

How do we feel about the Airmatic suspension after 125k miles?

'Fair' condition bodywork worries me a little and it's a long way away to go and check!

I still want/ need something like this though!

[BigBen]

dom9 said:

cat220 said:

GreatPretender said:

Do I win the internet?


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-Mercedes-E500-Avant...

That's slowly creeping down to the 4k mark. Should be there before Christmas at this rate.

I thought I recognised that one from eBay and this thread - Has it been sold/ relisted before?

How do we feel about the Airmatic suspension after 125k miles?

'Fair' condition bodywork worries me a little and it's a long way away to go and check!

I still want/ need something like this though!

It has been for sale since I bought my W211 which was back in July. The price is gradually creeping down to a point where now it is in the right ballpark. Being in Inverness probably does not help its case.

Quite tempted by it, really like our derv 211 and a V8 would be the natural companion

Ben

[mickyveloce]

derin100 said:

I think ok....if you stop at that point.

My fear is "Mission Creep".

I saw this car for sale on the MB club website. The overriding reason for me not buying it, is my complete inability to avoid mission-creep.

I'd want to "rescue" it....

[olly755]

r129sl said:

RobinBanks said:

rongagin said:

I occasionally have a look at this thread and see what seems to be a long list of MB. I'm sure somebody will say there are loads of other makes, but it appears that my random visits are dominated by various E and S class MB.
Maybe no other make qualifies as well as MB
Maybe my timing is poor for other makes
Maybe the thread should be renamed "Best smoker MB Barges"

I don't dislike MB, but are they so good that they make up the vast majority of cars that qualify for this thread?

There are a lot of BMWs too. There is also the occasional Jaguar or Audi or Lexus.

I think it comes down to sales figures. There are a lot more big Mercedes and BMWs on the market in the UK than Jaguar, Audi or Lexus.

This has been said before and it is entirely fair and accurate. We do foreswear MB for a while every now and again. And there are some serious BMW, Audi, Jag and Lexus fans. It's just that MB really did some good stuff in the 1980s and 1990s: the products of the other manufacturers died long ago but the MBs keep going. All I can say is: post up whatever you like, it is bound to be appreciated. Or torn to pieces.

Not a Merc.



Suspect it will outlive the cockroaches, and I really quite like it.

[olly755]

Decent looking, low mileage LS too.



Good time to invest IMO- decent ones are on the rise.

[Motorrad]

cat220 said:

Quite a number of bids within a few minutes of it being relisted. Just watch the shill bidding mentioned earlier. Good luck.

Yes bidding looks suspect. Also didn't like this feedback much 'Negative feedback rating Won auction and was told car had gearbox problem after'

Also 'ukvehicle.com' has this to say

BN03CZH Mercedes S600 Limousine A for sale on Tue 23rd of April 2013 for £4,499 in Berkshire. The vehicle reportedly had 127000 miles on the clock.

This means it's done 2K miles in 18 months (it was serviced at 128K miles) and moved from Berkshire to Preston. So it would seem this owner hasn't used the car much or had it serviced.

Edited by Motorrad on Wednesday 8th October 14:02

[hornetrider]

olly755 said:

Good time to invest IMO- decent ones are on the rise.

Really?! Surely forever destined to remain in shed-ish territory or close.

[thelawnet]

hornetrider said:

Really?! Surely forever destined to remain in shed-ish territory or close.

Of course they are.

And the LS430 will forever hold the values of the 400 down.

[r129sl]

mickyveloce said:

derin100 said:

I think ok....if you stop at that point.

My fear is "Mission Creep".

I saw this car for sale on the MB club website. The overriding reason for me not buying it, is my complete inability to avoid mission-creep.

I'd want to "rescue" it....

Mrs Rodger was alive to the possibility, nay, likelihood, nay, cast-iron certainty of mission creep. And having slept on it, so am I. If it were smoke silver it would be in my yard. But it's blue. Further research shows it was offered as a non-runner in May 2014 at a price of £499, which corresponds with the vendor's description. I suspect it could be had for £400 but, realistically, needs £2,000 spending to make it safe and respectable and that's without any unforeseen problems. With 150k on the clock, even superbly presented and subjected to some enthusiastic restoration thread-age, it's never going to fetch more than 2 grand.

I haven't ruled it out completely but if anyone wants the vendor's details, let me know. It's in Berwick, so distant but easily reached (mainline station 3hrs 30 form London).

[r129sl]

thelawnet said:

hornetrider said:

Really?! Surely forever destined to remain in shed-ish territory or close.

Of course they are.

And the LS430 will forever hold the values of the 400 down.

I can see perfect LS400s becoming very significant—and valued—cars. All of big Lexus saloons are brilliant.

[SpeckledJim]

olly755 said:

Decent looking, low mileage LS too.



Good time to invest IMO- decent ones are on the rise.

Yet another zinger of a colour from the Lexus / G-Plan Shared Palette of Horror.

I'm honestly in the market for an LS400, but 80% of the tolerably-presented cars have to be ruled out straight away on the grounds of looking like NHS curtains.

Edited by SpeckledJim on Wednesday 8th October 14:57

[confused_buyer]

thelawnet said:

Of course they are.

And the LS430 will forever hold the values of the 400 down.

Decent LS400's are considerably more in demand than early LS430's.

Basically, the LS430 does not have the repuation of the LS400. Is the existance of tatty W210's holding down prices of nice W124's?

[JF87]

*adds "NHS curtains" to "a bit ITV" in the SJ Lexicon of Withering Metaphors*

Returning to the now-distant discussion on BMW V8 mpgs, in August I averaged 27.8 in an M62 E31 over 3,200 continental miles. Bit of a game of two halves, mind - caned it down to Italy on the autobahn, then limped pitifully home after some cooling-related excitement in Bologna led to the rad hose blowing off whenever I put my foot down.

[olly755]

thelawnet said:

hornetrider said:

Really?! Surely forever destined to remain in shed-ish territory or close.

Of course they are.

And the LS430 will forever hold the values of the 400 down.

Sheds will always be shed money. And there are plenty of them.

As for very good Mk3's & 4's in decent colours, there are more buyers than cars. Prices are starting to adjust accordingly.

[thelawnet]

olly755 said:

Sheds will always be shed money. And there are plenty of them.

As for very good Mk3's & 4's in decent colours, there are more buyers than cars. Prices are starting to adjust accordingly.

The LS is a pretty rare car overall:

LS400 - 7500 in 2004, now 2800 survive
LS430 - 2400 in 2009, now 2100 survive
LS460 - 780 now
LS600 - 500 now

They haven't really sold any recently.

Comparatively there are 2200 Phaetons, 28,000 S-Classes, 12,000 A8s, 21,000 7-series, 39,000 XJs.

The Phaetons will become sheds in a few years and will start getting crushed. 7-series are already being crushed faster than they are building new ones (ditto the XJ).

I guess proper full-sized barges will get rarer and rarer in the future, as fewer and fewer people buy new ones.

[jfbrin]

Most excellent beardage!