Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol8]

[4941cc]

Mark Benson said:

I had an E39 540i with brake judder, it was a nightmare to track down and rectify.

They all do that sir: E31/32/34/38/39s all afflicted by "shimmy".

It is NEVER warped brake discs or unbalanced wheels. Very rarely bushes either. Usually thrust arms or centre drag link.

[Sterillium]

XB70 said:

Never got around to an STS when I was in the UK and ticking off the barges but have a successor:



The interior is this:



Absolutely love it - it is a Cadillac SLS and only built in China for the Chinese and Middle East markets.

LWB, magnetic ride suspension, surround sound with rear headrest monitors, cooled/heat/massaging seats, rear and side blinds and 4.6 litre V8.

I keep meaning to do a write up so will get around to it ASAP

I want this.

[Patrick Bateman]

FWIW, mine does it at 70-80 and it is the wheels.

Totally disappears when I switch the set for winter over.

[Mark Benson]

Patrick Bateman said:

FWIW, mine does it at 70-80 and it is the wheels.

Totally disappears when I switch the set for winter over.

- the joy of 'Barging'

(and in all seriousness, the marvel of having a place like this to discuss this kind of stuff).

[E65Ross]

4941cc said:

Mark Benson said:

I had an E39 540i with brake judder, it was a nightmare to track down and rectify.

They all do that sir: E31/32/34/38/39s all afflicted by "shimmy".

It is NEVER warped brake discs or unbalanced wheels. Very rarely bushes either. Usually thrust arms or centre drag link.

Maybe not on E39 etc models but it certainly WAS on my E65. Judder was pretty bad from high speed braking and replacing the discs has 100% rectified it.

[E65Ross]

Mark Benson said:

E65Ross said:

Mark Benson said:

Can I have the collective wisdom on 10 year old 7-ers?

Saw this http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015... while browsing Autotrader the other day and was reminded that this generation had a spectacularly attractive interior, and a spectacularly unattractive rear.



They're now at a price where I'm tempted to get one - I do fewer than 3000 (mainly motorway) miles a year and currently just rent a barge when I need to schlep long distances, but have recently been eyeing up CL500s and 7 series'.

What should I be looking for?

Other than a bigger engine?

Suspension... Check for knocks, check ride height in each corner etc.

Cooling system.... Check for leaks

Oil leaks are common on V8 models but they'll run for years absolutely fine with minor leaks.

Judder under braking could be brakes or suspension but is quite common.

Electrics seem generally quite good from my experience except a faulty oil pressure sensor.

They're really, really good barges and I'd be surprised if an older CL would be better..... They do look nicer though.

Thanks Ross.

I had an E39 540i with brake judder, it was a nightmare to track down and rectify. We ended up replacing discs and bushes and it still wasn't right; in the end I p/x'ed it for a diesel Saab.

Other than that, from what you say the news is good, I might have a mooch around this one at the weekend (it's fairly close). Does the 3.0 feel underpowered?

Have a drive and see what you think. Part of the appeal to me is having a fairly decent amount of power that I find in the 745i. I'm sure the 730i would be OK.... As it was in my old E38 728i. But no more than OK.

[cdrx]

4941cc said:

They all do that sir: E31/32/34/38/39s all afflicted by "shimmy".

It is NEVER warped brake discs or unbalanced wheels. Very rarely bushes either. Usually thrust arms or centre drag link.

+ E46 which is also prone to wobbles from the front suspension.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Lovely:

W00DY said:

http://willowcarriagecompany.co.uk/vehicle/name/bm...

It's over budget and those wing badges are rather distressing, but what a magnificent thing.

Lovelier:

W00DY said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1985-BMW-635-CSI-AUTO-BL...

Loveliest:

W00DY said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1972-JAGUAR-XJ6-4-2-SERI...

Achingly cool and with free road tax it's cheap to run too.

And to think you could have the lot for the price of a second-hand 3-series...

[PowerslideSWE]

E65Ross said:

Have a drive and see what you think. Part of the appeal to me is having a fairly decent amount of power that I find in the 745i. I'm sure the 730i would be OK.... As it was in my old E38 728i. But no more than OK.

I'd be weary of a 745, my mechanic told me that 745's were one of the most troublesome BMW's made and was in the garage all the time, while the updated e66 750 was one of the least troblesome ones, so I'd go for one of them, and they look better, not that good mind, but better than the e65.

[RobinBanks]

My dad had an XJS when I was a child.

I remember thinking that those ashtrays either side of the gearlever were the height of sophistication and opulence

[E65Ross]

PowerslideSWE said:

E65Ross said:

Have a drive and see what you think. Part of the appeal to me is having a fairly decent amount of power that I find in the 745i. I'm sure the 730i would be OK.... As it was in my old E38 728i. But no more than OK.

I'd be weary of a 745, my mechanic told me that 745's were one of the most troublesome BMW's made and was in the garage all the time, while the updated e66 750 was one of the least troblesome ones, so I'd go for one of them, and they look better, not that good mind, but better than the e65.

To be fair, they aren't THAT common so can't imagine he saw many of them. Probably just the odd lemon. Mine has had its faults but none of them have been anything serious and a lot of what I've spent has been something that wasn't necessary but I wanted doing (eg suspension refresh, wheel refurbishment, etc).

It's been a good, dependable car.

[SuperHangOn]

Today I am mostly wanting this (quite badly).





http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-G-Wagon-/151763...

Edited by SuperHangOn on Wednesday 5th August 19:04

[texasjohn]

OpulentBob said:

W00DY said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-Cadillac-STS-/30170...


You can't argue with a V8 Caddy at this money.

RHD? were they official conversions? I like that a lot.

These were officially imported to the UK for a while.

I'm 99% certain that they are front wheel drive...Horror of horrors!


By the way, some very useful information posted above regarding the wheel shimmy on BMWs. Thank you.


Ross: I miss the E500, am after another one! Thought you would find it amusing after all my moaning to you...

[derin100]

W00DY said:

http://willowcarriagecompany.co.uk/vehicle/name/bm...

It's over budget and those wing badges are rather distressing, but what a magnificent thing.

'Throwing Stars' are all on backwards.

[derin100]

Gruber said:

Oh bugger. Now you've got me reminiscing.

Somewhat rich coming from me but..."Why, Oh why did you ever let that go?!" It looked great.

[RobinBanks]

texasjohn said:

These were officially imported to the UK for a while.

I'm 99% certain that they are front wheel drive...Horror of horrors!

They're definitely front wheel drive!

I wouldn't care. I'd love to own a Northstar. The STS generation after this was also available in right hand drive, but I don't think the V8 was offered in right hand drive?
ETA: Turns out you could get that car with the 4.6 Northstar V8 in the UK. I've just never seen one here

And the SRX too and I'm pretty sure you could have the Northstar in that in right hand drive. I wouldn't bother with the SRX.

The XLR (and XLR-V) would've made a nice alternative to the Mercedes SL. They were offered here but not in right hand drive.

Edited by RobinBanks on Wednesday 5th August 22:30

[cat220]

E65Ross said:

PowerslideSWE said:

E65Ross said:

Have a drive and see what you think. Part of the appeal to me is having a fairly decent amount of power that I find in the 745i. I'm sure the 730i would be OK.... As it was in my old E38 728i. But no more than OK.

I'd be weary of a 745, my mechanic told me that 745's were one of the most troublesome BMW's made and was in the garage all the time, while the updated e66 750 was one of the least troblesome ones, so I'd go for one of them, and they look better, not that good mind, but better than the e65.

To be fair, they aren't THAT common so can't imagine he saw many of them. Probably just the odd lemon. Mine has had its faults but none of them have been anything serious and a lot of what I've spent has been something that wasn't necessary but I wanted doing (eg suspension refresh, wheel refurbishment, etc).

It's been a good, dependable car.

+1 for the 745i there are lots of scare stories associated with early cars, especially on the electrical side however these were rectified by 2003. Once you drive the v8 you won't want to buy the 3.0. To be honest there isn't much between them running cost wise however quite a gulf in how they drive, so I can't really see a reason not to go for the v8.
Like any used car make sure everything works, Ross has covered most of it however pay special attention to the motorised boot, make sure that operates correctly, ideally on a slope as that's the first sign of the motor failing. Expensive to replace. Also check the xenon headlights, should both be the same brightness, again expensive to replace. Find one that's been well looked after and they're great cars.

[0a]

cat220 said:

E65Ross said:

PowerslideSWE said:

E65Ross said:

Have a drive and see what you think. Part of the appeal to me is having a fairly decent amount of power that I find in the 745i. I'm sure the 730i would be OK.... As it was in my old E38 728i. But no more than OK.

I'd be weary of a 745, my mechanic told me that 745's were one of the most troublesome BMW's made and was in the garage all the time, while the updated e66 750 was one of the least troblesome ones, so I'd go for one of them, and they look better, not that good mind, but better than the e65.

To be fair, they aren't THAT common so can't imagine he saw many of them. Probably just the odd lemon. Mine has had its faults but none of them have been anything serious and a lot of what I've spent has been something that wasn't necessary but I wanted doing (eg suspension refresh, wheel refurbishment, etc).

It's been a good, dependable car.

+1 for the 745i there are lots of scare stories associated with early cars, especially on the electrical side however these were rectified by 2003. Once you drive the v8 you won't want to buy the 3.0. To be honest there isn't much between them running cost wise however quite a gulf in how they drive, so I can't really see a reason not to go for the v8.
Like any used car make sure everything works, Ross has covered most of it however pay special attention to the motorised boot, make sure that operates correctly, ideally on a slope as that's the first sign of the motor failing. Expensive to replace. Also check the xenon headlights, should both be the same brightness, again expensive to replace. Find one that's been well looked after and they're great cars.

I've not heard that the '45 is any more troublesome as an engine option than any other BMW. Given that '45s are plentiful in budget, you would surely have to be mad to go for a six cylinder. I understand that they are not even particularly bad on fuel compared to older V8 cars, and I now rather like the look of one in a good colour and spec.

[Krikkit]

0a said:

I understand that they are not even particularly bad on fuel compared to older V8 cars, and I now rather like the look of one in a good colour and spec.

They're very colour-sensitive, but specced well they're a great-looking car from most angles imo.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

SuperHangOn said:

Today I am mostly wanting this (quite badly).

I can see why, but I suspect it might get tiresome as a daily, non?