Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol8]

[E65Ross]

0a said:

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.

They're prone to a coolant pipe or something leaking which is a big job to change. There's a cheaper alternative fix which is perfectly adequate but it's still about £1k to sort.... Not the end of the world on a car like this but that's about the biggest single job I reckon.

Gearboxes are so much more reliable than the older 5 speed ones, the dampers inside will wear with time but a full rebuild of that and various other components set me back less than £700 and it was (and is still) smooth as silk.

They aren't bad on fuel but I won't lie and say it's ad good as a 6 cylinder.

But the extra oomph of the V8 makes it worthwhile. I wouldn't bother with the 735i though.

[0a]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

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?

And its FIFTEEN GRAND!

You could buy 3 thread cars for that!

[FredClogs]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

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?

They seem awfully expensive, you could have an M5 and an old land rover for £15k

[Gruber]

derin100 said:

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.

Space, mainly. Combined with the urge to own a V8 M3.

But it's a very fair question.

[r129sl]

FredClogs said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

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?

They seem awfully expensive, you could have an M5 and an old land rover for £15k

I don't know about M5s, but Land Rover prices have gone bananas of late. As for G-Wagens, they're mental money. Yes, they are superbly built and engineered. But they've always been abused and neglected (what is it with Brits? We all buy £50grand cars and then quibble at 50p on maintenance). The diesels are double decker bus slow. They're thirsty. And everyone says they're awful to drive.

I'd quite like one, too.

[E24man]

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.

This is certainly true in my 25 years ownership of E10, E24, E34, E38 and E39.

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.

If it's a 70-80 body shake it will be the tyres which aren't perfectly round; you can try and balance and re-balance them until the cows come home but fit new tyres and it'll magically disappear.

[RobinBanks]

E24man said:

If it's a 70-80 body shake it will be the tyres which aren't perfectly round; you can try and balance and re-balance them until the cows come home but fit new tyres and it'll magically disappear.

Sounds about right. I had a Vectra which was perfectly fine until 85-93 or so and then had a slight tremor. After having a new set of Continentals on the front, it could happily sit at that speed perfectly smoothly.

[MJK 24]

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.

What a beautiful old car. Incredible colours inside and out. I really want this!!

:-)

[idiotgap]

I scanned back through a few pages because I thought I might have seen this one but I can't spot it in the thread now so I will post it...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261972519499

Sportline 124 300-24 with electric sportline seats, estate though and needs some bodywork but sounds like a low owner car.

Edited by idiotgap on Thursday 6th August 06:42

Edited by idiotgap on Thursday 6th August 06:44

[Strawman]

idiotgap said:

I scanned back through a few pages because I thought I might have seen this one but I can't spot it in the thread now so I will post it...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261972519499

Manual sportline 124 300-24 with electric sportline seats, estate though and needs some bodywork but sounds like a low owner car.

Good find, it has an automatic gearbox though.

[Patrick Bateman]

E24man said:

If it's a 70-80 body shake it will be the tyres which aren't perfectly round; you can try and balance and re-balance them until the cows come home but fit new tyres and it'll magically disappear.

It's done it since I got the car, with the tyres it came with and the ones I put on.

[XB70]

RobinBanks said:

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

You are right - the late STS was offered in the UK in RHD form (I remember sitting in a blue one at the London Motor Show over at ExCeL.

The engine is very quiet but has a lovely howl when you floor it.

There are a handful of XLR's here (last time I saw one was in London years ago) and I took one for a test drive (short) the other night. It is an odd car - the front is very very low with tiny shock absorbers. The cabin is nice but a bit tight and your sit very low so the edge of the door is about level with your shoulder.

The roof mechanism is hilariously complex (have a look on YouTube) but does result in a hardtop.

I have not owned an R230 series SL (which would be the one to compare it to) but based on the R129 SL500 which I did own, I much preferred the SL.

That being said, I have seen more Veyrons here than XLR's and only ever seen one other SLS (but quite a few STS's) so the novelty factor would be quite good.

If the SLS had been released with the supercharged Northstar from the STS-V then I would be in heaven.

The SLS build quality is brilliant - but that is to be expected since GM spent a fortune to build a production plant in China to make them and get market share very quickly (almost like Lexus circa 1989) with the result that Cadillac are very popular in China.

Compared to the cars that I have owned, it is better than the W220 and the equal of the LS430/LS400. There was a bit more interior room in the LS430 so I would say the SLS is more of an E Class/5 series competitor albeit with a longer wheelbase. It is quite a narrow car and of course dwarfed by an S class.

[Lowtimer]

E24man said:

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.

This is certainly true in my 25 years ownership of E10, E24, E34, E38 and E39.

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.

If it's a 70-80 body shake it will be the tyres which aren't perfectly round; you can try and balance and re-balance them until the cows come home but fit new tyres and it'll magically disappear.

With respect, chaps, you appear to be talking about two different things which may or may not have inter-related factors in play, depending on the circumstances.

A shimmy when cruising between 70 and 80 mph does not necessarily have the same cause as a shimmy under braking. A warped or unevenly corroded disc certainly *can* give braking judder on any car. But it is not the only possible cause, and I support the notion that it often comes from deeper in the suspension on an E39.

All my E39s have very much benefited from having the wheels *properly* balanced, to tolerances much finer than the average kwik-fit can or will do them, using a Hunter road force balancer which take account of irregularities in the tyre construction. Same goes for my Porsche, incidentally. The braking thing is not usually anything to do with wheel balance but the steady-speed shimmy certainly can be. Rear wheel balance can set them off too.

One of the features of the car is that if the wheels are not properly balanced and circular then various suspension components will accommodate that without symptom when the car is in perfect condition, but the absorption of repeated loads will wear those components more quickly, which is when the shimmies and shudders become noticeable. So you definitely need to have good quality, well balanced, unbent wheels and tyres AND all the suspension components in good order for maximum happiness.

Edited by Lowtimer on Thursday 6th August 08:26

[Motorrad]

Lowtimer said:

With respect, chaps, you appear to be talking about two different things which may or may not have inter-related factors in play, depending on the circumstances.

A shimmy when cruising between 70 and 80 mph does not necessarily have the same cause as a shimmy under braking. A warped or unevenly corroded disc certainly *can* give braking judder on any car. But it is not the only possible cause, and I support the notion that it often comes from deeper in the suspension on an E39.

All my E39s have very much benefited from having the wheels *properly* balanced, to tolerances much finer than the average kwik-fit can or will do them, using a Hunter road force balancer which take account of irregularities in the tyre construction. Same goes for my Porsche, incidentally. The braking thing is not usually anything to do with wheel balance but the steady-speed shimmy certainly can be. Rear wheel balance can set them off too.

One of the features of the car is that if the wheels are not properly balanced and circular then various suspension components will accommodate that without symptom when the car is in perfect condition, but the absorption of repeated loads will wear those components more quickly, which is when the shimmies and shudders become noticeable. So you definitely need to have good quality, well balanced, unbent wheels and tyres AND all the suspension components in good order for maximum happiness.

Edited by Lowtimer on Thursday 6th August 08:26

The suspension on my E39 had all been replaced by the previous owner- no shimmy at all. However after 20k miles or so I noticed some minor brake judder when going from say 80 to 50mph. I sold the car and the next owner replaced the front disks which he told me solved the problem. I presume they had warped because they weren't that old and weren't worn out.

[Motorrad]

Don't know if we've had this one before but it has promise. Not a fan of the plate (which is coming off anyway) but the setting and the XJS inspire confidence. The owner clearly enjoys the finer things in life.


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

[idiotgap]

Strawman said:

Good find, it has an automatic gearbox though.

Haha yes... You beat me to the edit!

[CharlesdeGaulle]

idiotgap said:

I scanned back through a few pages because I thought I might have seen this one but I can't spot it in the thread now so I will post it...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261972519499

Sportline 124 300-24 with electric sportline seats, estate though and needs some bodywork but sounds like a low owner car.

Good spot. Looks like a decent start-point. A thousand quid chucked at that could turn it into something quite nice.

[V12 AMG]

r129sl said:

FredClogs said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

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?

They seem awfully expensive, you could have an M5 and an old land rover for £15k

I don't know about M5s, but Land Rover prices have gone bananas of late. As for G-Wagens, they're mental money. Yes, they are superbly built and engineered. But they've always been abused and neglected (what is it with Brits? We all buy £50grand cars and then quibble at 50p on maintenance). The diesels are double decker bus slow. They're thirsty. And everyone says they're awful to drive.

I'd quite like one, too.

We've had 4 of them. You could pick up a reasonably roadworthy one for £2k and a pretty nice one for £5k before they became popular, which started around 10 years ago I guess.

Yes, the ride is not great, road, engine and wind noise is very bad, steering is vague, they are slow even with a V8, thirsty and the brakes don't do much. BUT, they are like a rolls royce in refinement compared to a defender.

The prices do not drop at all, so yes they are expensive but you are guaranteed to get every penny back when you sell. Every engine/box combo is bombproof and apart from rust around the rear door, there aren't really any weak spots on the G.

New model comes out next year which i'll be very interested to drive. They're doing away with the live front axle and steering box, replacing it with multi-link independent and a steering rack and changing the ladder frame chassis to aluminium in an effort to improve it's road manors.

[W00DY]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

idiotgap said:

I scanned back through a few pages because I thought I might have seen this one but I can't spot it in the thread now so I will post it...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261972519499

Sportline 124 300-24 with electric sportline seats, estate though and needs some bodywork but sounds like a low owner car.

Good spot. Looks like a decent start-point. A thousand quid chucked at that could turn it into something quite nice.

Perhaps £1500, but it'd make for a lovely £3k motor.

V12 AMG said:

We've had 4 of them. You could pick up a reasonably roadworthy one for £2k and a pretty nice one for £5k before they became popular, which started around 10 years ago I guess.

Yes, the ride is not great, road, engine and wind noise is very bad, steering is vague, they are slow even with a V8, thirsty and the brakes don't do much. BUT, they are like a rolls royce in refinement compared to a defender.

The prices do not drop at all, so yes they are expensive but you are guaranteed to get every penny back when you sell. Every engine/box combo is bombproof and apart from rust around the rear door, there aren't really any weak spots on the G.

New model comes out next year which i'll be very interested to drive. They're doing away with the live front axle and steering box, replacing it with multi-link independent and a steering rack and changing the ladder frame chassis to aluminium in an effort to improve it's road manors.

Cooler and better to drive than Defender. I'm sold.

[jke11y]

I never felt my G500 was slow (and certainly the 63s are faster) and I absoutely loved it.

Will have another for sure (almost bought a RHD G500 a couple of months ago from Japan but had to can the idea due to house refurb).

Mine was a yr2000 so had the 124-style dash but with the new steering wheel.