Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 10]

[k-ink]

Yep grey is a bit dull! Looks like the only downer.

I suspect it was used a couple of times a year for a holiday home runabout. That is only around 500 miles per year average.

[runboy]

edo said:

I like that. I dont think that is silly money for the condition and miles....

The 11k miler I assume a jap import from the square rear plate? Lazy advert and I hate grey leather!

Whilst domestic Jap cars have no underseal, would the likes of BMW and Mercs sold in Japan have it just as if they were sold in the UK? Could be a cheap way to bargain prestige motoring.

[k-ink]

Although clearly this car has sat around a lot. I know some advise against that.

[k-ink]

Not sure if this was posted or not? I quite like this in an understated way...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1989-E32-BMW-750iL-Very-...

Looks like a spacious E34. I guess because it is!

[greenarrow]

E65Ross said:

I'm the other side of the Forest to you, I'm around Chandler's Ford/Eastleigh way.

I am glad I bothered to clean it and get some decent pics for my advert; there are other bits I haven't done to the car for quite some time which I should get around to doing and taking more pictures (thoroughly cleaning the door/bonnet/boot shuts, inside petrol filler flap etc, using a rubber treatment for the door/boot seals and so on) but the car is still very presentable and mechanically it's very well sorted. This is the main reason I'm NOT letting it go cheap. I'll just keep running it if it doesn't sell. Too many cars claiming FSH and not much else, FSH means very little on big barges of this era, FSH doesn't tell you if the suspension is extremely tired, whether it's had common problems sorted etc etc.

I'm in the same boat as you. I bought a CLK430 in April which I have been under pressure to sell from my wife who really, really hates it. As I am one for an easy life, I out the car up for sale a month ago and have had no interest at all. I have reduced the price down towards £2000 but simply refuse to let it go for less. I will just keep driving it until it sells and I have to say I absolutely love driving it. Took it out in my lunch break today, just for the hell of it...18 mile round trip, ended up having a pint outside a favourite local pub.

Know what you mean about FSH too...without a folder full of invoices, you really don't know what has been done. Its the suspension components that show up older cars.

I am sure someone will buy your car, its a rare and individual car.

[E65Ross]

Lungwun said:

k-ink said:

Consider the budget nuked from orbit What do you retro bimmer experts think about these old girls?...

V12 750i, 53k

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...


I saw another one earlier today but it has vanished. It was on 11k miles! 4 litres of 740 goodness for £10k.

I would really like to know this as well, i have a hankering for an E38 but really cant make up my mind what model to get.

728, 730, 735, 740, 750?

Then there is the dilemma of pre or post facelift, what options are desirable, (Comfort seats, EDC, Power trunk and steering reach / rake) etc.

Finally what asking prices are justified and which ones are having a laugh.

The desirable ones tend to be the 750i, 740i and 728i, each for their own reasons. The 730i and 735i are generally unloved because of poor economy without the performance to match....but this does mean they tend to sell for less money.....so take your pick.

Options-wise, they're pretty good as standard, EDC can be expensive to fix I believe if it goes wrong, but are often replaced with a more standard set up. I've only ever been in one with sports seats, which I found to be fine, even on 6+ hour journeys. Power trunk....bit of a gimmick so I wouldn't be too fussed about that. I think the later, face-lift cars are the better bet....better looking (to these eyes), better engines, better interior etc.

[tog]

JF87 said:

This 740 looks pretty nice for £1,850. New petrol tank & Continentals; bit of rust on one arch and the boot lid.

Link?

[Usget]

r129sl said:

I was whizzing home tonight in the r129 when I passed a Nissan GTR ambling along at a good 70 mph less than me. As we entered some roadworks I see him rush up behind and a fix himself to my boot lid for the duration. As soon as the roadworks ended, I indicated left and let him blast away. Two miles later, having resumed a decent cruising speed, I blow past him again. Once more he was compelled to demonstrate (1) that he was not paying attention to the rear view mirror and (2) that he is terribly insecure. Tedious. I share this only because I know you'll understand.

This phenomenom (do-dooo-dododo) had never happened to me until I bought a Civic Type R. Now, the following happens with boring regularity:

- With cruise engaged at 0.85, approach dawdler in middle lane doing between 0.75 and 0.8. Check outside lane is clear, pull out, commence overtake.
- Dawdler spots overtake in progress, thinks "crikey, the oiks are approaching," puts down phone/book/makeup compact, begins to gain speed.
- Disengage cruise control and deploy berries. Still failing to progress past car in middle lane.
- Once speed reaches 0.99, assess options. If still alongside, re-engage cruise at 0.85, sigh, pull back in, and wait to repeat manoevuer. On the rare occasion that I've pulled slightly ahead, re-engage cruise at 0.85, pull back in, and watch the former dawdler resume their previous stately rate of progress, disappearing backwards from my rear-view mirror within a couple of miles.

[Lungwun]

E65Ross said:

The desirable ones tend to be the 750i, 740i and 728i, each for their own reasons. The 730i and 735i are generally unloved because of poor economy without the performance to match....but this does mean they tend to sell for less money.....so take your pick.

Options-wise, they're pretty good as standard, EDC can be expensive to fix I believe if it goes wrong, but are often replaced with a more standard set up. I've only ever been in one with sports seats, which I found to be fine, even on 6+ hour journeys. Power trunk....bit of a gimmick so I wouldn't be too fussed about that. I think the later, face-lift cars are the better bet....better looking (to these eyes), better engines, better interior etc.

Cheers Ross,

So, what can one consider a decent price and from what price range is the seller taking the piss?

I reckon it's best to start with the tried and trusted 6 cylinder model and if i fancy more poke, go big.

I would really want an E32 and E38 750 as keepers.

[E65Ross]

Lungwun said:

E65Ross said:

The desirable ones tend to be the 750i, 740i and 728i, each for their own reasons. The 730i and 735i are generally unloved because of poor economy without the performance to match....but this does mean they tend to sell for less money.....so take your pick.

Options-wise, they're pretty good as standard, EDC can be expensive to fix I believe if it goes wrong, but are often replaced with a more standard set up. I've only ever been in one with sports seats, which I found to be fine, even on 6+ hour journeys. Power trunk....bit of a gimmick so I wouldn't be too fussed about that. I think the later, face-lift cars are the better bet....better looking (to these eyes), better engines, better interior etc.

Cheers Ross,

So, what can one consider a decent price and from what price range is the seller taking the piss?

I reckon it's best to start with the tried and trusted 6 cylinder model and if i fancy more poke, go big.

I would really want an E32 and E38 750 as keepers.

I haven't kept a check on prices but I sold my well-sorted E38 728i sport (2000/X reg) car around 3 years ago for something like £2400 I think. I would say £2k should net you a VERY tidy one as a guess.

[PowerslideSWE]

Lungwun said:

I would really like to know this as well, i have a hankering for an E38 but really cant make up my mind what model to get.

728, 730, 735, 740, 750?

Then there is the dilemma of pre or post facelift, what options are desirable, (Comfort seats, EDC, Power trunk and steering reach / rake) etc.

Finally what asking prices are justified and which ones are having a laugh.

I've had three 750i's, 2 1995's and one 2000. If you can get a facelift, get one, the mpg from the M73TU engine is much better than the M73. That being said, they are still thirsty in town, but reasonable on a run. 750's are usually better specced and has imo a much nicer interior with leather everywhere and the V12 is a peach, silky smooth, understressed and very reliable. And it's a V12 .

I don't know if a 735 suffer the same issues that the 740 with the M62 engine does, CCV, Chainguides etc so I would walk away from the V8's unless the chain guides are done or the milage is low.

The 728 appeals alot actually, a little lighter on its feet I imagine, having never driven one, and I reckon the runnning costs are significantly lower, and it still looks and feels like an E38.

On equipment: This is purely my opinion of course but power trunk is a nifty thing two or three times, after that it's just irritating, takes a long time, and whirrs alot, and I'm strong enough to open and close the trunk by myself. Comfort seats are fantastic, even better than the contours (sport comforts), again IMO, the latter are a little narrow even for my 175 cm and under 70 kilos, so I'm not a big lad.

750's in good nick will not depreciate any further given that they are held in good nick. Prices are rising in Germany and The Netherlands, if that is because of the recent price climb on pretty much anything or actually real remains to be seen.

They are lovely cars, classy looking, comfy, quiet and stands out in a crowd. Get the best you can is my advice.

I sold my latest 2000 750i with the very rare M-Sport package, M-Sport suspension and a few other very rare options, and I have never had such regret over a car I've sold.

Gratious pic...

[k-ink]

r129sl said:

I was whizzing home tonight in the r129 when I passed a Nissan GTR ambling along at a good 70 mph less than me. As we entered some roadworks I see him rush up behind and a fix himself to my boot lid for the duration. As soon as the roadworks ended, I indicated left and let him blast away. Two miles later, having resumed a decent cruising speed, I blow past him again. Once more he was compelled to demonstrate (1) that he was not paying attention to the rear view mirror and (2) that he is terribly insecure. Tedious. I share this only because I know you'll understand.

Today is the 110th anniversary of the first ever motor Grand Prix, held at Le Mans in France. This seems to have gone entirely unnoticed.

I get that all the time. I usually drive at night with the cc set to 80. I've lost count of the number of times someone insists on blasting past me, only to then pull in and massively reduce their speed.

This results in me slowly gaining on them again, until I have to take evasive action: pulling out to start an overtake of 5mph more than them, as I was still in cc mode. Clearly they see this and speed up. So now we have a two car elephant "race". I say race as that is clearly what they see it as. To me it is not, as I've not been out of cc for miles.

Sometimes I just sit there and let them get on with it. Sometimes I get bored and vanish at 1.2 leptons, or more, to make a point and create a gap. I then pull in and start again. Tiresome when all you are doing is going about your own business getting home.

[k-ink]

Great post PowerslideSWE. At what age did the facelift start?

[Lungwun]

PowerslideSWE said:

I've had three 750i's, 2 1995's and one 2000. If you can get a facelift, get one, the mpg from the M73TU engine is much better than the M73. That being said, they are still thirsty in town, but reasonable on a run. 750's are usually better specced and has imo a much nicer interior with leather everywhere and the V12 is a peach, silky smooth, understressed and very reliable. And it's a V12 .

I don't know if a 735 suffer the same issues that the 740 with the M62 engine does, CCV, Chainguides etc so I would walk away from the V8's unless the chain guides are done or the milage is low.

The 728 appeals alot actually, a little lighter on its feet I imagine, having never driven one, and I reckon the runnning costs are significantly lower, and it still looks and feels like an E38.

On equipment: This is purely my opinion of course but power trunk is a nifty thing two or three times, after that it's just irritating, takes a long time, and whirrs alot, and I'm strong enough to open and close the trunk by myself. Comfort seats are fantastic, even better than the contours (sport comforts), again IMO, the latter are a little narrow even for my 175 cm and under 70 kilos, so I'm not a big lad.

750's in good nick will not depreciate any further given that they are held in good nick. Prices are rising in Germany and The Netherlands, if that is because of the recent price climb on pretty much anything or actually real remains to be seen.

They are lovely cars, classy looking, comfy, quiet and stands out in a crowd. Get the best you can is my advice.

I sold my latest 2000 750i with the very rare M-Sport package, M-Sport suspension and a few other very rare options, and I have never had such regret over a car I've sold.

Gratious pic...

Excellent, that's just the kind of information i needed. I will also be sourcing a vehicle from Germany or the Netherlands.

And looking on Mobile.de and Autoscout24, the variation in pricing is so confusing.

I guess staying away from the 2-4 thousand Euro cars is wise thing to do. Could you please let me know the ballpark figure for a fairly decent 750?

[BlueMR2]

BlueMR2 said:

Sorry, i meant the older one cambelt wise as linked below. RWD is what i prefer so the 940 has that.

This is the car i meant for 50k cambelt intervals?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

I just picked the xc as it was first on ebay near me. I remember hearing about it wearing quickly if tyres were not of similar tread level.

Ideally I prefer RWD. I've never actually driven a car with 4WD before.

Would have purchased that one on Thursday if it was any good, but already sold .

[E65Ross]

k-ink said:

Great post PowerslideSWE. At what age did the facelift start?

1998 I believe.

[k-ink]

I was advised that the older E34 had less problems than the newer E38, when it comes to five series.

Yet on the seven series, it appears so far anyway, that the newer ones are a better bet. Does everyone agree with this?

Just toying with the idea of finding a barge to buy and keep for quite some time. £10k seems to go a long way with these.

Thanks!

[E65Ross]

k-ink said:

I was advised that the older E34 had less problems than the newer E38, when it comes to five series.

Yet on the seven series, it appears so far anyway, that the newer ones are a better bet. Does everyone agree with this?

Just toying with the idea of finding a barge to buy and keep for quite some time. £10k seems to go a long way with these.

Thanks!

E34 is a 5 series, E38 is a 7 series, so I think you're getting mixed up?

£5k will net you a very tidy E65 745i

[0a]

"Jaguar XJ12 6.0 V12 330 BHP Saloon X305
1 previous owner from new
88k miles with service and VOSA records
Carnival Red with cream leather
Current owner for almost 26 years"

£3,999. http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C760493#

[W00DY]

That is lovely.