Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 10]

[bob-lad]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Bump for the daytime crowd.

Are any threadists or lurkers planning to get to the Silverstone Classic at the end of the month?

I've got weekend tickets and am camping, but would be happy to RV with any of you chaps and get a beer or coffee and talk rubbish about barges.

Unfortunately I can't make it. My brother's over with my relatively fresh teething/screaming niece.

[bob-lad]

Stedman said:

Mark Benson said:

So far in my 10 months of ownership and 8000 miles of an '03 X350 XJ6, pretty good.

I spent a lot of time looking and paid slightly over the average for mine, 1 owner (retired and an MBE no less) with 96k, FJSH - £40 per wiper blade fitted! - and receipt for a new gearbox at 70k (they all do that according to my local Jag specialist) but it's rewarded me with a super comfortable cruiser that does just under 30mpg, which is astonishing given the size.
Slight weep of oil from either the sump or the crank nose, we're yet to determine which but the specialist doesn't seem to concerned, just cleaned up and told me to bring it back in a couple of weeks so he can see where it's coming from.

I never 'got' Jags before this, but it's really wormed it's way into my affection.

My X350 XJR does 30-33mpg on a run pretty easily. Mental!

They can eat money, they really really can. But if you're a bit handy then you'll find it a bit easier on the wallet. That being said, my air suspension has defaulted to hard....which maybe expensive

Common faults and solutions are well documented

I don't know about eating money, but my X350 XJR eats rear tyres

It's a fabulous thing. Very comfortable, relatively frugal for what it is and unnecessarily swift when required.

[anonymous-user]

Barge of all barges??

Mercedes W140 600SEL S600 1993 S class Black

£5,995 is pretty hefty but it is a lot of car. Or problems.

To be fair the car as big as it is I doubt would have been misused and is in good condition.

For some reason always liked these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W140-600SEL-S60...

[TurboHatchback]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

Barge of all barges??

Mercedes W140 600SEL S600 1993 S class Black

£5,995 is pretty hefty but it is a lot of car. Or problems.

To be fair the car as big as it is I doubt would have been misused and is in good condition.

For some reason always liked these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W140-600SEL-S60...

That is an epic slice of barge, it looks like something an eastern European mob boss might tool around in. Sadly I am neither rich nor brave enough run such a beast. I must admit that what looks like Arabic writing on the back does make me wonder about its previous ownership.

[rm163603]

Krikkit said:

That's nice, good MOT history. Should be on a shade over 140k miles.

Loving the hat on the parcel shelf. says a lot about the owner!

[E65Ross]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

Barge of all barges??

Mercedes W140 600SEL S600 1993 S class Black

£5,995 is pretty hefty but it is a lot of car. Or problems.

To be fair the car as big as it is I doubt would have been misused and is in good condition.

For some reason always liked these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W140-600SEL-S60...

Around that price point, perhaps.....although I think, for me, the barge of all barges is this....



Makes a W140 LWB look small!

[K50 DEL]

TurboHatchback said:

ELUSIVEJIM said:

Barge of all barges??

Mercedes W140 600SEL S600 1993 S class Black

£5,995 is pretty hefty but it is a lot of car. Or problems.

To be fair the car as big as it is I doubt would have been misused and is in good condition.

For some reason always liked these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W140-600SEL-S60...

That is an epic slice of barge, it looks like something an eastern European mob boss might tool around in. Sadly I am neither rich nor brave enough run such a beast. I must admit that what looks like Arabic writing on the back does make me wonder about its previous ownership.

There's something a bit odd about the history of it as well...
MOT records record a mileage or 4500 in April 2006 rising to 52k in Feb 16.... in the ad he states it's been a 3rd car for weekend use yet it's done 27k in 5 months
the early records don't match what the ad says about the first owner's mileage either...

Caveat Emptor on this one I feel, even though it is a lovely car.

[Riley Blue]

rm163603 said:

Krikkit said:

That's nice, good MOT history. Should be on a shade over 140k miles.

Loving the hat on the parcel shelf. says a lot about the owner!

Not to mention the mascot in the front ashtray and the knob on the steering wheel - of course they might all be planted by a devious OAP...

[BigBen]

TurboHatchback said:

ELUSIVEJIM said:

Barge of all barges??

Mercedes W140 600SEL S600 1993 S class Black

£5,995 is pretty hefty but it is a lot of car. Or problems.

To be fair the car as big as it is I doubt would have been misused and is in good condition.

For some reason always liked these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W140-600SEL-S60...

That is an epic slice of barge, it looks like something an eastern European mob boss might tool around in. Sadly I am neither rich nor brave enough run such a beast. I must admit that what looks like Arabic writing on the back does make me wonder about its previous ownership.

"For those who don't know, a slightly modified version of the the M120 engine had been used in the first Pagani Zonda supercar."

Interesting definition of 'slightly'

I also like

"I had called Mercedes to check the vehicle history and they confirmed that Mercedes of Ascot carried out a service on 31 May 2003 when the mileage was 15683. I have this in writing."

So it has been to a main dealer once 13 years ago.

Having said all that if it could be secured for £4000 and the rest of the car checks out it sounds pretty good. If it was a facelift my C140 would be for sale right now as I really want a LWB car.

[0a]

Please can someone go and see that S-Class!

[W00DY]

jonnydm said:

Woody - Hope all well (occasional lurker here these days).

I'm 27 and using Footman James for my S500 - limited mileage and kept on the street and paying something like £180. Don't think ncb was an issue but almost certain that it required having a main car and normal policy running at the same time.

All's good here. I'm definitely a bit less of a prolific poster these days too. How about you? Any details on your S500?


Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I've used Footman James on and off since my first car, but they can be a bit funny with some of their conditions, mileage is the big issue this time. Went with esure in the end for a reasonable price.

olly755 said:

Beemer looks lovely Woody, especially on the staggered Style 32's. Miles more handsome than any LS

Ta, it was definitely the rims which sold it to me. Still haven't managed to get into a V8 yet though, but given I already get called an old man too often for my liking, I think an LS might have to wait a few years!

[W00DY]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-840Ci-individual-199...

Such fantastic looking cars.

[jonnydm]

W00DY said:

jonnydm said:

Woody - Hope all well (occasional lurker here these days).

I'm 27 and using Footman James for my S500 - limited mileage and kept on the street and paying something like £180. Don't think ncb was an issue but almost certain that it required having a main car and normal policy running at the same time.

All's good here. I'm definitely a bit less of a prolific poster these days too. How about you? Any details on your S500?

Good thanks, work & life get in the way but cars remain relatively constant.

The S500 is this one, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W140-S500-Silve...

Saw it whilst browsing at work one morning, put a few posts on this thread and within a few hours I'd agreed to buy it. Picked it up a few days later, initially as a spare though my RR is a bit under the weather at the moment so it's actually been used a bit over the past week and it's a fabulous thing.

Now that I've seen how easy it can be to insure something like this (£ wise), will certainly think about doing more often or even always having one on the go.

[S3_Graham]

/\ That S500 looks awesome Jonny! I have disappeared from the Barge fold for a while. Rest assured I'll still be reading but I'm out from random ebay Barges for a while. Picked this up yesterday:


Would love my E34 to go to a good Threadist home if somebody would like a cheap deal? £700ono.

[SuperHangOn]

SimonConnell said:

Thankyou4calling said:

It looks good but £2190 for a 15 year old GS 300 is too much.

Sort of, but you'll probably haggle them down to £2k and if you instead purchased a snotter for £1k you could throw that much again at it and it'll never be as good.

Technically it is too expensive but surely there are a few years trouble-free wafting in that thing? Might have a look if it's about at the weekend.

Edited by SuperHangOn on Thursday 21st July 12:27

[TurboHatchback]

S3_Graham said:

/\ That S500 looks awesome Jonny! I have disappeared from the Barge fold for a while. Rest assured I'll still be reading but I'm out from random ebay Barges for a while. Picked this up yesterday:


Would love my E34 to go to a good Threadist home if somebody would like a cheap deal? £700ono.

What type of E34 is it? I'm guessing not a manual 525i at that price.

[JF87]

W00DY said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-840Ci-individual-199...

Such fantastic looking cars.

Spit of mine! (To be fair about half of all surviving UK E31s appear to be Orient Blue with grey leather.)



I had intended to move this thing on - no cruise, knackered a/c, dodgy paint job on the front end (nose cones on these are a magnet for idiot reverse-parkers). But after a semi-ruinous suspension/brake overhaul it drives beautifully... and as you say these cars are just so damned handsome.

[S3_Graham]

TurboHatchback said:

S3_Graham said:

/\ That S500 looks awesome Jonny! I have disappeared from the Barge fold for a while. Rest assured I'll still be reading but I'm out from random ebay Barges for a while. Picked this up yesterday:


Would love my E34 to go to a good Threadist home if somebody would like a cheap deal? £700ono.

What type of E34 is it? I'm guessing not a manual 525i at that price.

Manual 520 24v. I bought it for £725 and it's advertised at £1000 elsewhere but i'd like it to go to a good home rather than become a shed.

[W00DY]

jonnydm said:

Good thanks, work & life get in the way but cars remain relatively constant.

The S500 is this one, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-W140-S500-Silve...

Saw it whilst browsing at work one morning, put a few posts on this thread and within a few hours I'd agreed to buy it. Picked it up a few days later, initially as a spare though my RR is a bit under the weather at the moment so it's actually been used a bit over the past week and it's a fabulous thing.

Now that I've seen how easy it can be to insure something like this (£ wise), will certainly think about doing more often or even always having one on the go.

That's lovely and looks like a bargain. Such a presence without any of the showiness of modern Mercs.

[FredClogs]

Jader1973 said:

Don't these have a gearbox/trans made of plasticine though?

Not especially, especially not the manuals, but they're aging high powered cars so you take your choice. The XC90 D5 had a rep for lunching their geartronic boxes but I think most ageing ones that go through specialist servicing get the fluids changed as a pre caution and I think if you do that they're no less reliable than anything else.