Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 10]

[Stegel]

Jonathan - glad you're all ok. The car did its job well, it's this performance that's most important in a family bus. You'll probably have all the parts for repair ordered and delivered by the time you return. Enjoy the rest of your holidays.

[CampDavid]

Get it recovered, hire something and forget about it, time with your family is an undervalued commodity and nothing as tedious as a car should get in the way.

Parts are just that, sort them when you're back and it'll be a better car when repaired.

[derin100]

r129sl said:

My 124 may just have died. Psycho deer strike 10 miles from holiday home. Radiator is bust. Condensor, headlamp, slam panel. And the grille and bonnet, obvs. Unavoidable: the fker was just there. All the way up from Melrose I was thinking, "I hope we don't strike a deer in the dark". Weird.

It will be born again.

But what the fk to do for the next week in the highlands sans car?

fk!

Hope everyone is ok.

[BigBen]

r129sl said:

I must admit, before the deer hit the ground I was thinking, "what can I get next?"

That's the spirit! Glad all are unscathed.

[r129sl]

CampDavid said:

Get it recovered, hire something and forget about it, time with your family is an undervalued commodity and nothing as tedious as a car should get in the way.

Parts are just that, sort them when you're back and it'll be a better car when repaired.

This is the plan to a Tee.

Everyone is fine, apart from the deer.

Thanks again, all.

[derin100]

0a said:

derin100 said:

Sorry to hear all of this...sounds like you've been reaping a bountiful harvest of bad luck lately. I feel your pain.

"Simplify stuff in my life"? Is there a viable alternative (for the money these days) to a BMW E39?

Come Son, cross to the Darkside! You know you want to....Mmmmwhahahaha!

Rust, gearbox and electrical issues, no thanks

Here's the BMW I'd perhaps go over to (stolen from the retro thread): http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/252512583283?rmvSB=true&am...

All internet myths.
Rust? Not really...only superficial stuff and certainly no more than that that any car driven on wet, salt-laden U.K roads would suffer by now....and hundreds of non-rusty ones available.
Gearbox? We've had six E39s...never had a gearbox problem on any of them.
Electrical issues? Can't think of a single electrical problem we've ever had.

Biggest problems are the weakness of the engine cooling components (shared with other similar engine BMWs of the era so just renew them off the bat) and absolutely appalling headlamps on early cars if non-xenon equipped.

Now, after saying that, I've invited my wife's car to collapse due to structural just rust just after spending a fortune fitting a new gearbox and and chasing umpteen electrical gremlins!

I'm (fairly) confident it won't!

Nice as that E32 appears, I can't see how a 30 year old E32 would simplify your life....?

[0a]

r129sl said:

My 124 may just have died. Psycho deer strike 10 miles from holiday home. Radiator is bust. Condensor, headlamp, slam panel. And the grille and bonnet, obvs. Unavoidable: the fker was just there. All the way up from Melrose I was thinking, "I hope we don't strike a deer in the dark". Weird.

It will be born again.

But what the fk to do for the next week in the highlands sans car?

Jonathan I hope you are all okay. The photo suggests so as I know you wouldn't be posting it otherwise.

Where are you in the highlands? You get around. I'm on the north coast of Scotland until Wednesday when I will be heading east - it would be great to meet up!

Edit - read your other posts!

http://www.rentalcars.com/en/city/gb/inverness/

Edited by 0a on Monday 29th August 00:31

[SuperHangOn]

Bloody hell, best of luck with the repairs.

derin100 said:

All internet myths.
Rust? Not really...only superficial stuff and certainly no more than that that any car driven on wet, salt-laden U.K roads would suffer by now....and hundreds of non-rusty ones available.
Gearbox? We've had six E39s...never had a gearbox problem on any of them.
Electrical issues? Can't think of a single electrical problem we've ever had.

Biggest problems are the weakness of the engine cooling components (shared with other similar engine BMWs of the era so just renew them off the bat) and absolutely appalling headlamps on early cars if non-xenon equipped.

Now, after saying that, I've invited my wife's car to collapse due to structural just rust just after spending a fortune fitting a new gearbox and and chasing umpteen electrical gremlins!

Hmmm. I had to have the rear half of the drivers sill repaired/welded on my 535. The transmission & TC were rebuilt by the PO at 100k at a cost of circa £2000. I renewed the entire cooling system with OEM parts, except for a few little hoses at the rear of the engine... soon after they went pop in spectacular fashion, luckily near a good specialist! Obviously the usual shimmy and hedgehog. Centre drag link was quite expensive too.

I did like that car but it was an epic moneypit. My W210 was infinitely less grief until it rotted away. German engineering.

[0a]

I've been put off e39s by a chap who owns a lovely e28 M535i, an e30, an e34 - a big BMW fan - who swears he will never have another e39 after owning 3 and suffering... claims they were the w210 of the BMW world!

Probably bad luck!

[Croutons]

Does a work of art count as a barge?

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

(Alfa GTV 3.0 @ 2.5k)

[W00DY]

Ouch on the deer strike. Glad you're ok and the car does seem to have done rather well so hopefully it'll be all sorted soon.

I noticed today someone has parked a W220 on the verge outside my local MB dealer with a big banner on it which simply says RUST next to a 3 pointer star. Needless to say it is a rather sorry looking example. Not sure what the owner is hoping to achieve really. It's a 15+ year old car and rust has early been an issue for several years given its current state.

[0a]

alec.e said:

SuperHangOn said:

0a said:

Old S8s can definitely be a barge... the auto helps here.

Thankyou4calling said:

Barge to me also includes the way the car drives so in a way a Diesel is (can be) very much classed as a barge.

Examples:

Not barges

BMW M5
Audi S8
Mercedes E55/63
Volvo T5

Barges

Audi A8 4.2 Diesel
BMW 7 series diesel
Toerag 5.0 V10


And I would include an old Skoda Superb 2.5 (petrol or diesel) as a barge.

I just think that diesel suits a very relaxed driving style and that is barging.

Points based entry system. Points awarded for velour, picnic tables and obscene maintenance costs, deducted for attempts at sportiness or fuel economy. M badges = instant deportation.

So where does my Super V8 fit in? A car with a split personality, big wheels, sporty exterior, prominent V8 rumble, but full soft grain leather, picnic trays, TVs, lots of Walnut...

I missed this.

It's a beast barge.

[idiotgap]

Thank heavens everyone's alright after the deer strike. They really are strong buses aren't they! Do make the most of your break, you can't roll back the clock and enjoy your boy's chuckles and idioms later. I've been rationing my thread time to when my boys and Mrs Gap are asleep whilst en vacances.

Have had good barging... though even with bikes mounted on a towbar rack the MPGs seem to suffer significantly. Maybe due to headwind and extra weight too. Only managed about 23 making progress.

[Geekman]

dme123 said:

I'm just waiting for a house sale and a divorce to finalise in the next 2 - 3 weeks, so that seems a good time to take on a decade old and very thirsty Jaguar. Are you selling yet?

I wasn't looking to sell for a few months yet, but it looks like my other car is going to be finished a lot sooner than expected so if you did want something in a month or so, that could probably be arranged. If you want to discuss it, send me an email at mattburke1994 at live dot co dot uk - I don't think PMs work for me here.


Terrible luck re the deer - glad everyone's OK. I had a similar incident myself several years back in rural France - missed it by inches and I remember thinking how lucky I was.

[derin100]

0a said:

I've been put off e39s by a chap who owns a lovely e28 M535i, an e30, an e34 - a big BMW fan - who swears he will never have another e39 after owning 3 and suffering... claims they were the w210 of the BMW world!

Probably bad luck!

Yes, I think maybe bad luck or I've just had pretty good luck?

I'd actually say the E36 is by far the low point of BMW...personally, I wouldn't have another one of them.

[tenfour]

derin100 said:

0a said:

I've been put off e39s by a chap who owns a lovely e28 M535i, an e30, an e34 - a big BMW fan - who swears he will never have another e39 after owning 3 and suffering... claims they were the w210 of the BMW world!

Probably bad luck!

Yes, I think maybe bad luck or I've just had pretty good luck?

I'd actually say the E36 is by far the low point of BMW...personally, I wouldn't have another one of them.

The biggest issue with the E39s in particular is the chocolate suspension, in my humble opinion. All the examples I've driven, from 528 to the M5, suffer the dreaded shimmy, which can be nigh-on impossible to localise.

As someone who cannot stand undue vibration, this issue used to drive me absolutely crackers. I believe the E38s are similarly afflicted. Likewise the E53 and its bloated, Brummy L332 cousin.

I've also fallen victim to cooling system maladies (viscous fan exploded), but these were M5 specific, so hardly appropriate to tar the entire line-up with.

Nevertheless, the rest of the car is superbly built, and as a cheap wafter, I'd have no more qualms about smoking an E39, than I would its E34 predecessor ten years prior.

BMW's "W210" was the E85/6 Coupe and Roadster, IMO. They were shockingly put together and very cheaply made. A real shame, as the E86 Z4M could have (should have in fact) been an all time great.

[E65Ross]

Glad that you're OK R129SL - the car will live another day I'm sure. Ultimately it's the safety of you and your family that comes first!

[PowerslideSWE]

Must indeed have been a big deer to make a mess of the Benz like that, glad everyone is ok.. I've hit two deer in my life, one as a youngster at 125 mph in my dads Audi 100 Turbo. Car was in the garage for a month after that. The other one at similar speed to that of r129sl in my Volvo V70 (phase one) in town no less. Broke the left front headlight and bent the grill slightly. New headlight for free courtesy of the insurance company the day after and a quick tug on the grill and it was sorted. Not a dent

Edited by PowerslideSWE on Monday 29th August 09:57

[em177]

What do you all think of this? I'm now of the opinion I need a '129 and a '126 in my life...

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C782707

[Riley Blue]

No road sense, deer and it's often not the first one you hit but the second, third and/or fourth - ask me how I know... Glad no one hurt.