Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol11]

[JF87]

Hardly issue-free, but at £2,995 with a long MOT this must be one of the cheapest street-legal E24s in the land.





http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-635-CSI-AUTO-E24-198...

[E24man]

There's a reason it is cheap - the bodywork fixes are very expensive; the pair of front wings, if they are available, are well over £1000. The rest of the body work will easily two or three times that (sills, arches, chassis rails, inner front wings, front panel, rear light panel, floor pan etc, etc) even if you use second hand or fabricate. Taking the heater motor out and leaving the water diverting cover plate off smacks of someone who doesn't know better or doesn't care at all.

The other faults are merely time consuming..... and all post facelift 635CSi's had ABS so not exactly rare because of it.

[bmthnick1981]

W00DY said:

S3_Graham said:

This looks rather nice. Even at £4995.
http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/194230/merc...

That is filthy.

And I love it.

Need black leather interior.

[JF87]

E24man said:

There's a reason it is cheap - the bodywork fixes are very expensive; the pair of front wings, if they are available, are well over £1000. The rest of the body work will easily two or three times that (sills, arches, chassis rails, inner front wings, front panel, rear light panel, floor pan etc, etc) even if you use second hand or fabricate. Taking the heater motor out and leaving the water diverting cover plate off smacks of someone who doesn't know better or doesn't care at all.

The other faults are merely time consuming..... and all post facelift 635CSi's had ABS so not exactly rare because of it.

There are indeed umpteen reasons it's cheap! But if you didn't attend to any of them and managed to coax it through another MOT, you should get your money back - after enjoying 9 months of (a bit tatty and very chilly) ownership.

[K12beano]

JF87 said:

E24man said:

There's a reason it is cheap - the bodywork fixes are very expensive; the pair of front wings, if they are available, are well over £1000. The rest of the body work will easily two or three times that (sills, arches, chassis rails, inner front wings, front panel, rear light panel, floor pan etc, etc) even if you use second hand or fabricate. Taking the heater motor out and leaving the water diverting cover plate off smacks of someone who doesn't know better or doesn't care at all.

The other faults are merely time consuming..... and all post facelift 635CSi's had ABS so not exactly rare because of it.

There are indeed umpteen reasons it's cheap! But if you didn't attend to any of them and managed to coax it through another MOT, you should get your money back - after enjoying 9 months of (a bit tatty and very chilly) ownership.

Indeed! Sheepskin coat and a pair of decent shades

[SuperHangOn]

barchetta_boy said:

I'm afraid I need to issue notice of a possible W124 demise... something I thought would never ever happen...

It's my 1994 E280 wagon. The main radiator fan pulley went, and took the v belt with it. Decided to do the viscous coupling while we were in there. Total with labour and VAT, thick end of £900.

I also hit a deer, and a scuffed front bumper and cracked rear bumper to sort out - just 35k miles worth of parking issues I suppose (my fault). I said let's sort the arches out while we are in there. They said the bill for sorting out the front wings (new wings), new headlamp (deer) and all the above would be another £2700 inc vat. I said yes on the basis that then you have a nicely restored W124 which should be good for the next 175k miles.

Then they arrived at the back of the car to do the arches and found that both rear 3/4 windows have been leaking for a while and it's a mess...

I can't face a £5k+ bill on car worth £4k. The pisser is that they've already done the engine work and started the front. Gah!

Bloody hell. So a water pump bearing failure? Usually WP's squeak or leak long before a total failure so that's very unlucky

It's worth removing the belt and feeling if anything is a bit dodgy every once in a while. I did this on my W211 and ended up changing the belt, WP, tensioner and a few idler pulleys. Several potential breakdowns avoided.

[barchetta_boy]

Regarding a previous comment, does the car have sentimental value? We'll sort of. All my cars do to some extent.

One thing I do know, I'd rather have that E500 than my car and a 3k bill, let alone a 5k one

[idiotgap]

barchetta_boy said:

Regarding a previous comment, does the car have sentimental value? We'll sort of. All my cars do to some extent.

One thing I do know, I'd rather have that E500 than my car and a 3k bill, let alone a 5k one

I know a cheap local bodyshop who might be able to patch up your 124 cheaper if you want to prettify and get rid. That's what I would do.

Buy the 500 Joel!

[r129sl]

idiotgap said:

barchetta_boy said:

Regarding a previous comment, does the car have sentimental value? We'll sort of. All my cars do to some extent.

One thing I do know, I'd rather have that E500 than my car and a 3k bill, let alone a 5k one

I know a cheap local bodyshop who might be able to patch up your 124 cheaper if you want to prettify and get rid. That's what I would do.

Buy the 500 Joel!

But as we know, the purchase of a new barge is the start of the bills, not the end. Better the devil you know.

[idiotgap]

r129sl said:

idiotgap said:

barchetta_boy said:

Regarding a previous comment, does the car have sentimental value? We'll sort of. All my cars do to some extent.

One thing I do know, I'd rather have that E500 than my car and a 3k bill, let alone a 5k one

I know a cheap local bodyshop who might be able to patch up your 124 cheaper if you want to prettify and get rid. That's what I would do.

Buy the 500 Joel!

But as we know, the purchase of a new barge is the start of the bills, not the end. Better the devil you know.

Well the red V8 with the airmatic and SBS brakes will definitely be bork free (see my contribution to the budget Cayenne Turbo thread).

[0a]

I am in a similar position with my W124. It's rusty and needs a full respray but will only ever be worth about 3p as it's a 4 door and the 12v 300e. My approach is to just ignore this fact and crack on. I like it and it means a lot to me.

A thought experiment for a Thursday. As they all cost the same (a lot!) to get refurbished, assuming someone was prepared to pay for a full blown refurb for you, what W124 would you start with (assuming no AMGs, 500E - just a standard model). What bodystyle, engine, spec, colour...?

[Krikkit]

0a said:

I am in a similar position with my W124. It's rusty and needs a full respray but will only ever be worth about 3p as it's a 4 door and the 12v 300e. My approach is to just ignore this fact and crack on. I like it and it means a lot to me.

A thought experiment for a Thursday. As they all cost the same (a lot!) to get refurbished, assuming someone was prepared to pay for a full blown refurb for you, what W124 would you start with (assuming no AMGs, 500E - just a standard model). What bodystyle, engine, spec, colour...?

S124 320 Sportline would be my desire. Would need to be Bornite over mushroom with sacco.

[golfer19]

0a said:

I wonder what this made today. The wrong wheels, but it's rare to see a proper 535. 65k miles as well. http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C817986

That does look good.
If it went for somewhere near reserve it wouldn't be too expensive compared to other BMW of that era..

[Lowtimer]

Krikkit said:

S124 320 Sportline would be my desire. Would need to be Bornite over mushroom with sacco.

That would be fine for me too. It would need to have factory air con. I would not object to the factory velour, which is super comfy and ultra durable.

There was a green/green 300e saloon for sale a few months ago which I liked the colours of, so might have something other than Bornite.

[barchetta_boy]

0a said:

I am in a similar position with my W124. It's rusty and needs a full respray but will only ever be worth about 3p as it's a 4 door and the 12v 300e. My approach is to just ignore this fact and crack on. I like it and it means a lot to me.

A thought experiment for a Thursday. As they all cost the same (a lot!) to get refurbished, assuming someone was prepared to pay for a full blown refurb for you, what W124 would you start with (assuming no AMGs, 500E - just a standard model). What bodystyle, engine, spec, colour...?

Smoke silver 320TE (pre facelift but with new engine, they do exist) with a black leather interior. 8 hole alloys. Sportline. 5 speed autobox. All the toys - all of them. IE: electric, heated, memory orthopaedic seats. Auxiliary heater with remote start. Sunroof and 7 seats of course. All the little buttons on the top of the centre console filled in and doing something. ASR. Factory wax protection (yes it was an option. I just want that to prove that the original owner was on a proper spree). In fact literally everything except climate control air conditioning - I prefer the 'normal' system with the 3 buttons in the middle that allows the driver and passenger their own heating controls.

[JF87]

Never quite seen the appeal of an E36, but if scarcity and LPGness rank high in your barge criteria this one looks pretty good. Even better after a heavy detint, and if you don't make the mistake of consulting the MOT history. I've played and lost a game of spot-the-gas-filler. Dark side of the rear valance?



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-E36-3-6-Au...

£5,499; 90k.

Edited by JF87 on Thursday 8th December 18:52

[r129sl]

0a said:

I am in a similar position with my W124. It's rusty and needs a full respray but will only ever be worth about 3p as it's a 4 door and the 12v 300e. My approach is to just ignore this fact and crack on. I like it and it means a lot to me.

A thought experiment for a Thursday. As they all cost the same (a lot!) to get refurbished, assuming someone was prepared to pay for a full blown refurb for you, what W124 would you start with (assuming no AMGs, 500E - just a standard model). What bodystyle, engine, spec, colour...?

300 E 4Matic
Manila beige
Light brown velours
Auto
ABS
Long range tank
Heated seats
Air con
Memory seats
Rear head rests
Arm rests
15 hole forged alloys
Town and country horns

[r129sl]

barchetta_boy said:

0a said:

I am in a similar position with my W124. It's rusty and needs a full respray but will only ever be worth about 3p as it's a 4 door and the 12v 300e. My approach is to just ignore this fact and crack on. I like it and it means a lot to me.

A thought experiment for a Thursday. As they all cost the same (a lot!) to get refurbished, assuming someone was prepared to pay for a full blown refurb for you, what W124 would you start with (assuming no AMGs, 500E - just a standard model). What bodystyle, engine, spec, colour...?

Smoke silver 320TE (pre facelift but with new engine, they do exist) with a black leather interior. 8 hole alloys. Sportline. 5 speed autobox. All the toys - all of them. IE: electric, heated, memory orthopaedic seats. Auxiliary heater with remote start. Sunroof and 7 seats of course. All the little buttons on the top of the centre console filled in and doing something. ASR. Factory wax protection (yes it was an option. I just want that to prove that the original owner was on a proper spree). In fact literally everything except climate control air conditioning - I prefer the 'normal' system with the 3 buttons in the middle that allows the driver and passenger their own heating controls.

I had this car.

[rejn]

Perfect w124? Good question...

I'd take my bornite diesel estate as one of them. Joel's comments on back windows has me worried as there is some very minor bubbling under both side back windows on mine.

But I'd also like an E36 coupe - with all the sport options ticked. I almost bought an E36 saloon a few years ago and always regretted it. Blue black please.

I can also see the appeal of a non sporty E320 cabriolet. In metallic red please.

That should cover a few bases!!

[CharlesdeGaulle]

0a said:

A thought experiment for a Thursday. As they all cost the same (a lot!) to get refurbished, assuming someone was prepared to pay for a full blown refurb for you, what W124 would you start with (assuming no AMGs, 500E - just a standard model). What bodystyle, engine, spec, colour...?

I couldn't take that offer for a 124. Partly, I suppose, because I have a nice A124 that someone else has sort of already done exactly that to, but primarily because if someone else was picking up the tab I'd want a different car entirely.

In fact, it would be something like this:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C815628



My benefactor would pay for a resto and respray in sage green, with a retrim in green velour.

I know that I've answered a question quite different from the one you asked, and I know that the budget has been mildly stretched, but it's (nearly) Christmas. Plus the fact that the ad being in capitals makes the car worth more.