Just something to see if it works. Mod on Duty!
Discussion
lou556 said:
(Have been advised that this is the place to come for Barge opinions and advice)
Good afternoon everyone.
Looking to move into the world of luxury and refinement on a budget, also known as the barge..
I am considering a late E38 7 Series 2000-200 or a MK4 LS400 1998-2000. The 7 Series will undoubtedly offer the more 'sporting' drive and the Lexus will in theory be the more comfortable cruiser. Who has experience with these cars, who can tell me what they are like to live with daily and how much they really cost to run??
To give you some idea of the use the car will get. My driving life is mostly town, weekend trip to London or Berkshire via M25/A2 and the odd Continental trip. Mainly me and 1-2 passengers and light luggage.
All experiences and thoughts are welcome!!
Lewis.
I purchased a 2000 W reg 740 Sport Silver with Black Leather in 2009 for 3K. The car had covered approx 120K miles and had been used for distance traveling by the previous owner. The car had a full service history with supporting invoices with a recent recon Gearbox, new springs and damper, battery, brakes and various sensors plus odds and ends. The car drove very well and new suspension provided a comfortable ride on sports dampers. A car of this vintage is always going to need maintenance and things fixing. It let me down twice, once was a blown hose and the second time was the aux rad fan.Good afternoon everyone.
Looking to move into the world of luxury and refinement on a budget, also known as the barge..
I am considering a late E38 7 Series 2000-200 or a MK4 LS400 1998-2000. The 7 Series will undoubtedly offer the more 'sporting' drive and the Lexus will in theory be the more comfortable cruiser. Who has experience with these cars, who can tell me what they are like to live with daily and how much they really cost to run??
To give you some idea of the use the car will get. My driving life is mostly town, weekend trip to London or Berkshire via M25/A2 and the odd Continental trip. Mainly me and 1-2 passengers and light luggage.
All experiences and thoughts are welcome!!
Lewis.
The E38 is generally well built and reliable (exception of the gearbox) but with age many components with be worn. Ideally, most if not all of the suspension bushes and ball joints etc needed replacing as mind did suffer from the dreaded shimmy. Further, the cooling systems on these cars would benefit from an refresh with replacement hoses, this costs approx 600 quid. Other than that, mine needed a new water pump, tyres, brake pipes, track rod ends and the rocker cover gasket replacing.
As you would expect they can suffer from rust in the usual places and they are prone to fuel tank failure. Mine averaged 21 MPG mixed driving. I sold it for 1,780GBP in Oct 2012. I had call that I would consider a serious purchaser in a mth advertising it on PH. He brought the car.
It certainly doesn't get as much attention as the £1-5k thread!
I bought a W211 E500 recently which fell into this category, a 2007 facelift car with the 5491cc 390hp V8. I couldn't quite stretch to the latest shape which are right at the top of the thread budget unless you are happy with 90-100k miles.
I bought a W211 E500 recently which fell into this category, a 2007 facelift car with the 5491cc 390hp V8. I couldn't quite stretch to the latest shape which are right at the top of the thread budget unless you are happy with 90-100k miles.
Further to the above posts, I bought an early ls460.
What to say?
Small boot (roof rails are available) unless you have a car without the rear climate/ coolbox. But in that case you lose a lot of other toys, because you will be buying the base model.
High VED - £500
Stereo/DVd changer/satnav are good for sound, but dated from a jukebox/satnav perspective. New map dvd will set you back about £70, but still no 7 digit postcodes.
Chinese iPod adapter is available off fleabay for about 70 quid (there is a 3.5mm Jack in the centre console already, but that's naff) installation a half hour job, or a vais tech module that mirrors android or iPhone for about 200
Bluetooth works for calling, but not music.
Mpg about 18 around town, 30 on the motorway
Front suspension arms/bushes apparently poorly designed on 07/08 cars, if yours not replaced already, then they will probably need to be. About £3k from a main dealer, so needs to be checked.
Car is very silent, but not completely bump free on the 19 inch wheels fitted to all but base spec cars. Air suspension height adjustment handy for speed bumps.
The 600h is more expensive, cheaper £285 ved, and you want the LWB, which will come with one rear lazy boy style seat and massage. But a slightly smaller boot than the 460 with the rear climate. Recent (2011+?) 600hs have bigger boot and also modern audio system. But the newer 460s (2013+) are poverty spec compared to the original ones
The leather is very thick on the se-l spec (most of them), and also on the 600h.
Lane keep and radar cruise are nice toys on the motorway. Lane keep Missing from the 600h due to conflict with its led lights. (Fixed on recent models)
Parking sensors on all four corners, self parking on all but base models. Self parking on the screen seems to take as long to configure as just parking yourself though.... Parking camera nice though.
Looks nice outside, and feels very nice inside too. The clock is a bit Toyota Corolla mind. People seem to let me out of junctions more than in the Vw.
Lots of paint swirls on the black paint, it needs a proper polishing.
What to say?
Small boot (roof rails are available) unless you have a car without the rear climate/ coolbox. But in that case you lose a lot of other toys, because you will be buying the base model.
High VED - £500
Stereo/DVd changer/satnav are good for sound, but dated from a jukebox/satnav perspective. New map dvd will set you back about £70, but still no 7 digit postcodes.
Chinese iPod adapter is available off fleabay for about 70 quid (there is a 3.5mm Jack in the centre console already, but that's naff) installation a half hour job, or a vais tech module that mirrors android or iPhone for about 200
Bluetooth works for calling, but not music.
Mpg about 18 around town, 30 on the motorway
Front suspension arms/bushes apparently poorly designed on 07/08 cars, if yours not replaced already, then they will probably need to be. About £3k from a main dealer, so needs to be checked.
Car is very silent, but not completely bump free on the 19 inch wheels fitted to all but base spec cars. Air suspension height adjustment handy for speed bumps.
The 600h is more expensive, cheaper £285 ved, and you want the LWB, which will come with one rear lazy boy style seat and massage. But a slightly smaller boot than the 460 with the rear climate. Recent (2011+?) 600hs have bigger boot and also modern audio system. But the newer 460s (2013+) are poverty spec compared to the original ones
The leather is very thick on the se-l spec (most of them), and also on the 600h.
Lane keep and radar cruise are nice toys on the motorway. Lane keep Missing from the 600h due to conflict with its led lights. (Fixed on recent models)
Parking sensors on all four corners, self parking on all but base models. Self parking on the screen seems to take as long to configure as just parking yourself though.... Parking camera nice though.
Looks nice outside, and feels very nice inside too. The clock is a bit Toyota Corolla mind. People seem to let me out of junctions more than in the Vw.
Lots of paint swirls on the black paint, it needs a proper polishing.
Edited by thelawnet on Monday 10th November 13:28
texasjohn said:
It certainly doesn't get as much attention as the £1-5k thread!
The problem is that it fits into a no man's land. The cars are expensive to fix but cost too much to give up on if anything serious does go wrong.
Only an idiot buys barges in this price range.
(checks owned cars list)
:facepalm:
thelawnet said:
Further to the above posts, I bought an early ls460.
What to say?
Small boot (roof rails are available) unless you have a car without the rear climate/ coolbox. But in that case you lose a lot of other toys, because you will be buying the base model.
High VED - £500
Stereo/DVd changer/satnav are good for sound, but dated from a jukebox/satnav perspective. New map dvd will set you back about £70, but still no 7 digit postcodes.
Chinese iPod adapter is available off fleabay for about 70 quid (there is a 3.5mm Jack in the centre console already, but that's naff) installation a half hour job, or a vais tech module that mirrors android or iPhone for about 200
Bluetooth works for calling, but not music.
Mpg about 18 around town, 30 on the motorway
Front suspension arms/bushes apparently poorly designed on 07/08 cars, if yours not replaced already, then they will probably need to be. About £3k from a main dealer, so needs to be checked.
Car is very silent, but not completely bump free on the 20 inch wheels fitted to all but base spec cars. Air suspension height adjustment handy for speed bumps.
The 600h is more expensive, cheaper £285 ved, and you want the LWB, which will come with one rear lazy boy style seat and massage. But a slightly smaller boot than the 460 with the rear climate. Recent (2011+?) 600hs have bigger boot and also modern audio system. But the newer 460s (2013+) are poverty spec compared to the original ones
The leather is very thick on the se-l spec (most of them), and also on the 600h.
Lane keep and radar cruise are nice toys on the motorway. Lane keep Missing from the 600h due to conflict with its led lights. (Fixed on recent models)
Parking sensors on all four corners, self parking on all but base models. Self parking on the screen seems to take as long to configure as just parking yourself though.... Parking camera nice though.
Looks nice outside, and feels very nice inside too. The clock is a bit Toyota Corolla mind. People seem to let me out of junctions more than in the Vw.
Lots of paint swirls on the black paint, it needs a proper polishing.
Decent LS write up.What to say?
Small boot (roof rails are available) unless you have a car without the rear climate/ coolbox. But in that case you lose a lot of other toys, because you will be buying the base model.
High VED - £500
Stereo/DVd changer/satnav are good for sound, but dated from a jukebox/satnav perspective. New map dvd will set you back about £70, but still no 7 digit postcodes.
Chinese iPod adapter is available off fleabay for about 70 quid (there is a 3.5mm Jack in the centre console already, but that's naff) installation a half hour job, or a vais tech module that mirrors android or iPhone for about 200
Bluetooth works for calling, but not music.
Mpg about 18 around town, 30 on the motorway
Front suspension arms/bushes apparently poorly designed on 07/08 cars, if yours not replaced already, then they will probably need to be. About £3k from a main dealer, so needs to be checked.
Car is very silent, but not completely bump free on the 20 inch wheels fitted to all but base spec cars. Air suspension height adjustment handy for speed bumps.
The 600h is more expensive, cheaper £285 ved, and you want the LWB, which will come with one rear lazy boy style seat and massage. But a slightly smaller boot than the 460 with the rear climate. Recent (2011+?) 600hs have bigger boot and also modern audio system. But the newer 460s (2013+) are poverty spec compared to the original ones
The leather is very thick on the se-l spec (most of them), and also on the 600h.
Lane keep and radar cruise are nice toys on the motorway. Lane keep Missing from the 600h due to conflict with its led lights. (Fixed on recent models)
Parking sensors on all four corners, self parking on all but base models. Self parking on the screen seems to take as long to configure as just parking yourself though.... Parking camera nice though.
Looks nice outside, and feels very nice inside too. The clock is a bit Toyota Corolla mind. People seem to let me out of junctions more than in the Vw.
Lots of paint swirls on the black paint, it needs a proper polishing.
I still want one.
trooperiziz said:
texasjohn said:
It certainly doesn't get as much attention as the £1-5k thread!
The problem is that it fits into a no man's land. The cars are expensive to fix but cost too much to give up on if anything serious does go wrong.
Only an idiot buys barges in this price range.
(checks owned cars list)
:facepalm:
Opting in at £5k for the car to then bimble around in the 1-5k region forever is a much much less scary proposition.
The possibility of the odd big bill being a hugely cheaper way of life that the certainty of catastrophic depreciation (an no less likelihood of the same big bills as well).
Nice cars though, and thanks everyone for chaperoning them on their journey to us at the muddy end.
bmthnick1981 said:
I remember that balck W220 S65 at Tom Hartley - I thought it was expensive.
I am convinced the silver W220 S65 above is good value at £15k, it is a very rare model - I can't remember the build numbers but have them at home and will check later and post.
Also the cheapest W221 S65 I can find is £36k and it is only 2 years newer. So well over twice the price saves you 20,000 miles and 2 years in age.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-S65-AMG-Saloon-...
This one has also been for sale for a LONG time.
And its still for Sale now.I am convinced the silver W220 S65 above is good value at £15k, it is a very rare model - I can't remember the build numbers but have them at home and will check later and post.
Also the cheapest W221 S65 I can find is £36k and it is only 2 years newer. So well over twice the price saves you 20,000 miles and 2 years in age.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-S65-AMG-Saloon-...
This one has also been for sale for a LONG time.
For my sins I've bought a 2004 VW Phaeton V10 TDi 5 litre its the LWB 4 seater so it has four individual seats all with air cooling and massage. Despite a number of horror stories about them (considering there are only about 100 V10's over here and only 25 4 seaters) most people on the Vortex forum seem to have no issues with them but if you do you need deep pockets, but I have run an RX7 and a V8 Esprit so big engine bills don't phase me.
I paid £10k for mine from a bunch of tossers up North but thats another story I love the car, it returns 30 MPG and with 750 Nm of torque you can waft along at 70 and just touch the throttle and its like a bullet, press the throttle hard and its almost like a cartoon with the scenery whizzing past you and you feel it on your chest.
It has a stonking sound system and four wheel drive confidence. I have ordered some bespoke Tarox discs and pads for it all round and plan to take it up to AMD and get it re-mapped and the torque up to about a 1000 Nm which with the upgraded brakes should make for Luxo-Barge heaven with a fair turn of speed. It has a wonderful party trick when you turn on the ignition the lovely polished wood covers go up to reveal the vents plus the steering wheel and seats give you easy entrance.
Forgot to mention just over 50K genuine miles, the consensus of opinion is they're not run in until 80K
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/fEL14SiF[/ur
I paid £10k for mine from a bunch of tossers up North but thats another story I love the car, it returns 30 MPG and with 750 Nm of torque you can waft along at 70 and just touch the throttle and its like a bullet, press the throttle hard and its almost like a cartoon with the scenery whizzing past you and you feel it on your chest.
It has a stonking sound system and four wheel drive confidence. I have ordered some bespoke Tarox discs and pads for it all round and plan to take it up to AMD and get it re-mapped and the torque up to about a 1000 Nm which with the upgraded brakes should make for Luxo-Barge heaven with a fair turn of speed. It has a wonderful party trick when you turn on the ignition the lovely polished wood covers go up to reveal the vents plus the steering wheel and seats give you easy entrance.
Forgot to mention just over 50K genuine miles, the consensus of opinion is they're not run in until 80K
[url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/fEL14SiF[/urEdited by BIRMA on Wednesday 12th November 20:41
Edited by BIRMA on Wednesday 12th November 22:22
Edited by BIRMA on Wednesday 12th November 22:23
Edited by BIRMA on Thursday 13th November 16:05
jfbrin said:
That is a serious beast. Is that 30 mpg average or on a run? I suspect the latter.
Keep us posted on results of remap.
Best of luck with your phat one.
Thanks for the positive comments, if you take a run down the motorway at 70 you get about 35, normal driving around taking it sensibly 30 MPG get a bit enthusiastic and enjoy the massive torque 22. The long term computer reading over 300 miles is 27 mpg so not bad.Keep us posted on results of remap.
Best of luck with your phat one.
I spoke to someone who had the AMD re-map and they said that there was a significant improvement in performance and better MPG.
The other thing that's nice is £280 road tax a year.
Edited by BIRMA on Wednesday 12th November 22:23
Birdster said:
I had mentioned this to someone else. Link disappeared, but appeared again with an increase in price of £1200http://www.gumtree.com/p/jaguar/jaguar-xj-4.2-v8-x...
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff