Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 7]

[E65Ross]

Patrick Bateman said:

Keep an eye out for a pre-facelift. There's a step-down in value from the facelifts but the majority already have the angel eyes etc. fitted anyway.

I'd suggest keeping an eye out here for a better chance of a decent one-

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/forum/112-cars/

Insurance isn't that bad. I'm a shade over £500 at 25 with 5 years NCB. What are you for your 7?

Consumables, I will concede...

Edited by Patrick Bateman on Sunday 19th October 20:39

Who's that insurance with? Mine is around 700, I'm 25, I think 5 years ncb but can't recall. Been driving for longer but first 2-3 years I was a named driver.

This is daft. I'll be keeping the E65 for a while yet. It goes in for 4 new boots and minor service items on Halloween.... 4 figure bill coming up

[Patrick Bateman]

E65Ross said:

Who's that insurance with? Mine is around 700, I'm 25, I think 5 years ncb but can't recall. Been driving for longer but first 2-3 years I was a named driver.

This is daft. I'll be keeping the E65 for a while yet. It goes in for 4 new boots and minor service items on Halloween.... 4 figure bill coming up

Aviva with my Dad as a named driver. It was about £1100 then when I turned 25 it absolutely nose-dived.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

S3_Graham said:

I'm seriously tempted to de-badge it

I know that seems to be the general view here, but I'd advise against it.

For a start, why? No-one knows. Even fewer care. And those of us that do, like to see engine sizes proudly displayed.

The chav types will just think it's st 'cos it's old. Innit.

[E65Ross]

S3_Graham said:

Thanks for the pics Ross, it was pretty filthy I'm afraid. Wanged it though a sainsburys carwash at about 11pm last night!

Do you have a link to the high res ones? I'm seriously tempted to de-badge it.... It already surprises people tbh, just looks like a 230K!

Ref M5, I'm still desperate for one. I'd swap the clk in a heartbeat. Don't think I'd get my £6k back though insurance on the clk was very nearly an issue for me. Apparently it's in the 'over 30's' category, and being 29 the guy had to speak to his manager ffs!! £600 a year with 11 years NCB!

Eta: forgot to say, your 745 looked great Ross!

i haven't uploaded high res images but if you PM me then I can email them across. It may take several emails as they're all quite large files, taken with a 21MP camera (or thereabouts).

[Sterillium]

mickyveloce said:

hard to paint match without a full respray.

And the rust will come back.

[E65Ross]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

I know that seems to be the general view here, but I'd advise against it.

For a start, why? No-one knows. Even fewer care. And those of us that do, like to see engine sizes proudly displayed.

The chav types will just think it's st 'cos it's old. Innit.

I have always been 50/50 on the fact my 745i has been debadged.....On the positives, it certainly doesn't attract any attention from boy racers, yet I think it might (or at least a little) if I had the 745i badge on there.

It's not rapid machine, but I suspect it's surprised a few people. Can't believe I've had it just over 1 year now, and I've done over 14k miles in it!

[CharlesdeGaulle]

harry kular said:

O/T, I've just got an air chamber in my barn to avoid condensation this winter, thought some one here might be interested:

That looks good, and in the middle of a rather nice barn/garage!

How are you finding it? Is access/egress sensibly easy? Do you mind giving an indication of cost?

[Motorrad]

harry kular said:

O/T, I've just got an air chamber in my barn to avoid condensation this winter, thought some one here might be interested:

That's great.

A> I wish I had a barn

B> Because I could build an air chamber

and

C> So my Girlfriend could call me a saddo for doing it.

Top work!

[harry kular]

There's entrance zips on each side for people and on one end for the car. I bought 1 for 993 and 1 for the SL from Hamilton Classic, just under £900 delivered. Pretty well thought out, and took about 1.5 hrs to make up.

[r129sl]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

E65Ross said:

You can argue either side to that argument. What if it's your daily driver? ...

If it's a car which isn't a daily driver, ...

I'm not saying either way is wrong, but I think neither is necessarily right either.

Ross. We've met, and I know you're a youngster, so take this in the mentoring spirit in which it's meant ... Are you insane?




The dedicated barge-ist merely sees these tiny factors (not issues or problems) as the reason to buy more barges. By so doing, you offset the risks and down-sides.

There's a reason I have 3 cars older than 20!

Exactly. This is why I need more cars: so more of the cars I already have can be in at the garage without inconveniencing me, other than financially.

In all seriousness, I'm not convinced the "posh" 124s are any less tired than the "common" 124s. They all need bushes and shocks and they all hide rot in the chassis. Maybe the cosmetics are better on the posh cars: all fur coat and nae knickers.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

r129sl said:

In all seriousness, I'm not convinced the "posh" 124s are any less tired than the "common" 124s. They all need bushes and shocks and they all hide rot in the chassis. Maybe the cosmetics are better on the posh cars: all fur coat and nae knickers.

I absolutely agree. In the last year, I've bought 3 old Mercs, and looked at many, many more. Issues were, generally, common-to-all, and I'm not at all sure that the dealer-prep'd cars were any better or even had had much done over the private sales.

I congratulate Bolide if he's getting anything close to high-above thread budget for his cars, but I really question what he and his ilk are doing to earn it. Most 'top-end' cars I looked at were a joke.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

This car needs posting. Interesting juxtaposition of photo choices.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C546266

Pic one. Nice background.



Pic two. [Probably] Where he lives.



Nothing wrong with either, but the mix puts me off.

[harry kular]

Got to agree with R129 and CdG on this one. I went the cheapish option and I'm quite sure that I've covered a lot of things (largely due to r129s checklist I might add) that wouldn't be looked at by an indy- it just wouldn't make business sense for them.

[Adrian E]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

S3_Graham said:

I'm seriously tempted to de-badge it

I know that seems to be the general view here, but I'd advise against it.

For a start, why? No-one knows. Even fewer care. And those of us that do, like to see engine sizes proudly displayed.

The chav types will just think it's st 'cos it's old. Innit.

I saw a chavved up one with chrome round the rear lights and a very singular tailpipe sporting a CLK23 and AMH badges earlier today - I can only assume a 230K Compressor with a bit removed and a tack on AMG badge - it looked a bit silly and to be honest if it's the real deal I think it belongs The great motoring unwashed still won't have a bloody clue what it is!

[PlayersNo6]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

This car needs posting. Interesting juxtaposition of photo choices.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C546266

Pic one. Nice background.



Pic two. [Probably] Where he lives.



Nothing wrong with either, but the mix puts me off.

Love the blue leather and wood on this one. Big disconnect between front and rear indicators on that side profile shot.

[Lowtimer]

"Presented in colour X" always seems a strange bit of pseudo dealer-speak to use. I mean, he hasn't had it painted that colour specifically to sell it. It's not "presented in colour X", it's just "colour X".

[RobinBanks]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I really like this one! I've always wanted an SEC. I'm not going to follow the link because if it's a 560, it could be bad for my fragile finances....

[r129sl]

harry kular said:

Got to agree with R129 and CdG on this one. I went the cheapish option and I'm quite sure that I've covered a lot of things (largely due to r129s checklist I might add) that wouldn't be looked at by an indy- it just wouldn't make business sense for them.

I went to see this during the week, offed by a specialist who was very pleasant.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C548398

The price, £3,450, included prep, but I was able to view it before. It would receive a new wing, a full service, a couple of new tyres, the seat belt butler would be fixed and something else that I forget would be sorted. Quite a lot of prep. Price as is? £2,700.

My point? The dealers just do not have the margin to sort these cars properly. I drove it and in my view it needed engine mounts, shocks, definitely on the rear, rear subframe buses and a prop shaft doughnut. Really it needed a paint job, too, not just the wing. It all made me think I'd be better off with the £500 car I mentioned on this thread.

[Zwolf]

0a said:

Lowtimer said:

Have we had this E32 750i Sport yet? Top end of thread budget, but it's in by a gnat's chuff.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E32-750i-SPORT-AUTO-...

Alpina wheels, not sure about them myself but I imagine they could be moved on easily enough and replaced at lower cost with some originals.

I am not sufficient of an E32 beard to critique it for other originality points but it looks nice. I assume the front indicators should be amber but that's not a big job to fix.

That's stunning

It is rather pleasant.


However it's not a Sport model as no such thing ever existed in E32. SWB 750s had sports seats as standard, with a no-cost option of the usual comfort seats found in iLs and six/eight cylinder models.

"Being a sport, this 750 has the electrically adjustable Recaro style sports seats and unusually, the extended leather option with hand stitched leather door cards, glove box / dash trims and consoles"

Heated, extended leather was also a standard feature of the V12s, as it also was in E38 and has continued to be through E65/F02 with twelve cylinder engines so far as I'm aware.

It has had what would have been standard equipment EDC deleted, one part of what makes it a "sporty" spec, as opposed to the standard, more comfort oriented passive damper of non-V12 Sevens, the ability to switch it between that and a more controlled mode is actually a large part of the appeal of them for me.

The 17" ALPINA wheels were an option from the factory, an upgrade from the standard 415mm metric Style 5 wheels and Michelin TRX tyres and I'd stick with them, the tyres you can fit will be of better quality and possess grip/traction levels that we're more accustomed to.

It's a lot of money to be asked for a 100k+ mile example, my ~70k one in more original condition than that fetched not far off a couple of years ago, the 135k mile one struggled to get close to a grand. If this one has a non-Emmental tank and the bodywork is as rust free as claimed, then I could see value in it at high £2ks, maybe early £3ks at a push.

In other news, I bought a new barge this weekend past, picking it up on Saturday all being well. A little outside thread budget, but 18 months-2 years ago it would have been within its remit...

[S3_Graham]

Patrick Bateman said:

Keep an eye out for a pre-facelift. There's a step-down in value from the facelifts but the majority already have the angel eyes etc. fitted anyway.

I'd suggest keeping an eye out here for a better chance of a decent one-

http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/forum/112-cars/

Insurance isn't that bad. I'm a shade over £500 at 25 with 5 years NCB. What are you for your 7?

Consumables, I will concede...

Edited by Patrick Bateman on Sunday 19th October 20:39

If you see / hear of any around the £5k mark.... give me a shout please! The one of PH at £4,500 looks a good car but no mention of PX and I doubt I could sell mine quick enough.