Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 9]

[Sterillium]

A week ago Sterillium said:

This is now sat on my drive after a few hours on a train and a 200+ mile cruise back into the depths of the Westcountry.




http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

I was SUPPOSED to be looking for a diesel estate stop-gap workhorse, but something snapped inside me, again, and I ended up realising I *needed* to scratch the E39 itch, having never owned one. So here we are; my winter wheels are sorted.

Initial report:

It's a lovely, solidly built thing with plenty of load space and plenty of room inside. Gorgeously comfortable seats and so far, everything I have pressed and fiddled with has worked, sat nav included... And it ate up the miles on the drive home superbly.

Bodywork is excellent - hardly any stone chips, NO trolley wounds, and only one little tiny bubble on one of the rear arches. Interior is very very good too - showing hardly any wear at all. Headlights could do with a little "de-frosting" but that's me being VERY picky on a car of this age.

Very pleased, I'm sure there will be bits and bobs - but it's stablemate is a 25 year old convertible so I'm used to that. (Actually, there are three tiny lights on the top right of the monitor / screen bit, the middle one seems to flash red all the time, what's that?)

Watch this space, as it's massively likely I'll be selling this on in the New Year, because if I LOVE it I know I'll need a 540 or an M5 and if it's just a solid Winter hack (as per the original plan!) then I'll be looking for something else by then.

Pleased.

So!

A week later and I've realised I really am a very, very silly man around cars.

The E39 Touring is beautiful, brilliant, comfortable, quick, spacious and really very clean and straight and a lovely place to be...

Which means my "masterplan" of buying it as a winter hack, instead of a random old diesel, to slap winter tyres on and lug stuff around in the slush and ice, now feels like a massive waste of a beautiful old cruiser.

I have, however, realised EXACTLY why so many of you lust after the old E39s - solid build quality, lovely places to be, and very very capable and elegant.

So I'm looking for a dirty old Jeep to perform the filthy duties I feel are to unkind to use this car for and then I am going to begin hunting (already have begun hunting ) for a 540 or an M5 to have as a non-workhorse rocketship alongside it.

Totally in love with the E39 now and I can only IMAGINE how awesome an M5 will be with the same amount of horses as my XKR and the solid, luxury interior of my current 530 Sport.

Why isn't there an E39 M5 Touring!?

I'm hopeless.

Edited by Sterillium on Sunday 29th November 21:16

[bob-lad]

Sterillium said:

So!

A week later and I've realised I really am a very, very silly man around cars.

The E39 Touring is beautiful, brilliant, comfortable, quick, spacious and really very clean and straight and a lovely place to be...

Which means my "masterplan" of buying it as a winter hack, instead of a random old diesel, to slap winter tyres on and lug stuff around in the slush and ice, now feels like a massive waste of a beautiful old cruiser.

I have, however, realised EXACTLY why so many of you lust after the old E39s - solid build quality, lovely places to be, and very very capable and elegant.

So I'm looking for a dirty old Jeep to perform the filthy duties I feel are to unkind to use this car for and then I am going to begin hunting (already have begun hunting ) for a 540 or an M5 to have as a non-workhorse rocketship alongside it.

Totally in love with the E39 now and I can only IMAGINE how awesome an M5 will be with the same amount of horses as my XKR and the solid, luxury interior of my current 530 Sport.

Why isn't there an E39 M5 Touring!?

I'm hopeless.

Congratulations.
Glad it's not just me. All the stuff I think of as winter barge material looks too good to not store away from the salt and pi$$ poor drivers that come out in poor weather.

You're not the only one still pondering a winter barge.

Edited by bob-lad on Sunday 29th November 21:46

[Sterillium]

I have HUGE regrets that I sold a 4.0 Jeep with enormous chunky tyres around Easter.

No idea what I was thinking.

[Ace-T]

As some of you may have spotted, judas and I are fond of a barge or two with this in mind (albeit a bit over thread budget) we acquired a winter hack this weekend. Only it probably will replace the X350 XJ6 as our daily driver (judas' knees need a car he doesn't have to fall into to avoid bending them ). It is a mk3 Range Rover 4.4 V8 with lpg to offset the hideous running costs. We have never had a 4x4 before so are quite excited about taking it into a field somewhere (hopefully not to shoot it! ). So the fleet is still all British, now with 3 V8s and a V6. When we do eventually get around to selling the Jag I will miss it terribly, it has a lovely interior (cream leather with green wood instead of brown), hustles along very nicely with lovely pointy steering and a hilariously small turning circle. Can't justify keeping the 4 cars really...

Sterillium said:

Why isn't there an E39 M5 Touring!?

There sort of is, but it isn't factory built.

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39-m5-e52-z8-dis...

Edited by Ace-T on Sunday 29th November 22:15

[0a]

I really want a Mercedes G-wagon. What's wrong with me? I don't like SUVs and have no need for any kind of off roader, and they are ridiculously expensive. I don't want any of the AMG nonsense, just one of the early 90s straight 6 models...

[Emeye]

I know nothing about Jags, but this looks nice and is local to me - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...



Can't say I know anything about the dealer even though it is so close - I'm out of Tyre-kicking practice.....

I still want to scratch that V8 itch - it is a V8? Is that what the 8 stands for? - opinions?

Edited by Emeye on Monday 30th November 10:06

[Lowtimer]

Sterillium said:

Why isn't there an E39 M5 Touring!?

Yes, I feel the lack of these too. However we seem to be in a tiny minority. For all the people who said they liked the idea of a touring M5, it turned out most of them didn't like the idea enough to actually put down the money for one. It never sold well in LHD markets on the E34 platform, consequently not deemed worth doing in RHD, and also consequently the absence of one in the E39 range. Cue the renewed clamour of people saying "why isn't there..." so they reinstigated it for the E60/61, and sales were very disappointing again. I think they've learned their lesson now. Monster German estates need to be Mercedes or Audi to sell, it would appear.

[Krikkit]

Emeye said:

I know nothing about Jags, but this looks nice and is local to me - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...



Can't say I know anything about the dealer even though it is so close - I'm out of Tyre-kicking practice.....

I still want to scratch that V8 itch - it is a V8? Is that what the 8 stands for? - opinions?

Yes it's a V8, and a well regarded one at that. Rust is the issue with the X308 I believe, arches, sills etc all need a good look over.

[essdaytwelve]

CAH706 said:

Jimmy Recard said:

essdaytwelve said:

Way too much £ for the Jeep

Without a doubt. I wouldn't pay more than £2000. My uncle had a lower mileage one that he traded in a few years ago (about five maybe) against a brand new Q7 and iirc he got £1700. That said, it was worth more than that

I fancy something like this for no other reason that i want one Would use it as a skip car etc

How much should would these be worth?

Should start with a 1 IMHO

[Emeye]

Krikkit said:

Emeye said:

I know nothing about Jags, but this looks nice and is local to me - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...



Can't say I know anything about the dealer even though it is so close - I'm out of Tyre-kicking practice.....

I still want to scratch that V8 itch - it is a V8? Is that what the 8 stands for? - opinions?

Yes it's a V8, and a well regarded one at that. Rust is the issue with the X308 I believe, arches, sills etc all need a good look over.

Cheers - 3.2 seems quite small for a V8, that's why I was unsure. I can't help like it - if it wasn't seriously pissing it down today I would go and have a look at lunch.

[Krikkit]

Emeye said:

Krikkit said:

Emeye said:

I know nothing about Jags, but this looks nice and is local to me - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...



Can't say I know anything about the dealer even though it is so close - I'm out of Tyre-kicking practice.....

I still want to scratch that V8 itch - it is a V8? Is that what the 8 stands for? - opinions?

Yes it's a V8, and a well regarded one at that. Rust is the issue with the X308 I believe, arches, sills etc all need a good look over.

Cheers - 3.2 seems quite small for a V8, that's why I was unsure. I can't help like it - if it wasn't seriously pissing it down today I would go and have a look at lunch.

They're very nice cars, supreme comfort overall, a very nice cheap smoker. Worth £1500 if it's in good nick without a rust bomb waiting to go off.

[rohrl]

Does that Jag have (problem-prone) self-levelling rear suspension? It's looking very high at the back end.

[Krikkit]

I thought it looked OK for a non-sport car, but you could be right.

[The Don of Croy]

Porkis said:

I count seventeen buttons on that steering wheel.

Is that a record?

I'm just catching up on this thread after the weekend - you lot have really put some stellar work in these past few days (Honda/Jeep/Jag/ over and above the teutonic base load). Top work.

[SpeckledJim]

rohrl said:

Does that Jag have (problem-prone) self-levelling rear suspension? It's looking very high at the back end.

No clever suspension there.

Ride-height looks normal to me. Non-sport, Non-XJR XJ8 are pretty frumpy really. Lovely drive though.

[1stRaven]

The Don of Croy said:

I count seventeen buttons on that steering wheel.

Is that a record?

I'm just catching up on this thread after the weekend - you lot have really put some stellar work in these past few days (Honda/Jeep/Jag/ over and above the teutonic base load). Top work.

i think my jag has 20. Not sure you could fit many more on though.

[Thankyou4calling]

can any of the prominent bargistas confirm that the meet at MB world for the 29th December is on?

I'd love a mince pie or three and a chat over the holiday season.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

The Don of Croy said:

Porkis said:

I count seventeen buttons on that steering wheel.

Is that a record?

Your comment reminded me of one of mine back in October:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Apropos of nothing, I was being driven around in a brand new Mondeo. It was a nice enough car but I was struck by how low the roofline is - it was actually quite tricky to get in without banging my head - and by the illuminations; I counted 22 lit buttons on the steering wheel alone. All rather distracting and gimmicky.

Steering-wheel buttons seem now to be 'must-haves'.

[Krikkit]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Your comment reminded me of one of mine back in October:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Apropos of nothing, I was being driven around in a brand new Mondeo. It was a nice enough car but I was struck by how low the roofline is - it was actually quite tricky to get in without banging my head - and by the illuminations; I counted 22 lit buttons on the steering wheel alone. All rather distracting and gimmicky.

Steering-wheel buttons seem now to be 'must-haves'.

The never-ending drive for safety: Everyone demands a complex in-car entertainment system/climate control etc which makes it very hard to operate while looking at the road. Move the buttons to the wheel and you hope the user will learn to operate them while watching the road instead of staring at a complex dash...

[Emeye]

Krikkit said:

The never-ending drive for safety: Everyone demands a complex in-car entertainment system/climate control etc which makes it very hard to operate while looking at the road. Move the buttons to the wheel and you hope the user will learn to operate them while watching the road instead of staring at a complex dash...

My friend has just leased a Citroen C4 Picasso summatorother and he tells me it does away with the majority of the buttons - everything is via a touch screen apparently - I don't see how that improves safety.

I have an Apple Carplay head-unit I fitted into my BMW - that is supposed to be voice controlled via SIRI but it is useless - though that could be my northern monkey Lancashire accent.....