Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 15]

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

ElectricSoup said:

My barge has smoked its last. 2005 Merc E320 CDI estate. I have poured thousands in to repairing it in the last 3 years, and now it needs a turbo and injector work. Could be the thick end of £2k, and the car isn't worth that. So it's bye bye time.

I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.

Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.

Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.

Edited by ElectricSoup on Monday 18th November 10:36

Sorry to hear that, fingers crossed you delve into bargedom again. Trust me....it's a big come down although perhaps going from 3.0 diesel E class to 1.8 Civic estate is less so from 4.4 petrol 7 to a 1.6 old Corolla....!

[nobrakes]

E65Ross said:

All went well. He knocked £150 off for the mirror. Sale went smoothly and the drive back was absolutely fine. It's certainly got a fair bit of poke, that's for sure! Car seems to run well, no notable issues I can think of. Will run it for a month or so and then perhaps get it booked in for a gearbox oil change. The only issue I'm finding is that the radio doesn't appear to "seek" stations, yet if you manually tune to a station it works absolutely fine, which is weird. Other than that it drives really well, no vibrations or noises, gearbox is smooth, engine pulls very, very strongly....the way it gets up to 100 is quite alarming. On reflection, I think it is noticeably quicker than the 745i was. Probably helped by having an 8 speed gearbox rather than 6.

I have only taken 2 photos so far, the obligatory forecourt photo, and one just as I was collecting it from the MOT station with the dealer





I'll get some more photos at some point and do a reader's car thread at some point soon.

Hopefully it proves to be reliable! As others have said, it doesn't have the most amount of character by any means, but it is a very good barge. It's also fking huge compared to the Toyota

Epic purchase.

[nobrakes]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

I have rear arm-rest envy. Mine is positively DHSS compared to that, with only heated seats for rear occupants to play with.

Not that I should care really, I only have a front-seat passenger for about 5% of my total driving time, and someone in the rear even less. Still jealous though.

Peasant

Go go gadget!

[The Don of Croy]

ElectricSoup said:

Holy hand grenades of Antioc, that's right up my alley.

Satan's Alley, more like...

[nobrakes]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

ElectricSoup said:

My barge has smoked its last. 2005 Merc E320 CDI estate. I have poured thousands in to repairing it in the last 3 years, and now it needs a turbo and injector work. Could be the thick end of £2k, and the car isn't worth that. So it's bye bye time.

I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.

Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.

Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.

Edited by ElectricSoup on Monday 18th November 10:36

Sorry to hear that, fingers crossed you delve into bargedom again. Trust me....it's a big come down although perhaps going from 3.0 diesel E class to 1.8 Civic estate is less so from 4.4 petrol 7 to a 1.6 old Corolla....!

That’s too bad. I’m hoping there’s more than 3 years life left in my 2008.

[SlowV6]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

Have BMW actually made any reliable/solid units in the past 15-20 years? It seems many suffer with problems be it timing chains/tensioners, various seals, coolant system problems, turbos etc etc?!

Still, when they're working they seem to be good

M57

IMHO

[SlowV6]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

High mileage and a little scruffy, but cheap. Forget the forecourt, here's the money shot:

15 pages back (already!) CdeG nailed it with "High mileage and a little scruffy, but cheap."

Visited, inspected, drove and ultimately...no forecourt shot. Car was a little too scruffy inside and overall I think spend more/get more is the way to go.

BUT what a wonderful, wonderful machine an LS430 is and and worth at least 0.5 Willoughby's as an experience actually inspecting and driving one. Reaffirms my need for one in my life.

[AutoZiele]

Hi all, another longtime lurker, first time poster. My Golf GTD company car went back a few weeks ago so my 996 C4S has been the performing daily duties but as the winter sets in a nicely insulated barge would be a preferable conveyance. Those LS460s are very, very tempting, if a bit overkill for my 12 mile commute. Best get the measuring tape out for my car space anyway.

[stevethegreek]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

The only niggle interior-wise is when the dealer cleaned the interior he washed the seat belts and didn't leave them clipped in....so they stayed damp and have a small amount of mould on them. I may need some stronger cleaner to clean them properly.

That's reminded me, this is a job I need to do in the 6 as they have got a little grubby looking over time, being beige/tan. Any tips from fellow bargeists on best method and cleaner to use?

[SlowV6]

AutoZiele said:

Hi all, another longtime lurker, first time poster. My Golf GTD company car went back a few weeks ago so my 996 C4S has been the performing daily duties but as the winter sets in a nicely insulated barge would be a preferable conveyance. Those LS460s are very, very tempting , if a bit overkill and perfect for my 12 mile commute. Best get the measuring tape out for my car space anyway.

Welcome AutoZiele. You seem to have some kind of keyboard problem, which I have corrected for you.

Regarding sizes I believe we have the following dimensions (they are behemoths):

LS430 5.02m
LS460 5.06m
LS460 L 5.18m !!!

(Range Rover L322 is 4.98m)

Edited by SlowV6 on Monday 18th November 13:54

[Scootersp]

Krikkit said:

Scootersp said:

Krikkit said:

Normally I'm the biggest enthusiast for self fixery, but all the jobs on the N62 look like a right pain.

The VANOS is awful to service, there's the alternator bracket water seal, valley pipe, stem seals, sumps that need subframes removing etc. It sounds like a right bugger to work on, with various awkward jobs and special tools needed.

Anyway, cured a slight rich misfire on my M54 this weekend with new intake hoses and a fuel filter, hopefully the economy will improve from the mid 20s I've been getting.

I get you, they do look laborious for sure, it's quite tightly packed and seemingly mostly everything has to be removed to get to any gasket etc so not a friendly diy'er more for the advanced/keen/eccentric ones!?

Definitely for the highly enthusiastic - I'd say if I were committing to an N62-engined car for more than a few months I'd have to go engine-out to fix everything in one hit and get it tip-top.

Not 100% on the engine out, but I agree that it's certainly one of those setups where you closely consider "what else you can do, whilst in there doing something else" The alternator gasket/oil leak videos I saw (4 parts I thin!) the charismatic guy had a system of placing the parts removed in order down the side of the car and it was a llllooonnnnggg line by the time he reach the alternator bracket.

[bolidemichael]

stevethegreek said:

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

The only niggle interior-wise is when the dealer cleaned the interior he washed the seat belts and didn't leave them clipped in....so they stayed damp and have a small amount of mould on them. I may need some stronger cleaner to clean them properly.

That's reminded me, this is a job I need to do in the 6 as they have got a little grubby looking over time, being beige/tan. Any tips from fellow bargeists on best method and cleaner to use?

I cleaned mine in the summer using a bar of Savon de Marseille and prevented them from retracting with clothes pegs. It was very effective.

[Scootersp]

Big lexus/Toyota fan and the ISF's use the same engine in a higher state of tune I beleive and they are seemingly bombproof too.

Not much (recent anyway) love for the GS? Particularly the GS450H, top spec ones of these have the nice cooled seats and radar cruise etc so must make great barges too?

[Speed addicted]

SlowV6 said:

Welcome AutoZiele. You seem to have some kind of keyboard problem, which I have corrected for you.

Regarding sizes I believe we have the following dimensions (they are behemoths):

LS430 5.02m
LS460 5.06m
LS460 L 5.18m !!!

(Range Rover L322 is 4.98m)

The Nissan Navara (my current unit of measurement for things that don't fit in supermarket parking spaces) is 5.3m long and has 5 seats as well as a pickup bed on the back.
5m is bloody huge for a car! Makes me like them even more.

[AutoZiele]

SlowV6 said:

AutoZiele said:

Hi all, another longtime lurker, first time poster. My Golf GTD company car went back a few weeks ago so my 996 C4S has been the performing daily duties but as the winter sets in a nicely insulated barge would be a preferable conveyance. Those LS460s are very, very tempting , if a bit overkill and perfect for my 12 mile commute. Best get the measuring tape out for my car space anyway.

Welcome AutoZiele. You seem to have some kind of keyboard problem, which I have corrected for you.

Regarding sizes I believe we have the following dimensions (they are behemoths):

LS430 5.02m
LS460 5.06m
LS460 L 5.18m !!!

(Range Rover L322 is 4.98m)

Edited by SlowV6 on Monday 18th November 13:54

Thanks for the correction SlowV6, don't know what I was thinking
They are behemoths, not much wider than the 911 though, so that's something!

[CharlesdeGaulle]

SlowV6 said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

High mileage and a little scruffy, but cheap. Forget the forecourt, here's the money shot:

15 pages back (already!) CdeG nailed it with "High mileage and a little scruffy, but cheap."

Visited, inspected, drove and ultimately...no forecourt shot. Car was a little too scruffy inside and overall I think spend more/get more is the way to go.

BUT what a wonderful, wonderful machine an LS430 is and and worth at least 0.5 Willoughby's as an experience actually inspecting and driving one. Reaffirms my need for one in my life.

The LS430 is in danger of being overlooked as the ugly sister between the original 400 and our later infatuation with the 460; that would be a mistake. The 430 is every bit as worthy and generally cheaper. They are well-worth hunting out and I wish you well with the search.

[bolidemichael]

AutoZiele said:

SlowV6 said:

AutoZiele said:

Hi all, another longtime lurker, first time poster. My Golf GTD company car went back a few weeks ago so my 996 C4S has been the performing daily duties but as the winter sets in a nicely insulated barge would be a preferable conveyance. Those LS460s are very, very tempting , if a bit overkill and perfect for my 12 mile commute. Best get the measuring tape out for my car space anyway.

Welcome AutoZiele. You seem to have some kind of keyboard problem, which I have corrected for you.

Regarding sizes I believe we have the following dimensions (they are behemoths):

LS430 5.02m
LS460 5.06m
LS460 L 5.18m !!!

(Range Rover L322 is 4.98m)

Edited by SlowV6 on Monday 18th November 13:54

Thanks for the correction SlowV6, don't know what I was thinking
They are behemoths, not much wider than the 911 though, so that's something!

S211 2004–06 Wagon: 191.7 in (4,869 mm) according to Wikipedia

[SlowV6]

Speed addicted said:

SlowV6 said:

Welcome AutoZiele. You seem to have some kind of keyboard problem, which I have corrected for you.

Regarding sizes I believe we have the following dimensions (they are behemoths):

LS430 5.02m
LS460 5.06m
LS460 L 5.18m !!!

(Range Rover L322 is 4.98m)

The Nissan Navara (my current unit of measurement for things that don't fit in supermarket parking spaces) is 5.3m long and has 5 seats as well as a pickup bed on the back.
5m is bloody huge for a car! Makes me like them even more.

Yes but Navarra's hypotenuse length is less than 5.3m(hilarious ladder-chassis snapping joke)

[Etypephil]

ElectricSoup said:

Only 132k. It's still got 6 months MOT, I have had both rear airsprings and the torque converter replaced over the last 3 years, amongst other things I've deleted from memory. It's been a disastrous money pit, and I've decided it's not getting any more. Ditching it whilst it's still worth *something* (not much). I've not had the SBC go, but I bet it throws the red warning on the way to being traded in...I've loved driving it and and it's been very comfy on long holiday drives, but I just don't trust it. It st one of its airsprings in the middle of France and I had to drive it back with family, luggage and 4 bikes on board in that state. Turbo throwing limp modes and black death around the injectors. Good night, sweet Princess.

I don't think I'll ever have a Mercedes again. Fur coat, no knickers.

Ouch! That's no distance at all.
I have had mixed experience with them, but still get tempted from time to time.

Scootersp said:

Not 100% on the engine out, but I agree that it's certainly one of those setups where you closely consider "what else you can do, whilst in there doing something else" The alternator gasket/oil leak videos I saw (4 parts I thin!) the charismatic guy had a system of placing the parts removed in order down the side of the car and it was a llllooonnnnggg line by the time he reach the alternator bracket.

In June I "invested" hours replacing the radiator of my X358, everything else looked fine. By September, the bottom hose had failed, so the job was done properly; belts, idler / tensioner pulleys, hoses, clips, waterpump & thermostat. I'm old enough to have known better, and far too old to do jobs twice.

[SlowV6]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

SlowV6 said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

High mileage and a little scruffy, but cheap. Forget the forecourt, here's the money shot:

15 pages back (already!) CdeG nailed it with "High mileage and a little scruffy, but cheap."

Visited, inspected, drove and ultimately...no forecourt shot. Car was a little too scruffy inside and overall I think spend more/get more is the way to go.

BUT what a wonderful, wonderful machine an LS430 is and and worth at least 0.5 Willoughby's as an experience actually inspecting and driving one. Reaffirms my need for one in my life.

The LS430 is in danger of being overlooked as the ugly sister between the original 400 and our later infatuation with the 460; that would be a mistake. The 430 is every bit as worthy and generally cheaper. They are well-worth hunting out and I wish you well with the search.

Thank you. They are definitely my favourite LS4x0 and I will pull the trigger on a facelift.