Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 13]

[Dum Dum]

Bubbs999 said:

JF87 said:

I ran a Mondeo Ghia X estate for ages. Steered our family competently through the vomity, Coke-hosing years of infancy. Unbelievably heavy on juice though for a two-litre (albeit an auto). Don't think we ever topped 25mpg on a run.

Haven't been on a long run yet, but the trip comps showing 27mpg. Havind said that, she is the size if Royal Navy aircraft carrier (first time I've ever been to the local tip and had boot space to spare aplenty).

The abhorent citroen I just had did 55mpg+ on a run, but after just 600 miles in it, the things scrap (new engine needed)
£900 lost there, which in retrospect buys a lot of petrol

The Mondeo is just so comfortable and smooth to drive. She really is 'me' which is all I can ask. I'm releived to have a decent motor once more

The Mondeo is one of those cars that simply has the "wrong" badge in my opinion.
If it carried a German badge it would have been lauded and sold by the boatload.
Alas it would also have had skinny tyres, rock hard suspension and cost a lot more.
Excellent cars. Hugely capable (aside of the rubbish diesels), very comfortable and generally reliable if maintained properly.
Superb choice Bubbs

[Slow]

Motorrad said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

I suspect your Mondeo purchase might split the crowd. Decent enough cars, but a manual Ford (I imagine at a shed price) won't feel barge-y to all.

I'm on the 'yay' not 'nay' side.

It's petrol, capacious and made to waft it's company user not chooser up and down the country in comfort. I was looking for one myself but ended up in a E61. I think I'd prefer the Mondeo.

Being a e61 owner just now myself, I struggle to see how a Mondeo would be better? Surely a Mondeo is more like a 3 series.

[tobinen]

Lowtimer said:

Bubbs999 said:

Me too.

Never owned one though - I had the previous incarnation (Vauxhall Carlton) - was just 4 armchairs on wheels - great car.
Guy I used to work with had the 24v Senator (now there was a motor car)
All gone now Are there any rust free exmaples left ?

Mostly gone, I haven't seen a good one on the roads for years.
But I did see an absolutely immaculate Monza GSE a couple of months ago.

Dad had a Monza GSE followed by a Carlton GSi 12v. Great cars IMO. The Senator was also a very good car. I think GM made a mistake badging them as Vauxhall and should have played on the German element by keeping them Opels (as they were to begin with).

Vauxhall Royale or Opel Monza? Vauxhall Carton or Opel Omega? I know which I think sounds cooler.

[Dr Interceptor]

Shed barge, under thread budget... Just cropped up on my facebook feed.

S-Type Jag V6 Manual with velour, fresh ticket and a reported recent service for under a grand.

Https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/18275161...

[StonedRollin]

figtree said:

Lexus please

I'll get the bad out the way first........

Front of the car could do with a respray as the leading edge of the bonnet has a rust bubble and bizarrely a previous owner has polished through a small part of the paint at the top of the bonnet. Gawd knows what they were trying to remove and how they were trying to do it! Both bumpers could do with a respray too. Front got scratched when i left the car at Peterborough station and some idiot dinged it but it also has some stone chips. Wheels could do with a refurb.

I picked it up in November 2016 a little over top thread with 44k on it and used it for my weekly commute between Northamptonshire and Scotland and (touch wood) it hasn't missed a beat. Thankfully I'm done with that commute now. All i've had to do to the car since i got it is service it (it's in for its 90k service today) and put tyres on it - Goodyear F1s all round.

As far as spec goes it is the SE model so the lower of the two so doesn't have the rear camera or sunroof. It does have heated and ventilated seats - light grey leather is not torn. It all works as expected (reaches to touch more wood). It is no garage queen but it is looked after, not abused and kept clean. I have receipts and invoices for the services it has had done since i've had it, there are some receipts and invoices from previous owner services but prior to that it is just stamps in the book.

Cheapest equivalent on AutoTrader is nearer £3k but from a dealer but i'd be happy to move along for a trade in value (~£2k) when the time comes if someone wanted it otherwise it will be traded in or go to WBAC.

[RicksAlfas]

tobinen said:

Dad had a Monza GSE followed by a Carlton GSi 12v. Great cars IMO. The Senator was also a very good car. I think GM made a mistake badging them as Vauxhall and should have played on the German element by keeping them Opels (as they were to begin with).

Vauxhall Royale or Opel Monza? Vauxhall Carton or Opel Omega? I know which I think sounds cooler.

Very true. I remember when the Opel range was sold in this country as a marque in it's own right. Kadetts, Asconas, Mantas etc.
Always seemed more upmarket than the equivalent Vauxhall.

[SpeckledJim]

Dr Interceptor said:

Shed barge, under thread budget... Just cropped up on my facebook feed.

S-Type Jag V6 Manual with velour, fresh ticket and a reported recent service for under a grand.

Https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/18275161...

All I can see when I look at these now is a donor engine for a Rocketeer MX-5.

[Sterillium]

Huge levels of want.



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-1993-VAUXHALL-SENA...f:0

[Motorrad]

Slow said:

Being a e61 owner just now myself, I struggle to see how a Mondeo would be better? Surely a Mondeo is more like a 3 series.

A Mondeo of this vintage is more capacious in every way than an E61. The boot on the Mondeo estate is massive and cabin space better by dint of being FWD. Most likely less bork prone as well if you buy a manual petrol.

I think at the price I paid for my E61 (very much sub 1K) then a Mondeo is likely to be the better bet. Let's hope I'm wrong eh?

edit to add: where the BMW scores for me is toys, more powerful engines, nicer interior etc. However at near to scrap prices the slightest mission critical failure is likely to see my car off to the scrap yard.

Edited by Motorrad on Friday 19th October 17:23

[CharlesdeGaulle]

tobinen said:

Vauxhall Royale or Opel Monza? Vauxhall Carton or Opel Omega? I know which I think sounds cooler.

I am with you my bargeing friend; nowt cooler than a Royale, even before it became a burger.

Oh, is that not what you meant?

But I agree that the idea now of mainstream and dull (British-feeling) manufacturers knocking-out a luxury car (Granada/Carlton, anyone?) seems laughable and yet BMW and latterly MB managed the marketing trick to achieve the combo of dull boring st and apparently up-market prestige st too.

[J4CKO]

CampDavid said:

JF87 said:

This is the cheapest C216 on Autotrader (£6,500 with a bubbly arch - - and a big crack in the rear screen).



Don't mind the colour and love all the toys... but it looks like a fat CLK with an underbite.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

That's been for sale for a very, very long time...

Thats cos its three grands worth, four at a push and priced at £6500, its leggy, rusty, has a broken window, the sttiest alloys and a colous choice seemingly nicked from the 2002 Citroen Piccasso Brochure,

[CharlesdeGaulle]

bob-lad said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

We Lex-lovers have said this before - the rest of you probably zoned-out - but this observation is true. The Lexus in all its incarnations is a car that you won't necessarily be excited by, but it does seem to be one that you come to respect and enjoy over time.

Just today, I felt a slight frisson of joy at my belated appreciation of the door handles of my LS. Using the handles just feels right; nicely weighted and nicely engineered. I realise that probably marks me out as a door handle perve (although I feel beyond judgement in this crowd) but it's the unobtrusive and ordinarily un-noticeable things that makes one eventually notice how competent the bloody thing is. So for those of you that appreciate a car door handle, buy a Lexus and keep your embarrassing erections to yourself.

I've trying all day, and I just can't imagine either of you in dungarees.

I'm relieved the focus of your imagination was clothing and not a handle-fetish!

[Bennyjames28]

I need a Lexus in my life. My shed has converted me to cheap Toyota's, surely the next step is a Lexus barge or even something slightly sporty like a is250 which I believe is based on the same platform as my avensis.

BMw and fords will always be my top car choices but Toyota, lexus and honda are up there.

[figtree]

StonedRollin said:

figtree said:

Lexus please

I'll get the bad out the way first........

Front of the car could do with a respray as the leading edge of the bonnet has a rust bubble and bizarrely a previous owner has polished through a small part of the paint at the top of the bonnet. Gawd knows what they were trying to remove and how they were trying to do it! Both bumpers could do with a respray too. Front got scratched when i left the car at Peterborough station and some idiot dinged it but it also has some stone chips. Wheels could do with a refurb.

I picked it up in November 2016 a little over top thread with 44k on it and used it for my weekly commute between Northamptonshire and Scotland and (touch wood) it hasn't missed a beat. Thankfully I'm done with that commute now. All i've had to do to the car since i got it is service it (it's in for its 90k service today) and put tyres on it - Goodyear F1s all round.

As far as spec goes it is the SE model so the lower of the two so doesn't have the rear camera or sunroof. It does have heated and ventilated seats - light grey leather is not torn. It all works as expected (reaches to touch more wood). It is no garage queen but it is looked after, not abused and kept clean. I have receipts and invoices for the services it has had done since i've had it, there are some receipts and invoices from previous owner services but prior to that it is just stamps in the book.

Cheapest equivalent on AutoTrader is nearer £3k but from a dealer but i'd be happy to move along for a trade in value (~£2k) when the time comes if someone wanted it otherwise it will be traded in or go to WBAC.

Have pm'd you

[Easternlight]

I got very close to buying a ex plod Senator back in the day, I asked the garage to put it on a ramp so I could have a good look uderneath, after a couple of minutes under it I had to come out to check I wasn't under a bus by mistake!
Every thing was huge, I think the ARB's were about 30mm diameter.
Didn't buy I the interior had more holes than a swiss cheese.

[83HP]

Is anybody here interested in a mechanically and structuraly sound but cosmetically tatty 1989 190 2.6 Auto my father is trying to sell?


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-W201-190E...f:0

will be taking better pictures some time soon

[CharlesdeGaulle]

83HP said:

Is anybody here interested in a mechanically and structuraly sound but cosmetically tatty 1989 190 2.6 Auto my father is trying to sell?


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-W201-190E...f:0

will be taking better pictures some time soon

Honestly... ?

The advert is a shocker, full of typos and grammatical errors. The car looks, well, project-ish but isn't pitched at a project price. I wish you luck with the sale of what could be a decent car, but on first glance I fear you'll deter more than you'll attract.

A bit of effort with the ad will make it much more appealing and sell-able.

[83HP]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Honestly... ?

The advert is a shocker, full of typos and grammatical errors. The car looks, well, project-ish but isn't pitched at a project price. I wish you luck with the sale of what could be a decent car, but on first glance I fear you'll deter more than you'll attract.

A bit of effort with the ad will make it much more appealing and sell-able.

Yeah, i was thinking along those lines too.. we are getting nothing but joke offers

thanks

[0a]

83HP said:

Yeah, i was thinking along those lines too.. we are getting nothing but joke offers

thanks

Too much text. Perhaps organise it into good points and areas that need attention. Number or bullet them.

[0a]

Sub 50k mile e32 750: https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1046724



70k mile 4.0 litre for £2k. I like the interior colours. https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1025786





I just love these! https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1017482