Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 12]

[mattman]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

mattman said:

2001 E320 CDI Estate - Surely rare if its as rot free as the pics suggest - seems like a large premium added for 1 owner by the seller - but what is going on with the steering wheel?

The link doesn't work for me, but what were MB thinking when they signed-off that interior colour combo. It has no redeeming features at all. There are a handful of variations of prosthetic beige in sight - yuk.

sorry, probably broke the link adding the photo - take 2

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

[SimonTheSailor]

What would you have to do to that to get it registered in the UK ? (I.e. how much cash would it cost ?

........referring to the green Volvo on the previous page.

Edited by SimonTheSailor on Wednesday 17th January 17:03

[r129sl]

mattman said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

mattman said:

2001 E320 CDI Estate - Surely rare if its as rot free as the pics suggest - seems like a large premium added for 1 owner by the seller - but what is going on with the steering wheel?

The link doesn't work for me, but what were MB thinking when they signed-off that interior colour combo. It has no redeeming features at all. There are a handful of variations of prosthetic beige in sight - yuk.

sorry, probably broke the link adding the photo - take 2

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

I don't disagree, but I also don't think that steering wheel is the one the car left the factory with.

[SpeckledJim]

r129sl said:

I don't disagree, but I also don't think that steering wheel is the one the car left the factory with.

It's a bitsa of two different wheels, isn't it?

Or a DIY leather-dying job that should have remained a brain-fart?

[SimonTheSailor]

Would this be VFM ? A few things on the MOT to fiddle with but not a lot of mileage.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-sl500/122...

Edited by SimonTheSailor on Wednesday 17th January 17:17

[mattman]

without knowing anything about them, that looks lovely

Is the R129 generally a better bet than an early R230 of 350 or 500 flavours?

the 350 can be had for close on thread budget and doesn't come with the ABC of the 500 that seems to cause huge expense

[Krikkit]

SimonTheSailor said:

What would you have to do to that to get it registered in the UK ? (I.e. how much cash would it cost ?

........referring to the green Volvo on the previous page.

This thread would imply not that much: https://www.boards.ie/b/thread/2056354186

Biggest difficulty would be the insurance I suspect, but even then I'm sure there's some experience among the big firms.

[Max M4X WW]

dscam said:

Thanks for positive vibes about tyre choice gents. Am hoping they will wear well as the Volvo is notoriously heavy on the fronts.

My recently purchased E39 on Style 66 Sport wheels seems to have some odd tyre sizes with little choice if I want a matching set front and rear.

Currently wearing Conti Sport Contact 3 which are known to be noisy I think (235/45/17 and 255/40/17) and I'm not sure what to buy when they need replacing.

[r129sl]

SpeckledJim said:

namealreadytaken said:

Sadly it's been sat for the past 3 months due to new baby and the missus wouldn't let me use a non isofix seat with our child, but I hope to use it more in the spring once I convince her it is safe.

Remind her that those seatbelts are strong enough for fat German captains of industry.

I'd stand corrected, but I think a correctly fitted belted child seat is every bit as safe as ISOFIX, it just isn't as convenient.

If she doesn't like a Mercedes, she'll have a fit when she sees a bus or a train.

ISOFIX is no safer than correctly used seatbelts, it's just easier to use correctly.

Anyway, if she is in any doubt about the safety of your car, play her this film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VojePSOrnYw

[PowerslideSWE]

Milemuncher said:

I had a Harman Kardon Logic 7 system in my E60.

To this day, it is the best sound I've had in any of my cars. I still remember the first time I put a cd in it. I couldn't believe how good it was!

I'm sure there are bettter systems available, but I haven't had one yet.

A friend of mine has the High-end system in his E60 535d and it is fantastic. The best "standard" stereo I've heard by some margin.

[Yacht Broker]

SimonTheSailor said:

Would this be VFM ? A few things on the MOT to fiddle with but not a lot of mileage.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Benz-sl500/122...

Edited by SimonTheSailor on Wednesday 17th January 17:17

i bought a 1997 R129 280SL last summer as a bit of a drunken bet... it was the cheapest on Autotrader at the time and about 15 miles from me. Nice enough car, but watch for rot in the wings, around the rear plate, leaking hydraulic seals around the roof catches (which can be rebuilt cheaply with a kit bought from Germany) and various issues with the C/L system and battery. The 500 should be a hoot and these cars are still seriously undervalued.

If you can find a nice lowish mileage early 500 and can afford to keep the miles low and get it in good shape, i would be amazed if you ever lost a cent on it, if not, make a profit on it.

[SimonTheSailor]

Krikkit said:

SimonTheSailor said:

What would you have to do to that to get it registered in the UK ? (I.e. how much cash would it cost ?

........referring to the green Volvo on the previous page.

This thread would imply not that much: https://www.boards.ie/b/thread/2056354186

Biggest difficulty would be the insurance I suspect, but even then I'm sure there's some experience among the big firms.

It does sound fairly straight forward if you have youf paperwork in order. The only other thing is that that Volvo has German plates on it, so maybe not quite as simple as a UK car that got exported to Ireland and coming back ?

Maybe thats the reason the guy has had no viewings ? Shame really, probably a very nice car.

[SimonTheSailor]

Have we had this before ? I'm sure i've seen it before but it disappeared and this new ad said hes been mucked around so probably the same car.

Very, very brave pills anyone ?!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-CL600-V12-AMG-...

Edited by SimonTheSailor on Wednesday 17th January 19:17

[SimonTheSailor]

Ok, i'm liking these Mercedes coupes now !

This seems amazingly cheap (i know, i know), but low mileage, good interior, no signs of rust, he said hes photod the worst of the bodywork which is a couple of dents, ok service history up to 2008 so don't know whats happened since then. Looks like he been replaceing stuff on the suspension even though nothing mentioned on the MOT. Whats wrong with it ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Cl500/23263203...

[Krikkit]

That V12 does look rather nice, although being an early car it's only 370hp. Not sure I'd want the running costs without the warp factor.

SimonTheSailor said:

Krikkit said:

SimonTheSailor said:

What would you have to do to that to get it registered in the UK ? (I.e. how much cash would it cost ?

........referring to the green Volvo on the previous page.

This thread would imply not that much: https://www.boards.ie/b/thread/2056354186

Biggest difficulty would be the insurance I suspect, but even then I'm sure there's some experience among the big firms.

It does sound fairly straight forward if you have youf paperwork in order. The only other thing is that that Volvo has German plates on it, so maybe not quite as simple as a UK car that got exported to Ireland and coming back ?

Maybe thats the reason the guy has had no viewings ? Shame really, probably a very nice car.

Yeah, that does make it sound a bit trickier. I think the same process applies though- ownership doc, insure, MOT and hurrah.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

SimonTheSailor said:

Ok, i'm liking these Mercedes coupes now !


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-Cl500/23263203...

There is some thread experience of these. I think BigBen is a ninja; if you're seriously interested in them, PM him.

[sparks_E39]

namealreadytaken said:

Its about a year since I got the 1988 W126 barge so I thought id post a summary.





I covered 2901 miles in that time, mostly motorway miles into London from the north. I haven't kept a record of overall mpg but it is normally around 22 to 24.

I upgraded the stereo adding new wiring, Bluetooth HU, DAB etc and 4 new speakers, a small under seat sub-woofer and sound deadening, it sounds acceptable now.
It's been a lovely place to eat up the miles. The seats are comfortable and don't give me lumbar pain like our other cars.

it's been very reliable, the only non service parts have been a new radiator as the original sprung a pin pick and whilst I was there changed the gearbox cooler Hoses. I haven't yet had to call upon my breakdown cover (touch wood)

I serviced it with new oil/filter, air filter, plugs etc. Parts were cheap and easy to obtain and the car is very easy to work on.

Sadly it's been sat for the past 3 months due to new baby and the missus wouldn't let me use a non isofix seat with our child, but I hope to use it more in the spring once I convince her it is safe.

It just failed the MOT on the exhaust back box having a large hole but I am happy as it had no other faults or recommendations and I pre-empted the exhaust failure, so I have a new full stainless exhaust to fit and also some new steering parts to freshen the handling up.

Edited by namealreadytaken on Wednesday 17th January 13:48

Is it possible to get a good one of these for £3-£4K?

[golfer19]

sparks_E39 said:

namealreadytaken said:

Its about a year since I got the 1988 W126 barge so I thought id post a summary.





I covered 2901 miles in that time, mostly motorway miles into London from the north. I haven't kept a record of overall mpg but it is normally around 22 to 24.

I upgraded the stereo adding new wiring, Bluetooth HU, DAB etc and 4 new speakers, a small under seat sub-woofer and sound deadening, it sounds acceptable now.
It's been a lovely place to eat up the miles. The seats are comfortable and don't give me lumbar pain like our other cars.

it's been very reliable, the only non service parts have been a new radiator as the original sprung a pin pick and whilst I was there changed the gearbox cooler Hoses. I haven't yet had to call upon my breakdown cover (touch wood)

I serviced it with new oil/filter, air filter, plugs etc. Parts were cheap and easy to obtain and the car is very easy to work on.

Sadly it's been sat for the past 3 months due to new baby and the missus wouldn't let me use a non isofix seat with our child, but I hope to use it more in the spring once I convince her it is safe.

It just failed the MOT on the exhaust back box having a large hole but I am happy as it had no other faults or recommendations and I pre-empted the exhaust failure, so I have a new full stainless exhaust to fit and also some new steering parts to freshen the handling up.

Edited by namealreadytaken on Wednesday 17th January 13:48

Is it possible to get a good one of these for £3-£4K?

We sold our 500se last year for £4K
1991 with full history.
Still looking for something to replace it with.

[r129sl]

golfer19 said:

sparks_E39 said:

namealreadytaken said:

Its about a year since I got the 1988 W126 barge so I thought id post a summary.





I covered 2901 miles in that time, mostly motorway miles into London from the north. I haven't kept a record of overall mpg but it is normally around 22 to 24.

I upgraded the stereo adding new wiring, Bluetooth HU, DAB etc and 4 new speakers, a small under seat sub-woofer and sound deadening, it sounds acceptable now.
It's been a lovely place to eat up the miles. The seats are comfortable and don't give me lumbar pain like our other cars.

it's been very reliable, the only non service parts have been a new radiator as the original sprung a pin pick and whilst I was there changed the gearbox cooler Hoses. I haven't yet had to call upon my breakdown cover (touch wood)

I serviced it with new oil/filter, air filter, plugs etc. Parts were cheap and easy to obtain and the car is very easy to work on.

Sadly it's been sat for the past 3 months due to new baby and the missus wouldn't let me use a non isofix seat with our child, but I hope to use it more in the spring once I convince her it is safe.

It just failed the MOT on the exhaust back box having a large hole but I am happy as it had no other faults or recommendations and I pre-empted the exhaust failure, so I have a new full stainless exhaust to fit and also some new steering parts to freshen the handling up.

Edited by namealreadytaken on Wednesday 17th January 13:48

Is it possible to get a good one of these for £3-£4K?

We sold our 500se last year for £4K
1991 with full history.
Still looking for something to replace it with.

The most ttful seller on eBay is listing this at £2k: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232633912194?ul_noapp=t...

[Krikkit]

Looks superficially OK, the ad tells you absolutely sod-all despite all the waffle!

MOT history suggests it was laid up from 2009-2017, careful poke underneath and that actually seems quite a good buy.