Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 7]

[benwoodcock]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I've been thinking about this for a while as my inexperience and youth means barges will cost a fortune to insure. Any thoughts?

[brickwall]

cat220 said:

Number 2 looks to be missing a service and the radio switching itself off randomly can be an expensive fix. I had that on mine when I had it and it was about £800 to fix. All done under extended warranty. Other than that it does have a good spec.

Thanks. And also thanks Ross.

I'm probably going to have to buy something in the next couple of months. I was looking at X350 XJRs, but they're £6-7k, and with E65s at £4k I don't think the difference is worth it.

What kind of MPG do you get out of a 745i day-to-day? Low twenties are fine for me, mid-teens are not.

[E65Ross]

brickwall said:

cat220 said:

Number 2 looks to be missing a service and the radio switching itself off randomly can be an expensive fix. I had that on mine when I had it and it was about £800 to fix. All done under extended warranty. Other than that it does have a good spec.

Thanks. And also thanks Ross.

I'm probably going to have to buy something in the next couple of months. I was looking at X350 XJRs, but they're £6-7k, and with E65s at £4k I don't think the difference is worth it.

What kind of MPG do you get out of a 745i day-to-day? Low twenties are fine for me, mid-teens are not.

Over the last 3500-4k miles my obc is showing 23.1mpg IIRC. Will look later.

[SpeckledJim]

E65Ross said:

E65 prices do seem to have held up better than E38 prices, I swear. But maybe they'll drop considerably when the next 7 is out.

I think that might be because the E38 was still realistically fixable and runnable when it was worth £800.

I think the issues that will eventually kill E65s will be so expensive to fix, and so fundamental to basic operation, that cars otherwise worth £2-3k will soon be getting scrapped.

There will be two types of old E65 - nice ones that have eaten fortunes and are worth £4k, and broken ones worth £500, with very little in-between.

The key will be to avoid owning a car in column A when it attempts to leap across to column B. That will be a bad week.

[bmthnick1981]

E65Ross said:

I love a cream interior but they really need a black dash top and steering wheel, it's beige overload for me!

Completely agree, E65 interiors are very colour sensitive I think. I would probably prefer black leather.

E65Ross said:

Very cheap though, be a shame to think mine is maybe only worth 4k!

E65 prices do seem to have held up better than E38 prices, I swear. But maybe they'll drop considerably when the next 7 is out.

They do seem to be falling but decent ones wont go much below £4k I expect, we have seen a few on here around £2k - £3k but they have been hounds.

What surprises me is how few e38's are for sale now, sure on ebay there are still a few each time I look but no where near as many as there used to be. Sadly I think most are scrapped these days, the same for e32's, it is now a surprise to find a nice one at a reasonable price whereas 5 years ago there were plenty around. I think 9/10 people aren't interested in saving these cars, they just use them until they become 'uneconomical' to repair. My old 750 is a good example, it probably didn't justify £1000 spent on it in 2 months but doing it should help it be on the road for another few years.

[E65Ross]

Sadly, I think fuel tanks will be the death of most E38s. A crying shame because in spending the same as a set of decent rubber all round (for the 18" MParas, at least) you get a fully refurbished tank with lifetime warranty, fitted......E38s are great cars; as much as I love E32s I think E38s moved the game on for the 7 series probably more so than in any other generation. The E65 is definitely a step up, but not as big as from E32 to E38....not in things like refinement etc

[SilverSixer]

Is the atrocious condition of the alloy wheels on this enough to put you off viewing?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...

The rest of it looks OK, but if it's been kerbed that many times is it fair to assume the it's actually shot to pieces overall?

[E65Ross]

Just when I thought I might have a month without any car bills (last month I had the rest of the wheels refurbished)....I remembered my tax is due end of the month....sods

[slippery]

SpeckledJim said:

The key will be to avoid owning a car in column A when it attempts to leap across to column B. That will be a bad week.

I've been there on more than one occasion!

[PowerslideSWE]

E65Ross said:

Sadly, I think fuel tanks will be the death of most E38s. A crying shame because in spending the same as a set of decent rubber all round (for the 18" MParas, at least) you get a fully refurbished tank with lifetime warranty, fitted......E38s are great cars; as much as I love E32s I think E38s moved the game on for the 7 series probably more so than in any other generation. The E65 is definitely a step up, but not as big as from E32 to E38....not in things like refinement etc

I think you are right, luckily the tank in my 750 doesn't leak, and hopefully it will not start to do so either, had the mind set on not driving the car inte the winter months with all the salt and grime on the roads. If one has a small bork budget I don't think you can find a more comfy, fast and good looking big sedan than the e38, I'll keep mine forever or until till the gearbox, sls suspension or something other teminal breaks only to replace it with another one, preferably a newer one 00-01 750. Don't mind the mpg tbh, have my trusty V70 on the (very short)commute to work anyway

[Chicane-UK]

E65Ross said:

Sadly, I think fuel tanks will be the death of most E38s. A crying shame because in spending the same as a set of decent rubber all round (for the 18" MParas, at least) you get a fully refurbished tank with lifetime warranty, fitted......

You got any more information on that? (in terms of the actual price, where you get them from, etc?)

[E65Ross]

PowerslideSWE said:

E65Ross said:

Sadly, I think fuel tanks will be the death of most E38s. A crying shame because in spending the same as a set of decent rubber all round (for the 18" MParas, at least) you get a fully refurbished tank with lifetime warranty, fitted......E38s are great cars; as much as I love E32s I think E38s moved the game on for the 7 series probably more so than in any other generation. The E65 is definitely a step up, but not as big as from E32 to E38....not in things like refinement etc

I think you are right, luckily the tank in my 750 doesn't leak, and hopefully it will not start to do so either, had the mind set on not driving the car inte the winter months with all the salt and grime on the roads. If one has a small bork budget I don't think you can find a more comfy, fast and good looking big sedan than the e38, I'll keep mine forever or until till the gearbox, sls suspension or something other teminal breaks only to replace it with another one, preferably a newer one 00-01 750. Don't mind the mpg tbh, have my trusty V70 on the (very short)commute to work anyway

The fuel tank WILL go at some point; and not driving it through the winter won't necessarily help. They often rust from the inside out. Shame these cars get scrapped for an impending £1-2k bill. Spend a few grand on them and they'll give many more years of service. Next job on mine will be tyres, which won't be especially cheap.

[Notadoctor]

E65Ross said:

Next job on mine will be tyres, which won't be especially cheap.

I've a newish set of winter tyres from my old E38 gathering dust ... used for 4 months pottering and a trip to Switzerland ... would happily accept an offer and can ship through work.

Nankang Snow SV-2 235/60 R16 104H XL

http://www.clickontyres.co.uk/winter-tyres/product...

[E65Ross]

Notadoctor said:

E65Ross said:

Next job on mine will be tyres, which won't be especially cheap.

I've a newish set of winter tyres from my old E38 gathering dust ... used for 4 months pottering and a trip to Switzerland ... would happily accept an offer and can ship through work.

Nankang Snow SV-2 235/60 R16 104H XL

http://www.clickontyres.co.uk/winter-tyres/product...

Thanks for the offer but I've got 19" wheels on the E65.

Cheers

[TEKNOPUG]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2014...



Driver's seat look a bit worn for the claimed mileage and no mention of MoT/Tax.

But could still be a bargain for someone. Would have thought this was worth more in parts....

[hornetrider]

Good find. Excellent price if it all checks out.

[PowerslideSWE]

E65Ross said:

The fuel tank WILL go at some point; and not driving it through the winter won't necessarily help. They often rust from the inside out. Shame these cars get scrapped for an impending £1-2k bill. Spend a few grand on them and they'll give many more years of service. Next job on mine will be tyres, which won't be especially cheap.

I've heard the same, and should the tank start leaking I'll probably will fix it anyway, love the car. Next job on mine is tyres aswell, and 235/255 in 18" with balloon sidewalls is not cheap

[idiotgap]

0a said:

hornetrider said:

mccrackenj said:

As we haven't had a W124 for ages, i.e. a couple of pages, what about a lovely 300TE-24:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C527764

Totes.

Absolutely love it. Crikey that's tempting.

I'm sad enough that I already saw that and also thought "phooor" but then "how much for a car with no leather!"

It may have had lots of work done but the list of suspension parts changed isn't very long either.

I wish I needed another S124, this will will be spectacular. I think the previous owner - (not current vendor) is a multiple MB club concours winner and now judges. To give you an idea the standards he works to - here's his 107
http://s1100.photobucket.com/user/Alpinegt/story/2...

[benwoodcock]

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I've been thinking about this for a while as my inexperience and youth means barges will cost a fortune to insure. Any thoughts?

[bmthnick1981]

Chicane-UK said:

E65Ross said:

Sadly, I think fuel tanks will be the death of most E38s. A crying shame because in spending the same as a set of decent rubber all round (for the 18" MParas, at least) you get a fully refurbished tank with lifetime warranty, fitted......

You got any more information on that? (in terms of the actual price, where you get them from, etc?)

http://www.fuel-tank-renu.co.uk/pages/tanks.html