Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 18]

[Macron]

W00DY said:

Prinny said:

As far as Insurance goes, I just had my auto-renewal reminder today - so this is before shopping around:



That’s with a (bad) OL postcode on the M62 corridor, 10k business miles (SDP+C as well), all mods (SL wheels declared).

M6 on a separate policy, £500 for that with same level of cover.

20 years ago (eek!) I paid £950 for a Supra - a then fast car with it’s 230hp - 3mph faster flat out if you dropped the pop-up headlights down, which made v-max runs at night somewhat gripping, to say the least.

Great plate on the 760!

B4RGE used to be on a.......




Qashqai.

Retention now it seems. Probably for the best.

[d_a_n1979]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

mondayo said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

I've gone for blue with brown too. Not the most avant-garde combo but, as you say, about as good as it gets (unless you're into the M category, but I'm focused on comfort).

Here's a bit of blue and brown(ish). I don't remember seeing it on here before.

Lovely colours and a 540i. Possibly one for someone in Scotland, to make the most of the promised free delivery....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224431188336

It's just in budget (I'm not commenting on prices anymore). If it was a touring, I'd be getting very interested.

That aluminium-lookalike trim REALLY doesn't suit the cream/beige interior!

Nope; deffo not

Vavona looks much better IMO

Exactly what I did with my E39 530i that had the sand beige interior; alu to vavona:

[bolidemichael]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

mondayo said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Dapster said:

Designo certainly allowed you to royally tt up your Mercedes if you wanted to!

I'd have given a kidney for choices available like that during my recent research. When did consumers become so fking dull?

Last time I ordered a new BMW, interior colours were brown or black....and they really didn't want you to buy brown.
Exterior colours were silver, black or white...and variations thereof.

I went Carbon black (looks black but has a dark blue undertone) with brown seats. Which was about exciting as you could get.

I now own a silver and black Mercedes.... oh and a burgundy one, but that's as much rust as bodywork these days (because S210).

I've gone for blue with brown too. Not the most avant-garde combo but, as you say, about as good as it gets (unless you're into the M category, but I'm focused on comfort).

I've seen a W210 with the X02 (ultramarine inserts) W03 (blue magic eye wood) combo and it is one of my favourites.

[d_a_n1979]

paulguitar said:

d_a_n1979 said:

mondayo said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

I've gone for blue with brown too. Not the most avant-garde combo but, as you say, about as good as it gets (unless you're into the M category, but I'm focused on comfort).

Here's a bit of blue and brown(ish). I don't remember seeing it on here before.

Lovely colours and a 540i. Possibly one for someone in Scotland, to make the most of the promised free delivery....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224431188336

It's just in budget (I'm not commenting on prices anymore). If it was a touring, I'd be getting very interested.

How can anyone list a car for sale in that condition?

Looks filthy & unloved

You'd want to go over that with very open eyes; looks like it needs a fair bit of TLC to bring it up to a clean standard

Agreed, the bonnet badge is in shocking shape, something that is quick and cheap to rectify, so why has it not been done before sale? That suggests scrimping elsewhere. The carpet and interior is absolutely filthy, the seller has not even hoovered the footwells. This is for sale by a 'dealer', what the hell is going on!?

Yup; not a well looked after E39 IMO

All the alloys need redoing (thats if they can be redone via diamond cut); otherwise they'll need a full strip and powder coat, so £350-£600 easy

Interior carpet needs a thorough clean, if you can get it clean (it's a sod to keep clean & remove stains from. I stripped the whole seats out of my previous Sapphire Black E39 that had the sand beige interior, took me a day to properly clean the carpets, more so the drivers footwell)

Paintwork deffo looks like it needs a lot of TLC; badges need replacing...

All in it's nearly £5k and I personally wouldn't pay any more than £3-£3.5k for it

[jon_273]

MercedesClassic said:

W00DY said:

jon_273 said:

That looks rather well looked after! It's missing some of the nicer options (18 way seats, sensitive leather, sunroof, 12/12 sound system etc). but the condition probably makes up for that.

I finally bought a Phaeton myself recently. It's my first barge and I have to say that this thread has been an inspiration! But as I bought it in Switzerland it was quite a bit more than thread top, so not sure if it counts as a purchase.

I'm definitely interested to hear your thoughts on Phaeton ownership. Pics/details?

I'd be curious to know what the selling points of that would be over the equivalent Audi A8? The A8 I presume has the same engine, Quattro rather than the VW 4WD system and aluminium rather than steel for the VW. However I'm not sure if I'm right in those assumptions.
Also Audi more plentiful for parts and in my eyes better looking, more prestigious and usually cheaper.

The Phaeton is a quirky car and all but........

The Phaeton to me is a much more interesting car than the A8, especially with the back story of Ferdinand Piech and the transparent factory in Dresden. I visited the factory a few years ago and the the attention to detail is off the scale - the floors are canadian maple rather than concrete because it's more comfortable to walk on, and the car was built by hand by technicians wearing white coats with not an oil stain in sight! This attention to detail kind of sums up the car really. The engine and 4wd system are shared with the A8 but apart from that they are quite different - the platform is shared with the Bentley Continental and Flying Spur, and in fact they were building Flying Spurs in Dresden alongside the Phaeton when I visited.

I have been looking for a Phaeton on and off for quite a few years, wanting a five seater SWB with as many options as possible, and ideally a 5.0 V10 TDI. But they stopped making the V10 in around 2006 so they are all getting on a bit now, plus most of them are miles away in Germany, and nobody likes to travel miles to see a car that's rather disappointing in the metal. I happened to see a 2010 "GP3" facelift car, something which I had never really considered as the earlier cars are more true to the original Phaeton concept (for example the earlier cars have no external antennas in order to minimise drag, and have the double seatbelt inertia reel/pretensioner setup). It was only 20 minutes away so I had nothing to lose, and when I got there it turned out to have more options than advertised with, result!

So here it is, a 2010 GP3 facelift, 3.0 V6 TDI (240PS/500Nm), short wheel base, 5 seater. 18 way adjustable heated/cooled massage seats, Sensitive leather (softer and with no visible grain compared to Vienna leather), extended wood package, wooden steering wheel, rear climate control panel, remote preheating, solar sunroof, Dynaudio sound system, factory 19" wheels, soft close doors and the famous electric boot lid with it's fancy hignes. Really the only thing it's missing is the leather dash and massage rear seats. Now of course yes a petrol one would be better and about ten people have already asked me "is it a W12?" Well, no it isn't, and my budget doesn't stretch to filling up a W12 at the moment. The V6 TDI suits the car really. The 4.2 V8 petrol would be ideal but they are hard to find in SWB, plus with the 90L tank the diesel should potentially give a range of 700 miles.

The good news is it's a lovely thing to drive around in. All Phaeton's have air suspension with continually adjustable damping, so even with the 19's in sport+ mode it's more comfy than a mk7 Golf GTI with DCC in comfort (my daily), and it's nowhere near as wallowy in the corners as I was expecting. A previous A6 C5 Avant 1.8T was much much worse.

The bad news is I've hardly driven it because its been in a garage getting the air con regassed and then a cracked exhaust manifold pipe replaced! Hopefully it will behave itself because I live just outside Geneva and would like to drive back to the UK in it as soon as possible.

It gets a surprising amount of attention - to be honest I thought nobody would take any interest in it but they do! My colleagues even put flags on it as a joke because they think it's some kind of VIP limousine:


Yes that is an actual working phone! There is a holder for it in the armrest.




Forecourt pic (on the second fillup though so it's kind of cheating... 139CHF to fill it up!)


Apologies about the essay - I could go on all day.

[ferrisbueller]

I like the Phaeton and what it stood for.

[Krikkit]

Lovely car and top Phaeton bearding. More detail about the Phaeton is always welcome, like you I'm a massive fan of one of Piech's follys and would absolutely have one over an A8.

[B'stard Child]

jon_273 said:

It gets a surprising amount of attention - to be honest I thought nobody would take any interest in it but they do! My colleagues even put flags on it as a joke because they think it's some kind of VIP limousine:


Apologies about the essay - I could go on all day.

Don't apologise - I'd love to follow a readers cars thread on living with one of these - Superb

[mattman]

Sister-in-laws E class which i sold on Monday is back up for sale already with a healthy margin - doesn't look like he's done much other than possibly a set of tyres
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1330748

[CharlesdeGaulle]

mattman said:

Sister-in-laws E class which i sold on Monday is back up for sale already with a healthy margin - doesn't look like he's done much other than possibly a set of tyres
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1330748

In fairness to the chap, boats trump gravel.

[B'stard Child]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

mattman said:

Sister-in-laws E class which i sold on Monday is back up for sale already with a healthy margin - doesn't look like he's done much other than possibly a set of tyres
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1330748

In fairness to the chap, boats trump gravel.

lol

£4500 if you got asking https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1329992

to £5995

Probably good part worns and a can of glop

[Geekman]

That Phaeton is lovely and should be the perfect car for your trip.

[mattman]

B'stard Child said:

lol

£4500 if you got asking https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1329992

to £5995

Probably good part worns and a can of glop

Didn't get asking - took £3,750 for it as WBAC had offered them £2,400 and they were more comfortable with a trade sale as there "should" be no comeback

and yes, i don't have a boat i can casually include in the background of my photos

[Macron]

B'stard Child said:

Don't apologise - I'd love to follow a readers cars thread on living with one of these - Superb

Oh yes, great write up too.

I risk assuming they didn't get Euro6 compliant tractor engines, anyone know?

[Gruber]

d_a_n1979 said:

B'stard Child said:

Gruber said:

cmvtec said:

W00DY said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bmw-E32-730i/4028017960...

That's lovely. I am hugely fond of the E32. My missus cannot fathom why I love them so much.

I like them too. But I'm struggling to like that one on those wheels with all the messing about with the suspension and spacers.

As 'standard' as possible for me please.

I'd take either - I don't mind a bit of sympathetic modifications

I think the E32 is lovely (got very close to buying one before I got the E38) I'd be again torn if I was looking for another 7 series

This!

It's not stupidly modded, nor is it stupidly low...

It sits on those 32s very well; but agree some original wheels could change its looks too, to make it more classy/OEM for that era

But 'messing with spacers and suspension' it is not; spacers take 5mins to remove...

Ohh, feisty!

Ebay Ad said:

KAW Lowering springs (35mm Rear)(55mm Front)

[Gruber]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

mattman said:

Sister-in-laws E class which i sold on Monday is back up for sale already with a healthy margin - doesn't look like he's done much other than possibly a set of tyres
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1330748

In fairness to the chap, boats trump gravel.

'twas ever thus.

Looks like a very clean motor, Mattman.

[Krikkit]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

mattman said:

Sister-in-laws E class which i sold on Monday is back up for sale already with a healthy margin - doesn't look like he's done much other than possibly a set of tyres
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1330748

In fairness to the chap, boats trump gravel.

Seems like a great spot to take an ad's pictures too - level, well-lit, not too flashy but not the back end of a council estate.

Bonus points to the new seller for photographing the wing badge which is crusty with filth!

[Gruber]

jon_273 said:

Apologies about the essay - I could go on all day.

As others have said: no need for apologies! Fascinating stuff. I used to work for a company where the MD and Board had a few chauffeured Phaetons at their disposal and I occasionally got a ride to some function or other. I remember being really impressed by the feeling of well-engineered quality about them - lovely seats and a comfortable ride.

Now feeling tempted to head off to the classifieds...

Whereabouts are you in Geneva? We lived in Nyon for a couple of years and wifey still works for a bank in the centre of town, albeit remotely now, and not for much longer. Miss those mountains every day....

[The Don of Croy]

jon_273 said:

...and the famous electric boot lid with it's fancy hignes.

These hinges, just how special are they? It’s a niche interest, granted, but you’ve sparked my interest now.

(Nice write up on the Phaeton, btw).

[21st Century Man]

Dapster said:

And how about this? Mercedes' own Drive By Wire SL500 R129 prototype - sans pedals and wheels

Saab put a lot of work and testing into a joystick control, apparently it worked well but ultimately it was thought to be too great a change and it wouldn't tolerate casual mistakes, you sneeze, you crash sort of thing. It would be ace on a Carver though.