Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol11]

[olly755]

cornershop said:

I keep having irrational thoughts of swapping the lex for a XJR - insanity?]

Totally. The most sensible and correct thing to do would be to own both.

[Jimmy Recard]

I'll usher the elephant out of the room before he gets chance to settle down. I've bought a Vectra.

[MorganP104]

TheLordJohn said:

Mid 20's on a run in a modern V8 should be absolutely guaranteed.
I'd get 22 out of my HE V12 XJ.
Even my E38 735i would get 32/33 on a good motorway run.

That Vitesse looks a tempting proposition.
I'm sure the pictures flatter to deceive, but how much longer can they be a grand for!?

My L322 Rangie 4.4 V8 (BMW engine) will do mid-twenties on a run, so I'd agree with this. Mind you, don't expect anything starting with a 2 unless the journey involves fast A-roads and motorways.

On the subject of big Rovers, I've had two like this - an 827 SLi saloon, and a hatchback Vitesse 2.0 turbo (very much like the one up for £995 on this thread).

I was surprised at how different my two felt. The 827 (auto) was very much a cruiser, whereas the Vitesse (manual) felt like a large hot hatch.

[jas xjr]

0a said:

Indeed. Is the "R1 performance pack" a very good thing?

might be brembo brakes and the wheels. mine had the wheels but not the brakes. always felt underbraked , even with new discs and pads on the standard brakes.
i would buy that xjr if i were not saving up for worktops

[anonymous-user]

Jimmy Recard said:

I'll usher the elephant out of the room before he gets chance to settle down. I've bought a Vectra.

You told me you bought a Meriva, Zafira or a Frontera!!

I am disappoint

[0a]

Jimmy Recard said:

I'll usher the elephant out of the room before he gets chance to settle down. I've bought a Vectra.

Ok and it's white.

Please tell us more! I didn't mind my dad's vectra of that generation - a worthy drunken minicab candidate!

[olly755]

Jimmy Recard said:

I'll usher the elephant out of the room before he gets chance to settle down. I've bought a Vectra.

Congratulations chap, and if by chance it's an stealthy ex-Plod VXR, then also a bit jealous- it's an itch I've always fancied scratching.

I love a sleeper.

[Sterillium]

In budget... not really a barge, but close... seems like too much car for the money, to me... the advert doesn't fill me with confidence, for some reason... but worth a peek.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-BMW-535d-SE-TOURING...

[anonymous-user]

Sterillium said:

In budget... not really a barge, but close... seems like too much car for the money, to me... the advert doesn't fill me with confidence, for some reason... but worth a peek.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-BMW-535d-SE-TOURING...

Call me a coward, but I'd be very nervous of buying a decade old x35d with 125k on the clock. I'd be willing to bet that over a hypothetical 3 year ownership taking it up to 180k your total costs would be significantly lower on one of the 6 pot NASP petrols.

It's remapped too, for added gearbox munching, turbo overspeeding fun!

[Krikkit]

Sorry, but no chance. The cosmetic details are enough to say walk away - replacement badges+centre caps, stick-on wing vents that look vaguely like an M5. Then a fiddled about with engine and a known weak gearbox.

I'd take this one instead at £4k pre-haggle. Good semi-barges with a turn of pace.



[img]https://i.atcdn.co.uk/imgser-uk/servlet/media?id=459f4f8f34f24424b5bbd960727b39ff[/im]

[anonymous-user]

Krikkit said:

Sorry, but no chance. The cosmetic details are enough to say walk away - replacement badges+centre caps, stick-on wing vents that look vaguely like an M5. Then a fiddled about with engine and a known weak gearbox.

I'd take this one instead at £4k pre-haggle. Good semi-barges with a turn of pace.



[img]https://i.atcdn.co.uk/imgser-uk/servlet/media?id=459f4f8f34f24424b5bbd960727b39ff[/im]

Avoid this place. Dodgyness level x1000
Same with "Motor Store Ltd" who I had to (god never again) scrape £5000 out for repairs

[anonymous-user]

Krikkit said:

Sorry, but no chance. The cosmetic details are enough to say walk away - replacement badges+centre caps, stick-on wing vents that look vaguely like an M5. Then a fiddled about with engine and a known weak gearbox.

I didn't want to say I would rather catch a bus than buy a car off someone who carries out "BMW Chav modification 101" on his old dag dag five series, but yeah that too.

[Krikkit]

dme123 said:

Krikkit said:

Sorry, but no chance. The cosmetic details are enough to say walk away - replacement badges+centre caps, stick-on wing vents that look vaguely like an M5. Then a fiddled about with engine and a known weak gearbox.

I didn't want to say I would rather catch a bus than buy a car off someone who carries out "BMW Chav modification 101" on his old dag dag five series, but yeah that too.

Not necessarily chav, but just total knobbery to keep whittering on about which cars are quicker etc. Who buys an E39 M5 to be the fastest thing out there? No-one with sense.

Back to X350s for a moment, but my fetish for high-mileage cars likes the idea of the clock ticking past a quarter million on this XJR at £4k. 223k miles at the moment!





http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[CharlesdeGaulle]

0a said:

Jimmy Recard said:

I'll usher the elephant out of the room before he gets chance to settle down. I've bought a Vectra.

Ok and it's white.

Please tell us more! I didn't mind my dad's vectra of that generation - a worthy drunken minicab candidate!

I want more. Come on Jimmy, spill the beans old chap.

[Jimmy Recard]

olly755 said:

Congratulations chap, and if by chance it's an stealthy ex-Plod VXR, then also a bit jealous- it's an itch I've always fancied scratching.

I love a sleeper.

That's exactly what it is!
2.8 turbo V6 VXR engine and brakes but SRi body kit and interior. 17" alloys that just fit over the brakes. Very tight fit.

And all for £950. Some interesting police history came with it, I'll dig it out tomorrow. And photos of it in livery in the Thames Valley force

A few faults, but nothing major

[Jimmy Recard]

0a said:

Ok and it's white.

Please tell us more! I didn't mind my dad's vectra of that generation - a worthy drunken minicab candidate!

I'd wager it's had a fair few drunkards in it over its 167k miles. Timing chains were replaced in 2014, so that's a bonus.

According to the history it has had four replacement bonnet catches. Apparently they're a weak point on the Vectra then

[Jimmy Recard]

Oh, and it even has four recent (a few months old, I would say) matching Goodyear tyres on it

[phil_cardiff]

Jimmy Recard said:

olly755 said:

Congratulations chap, and if by chance it's an stealthy ex-Plod VXR, then also a bit jealous- it's an itch I've always fancied scratching.

I love a sleeper.

That's exactly what it is!
2.8 turbo V6 VXR engine and brakes but SRi body kit and interior. 17" alloys that just fit over the brakes. Very tight fit.

And all for £950. Some interesting police history came with it, I'll dig it out tomorrow. And photos of it in livery in the Thames Valley force

A few faults, but nothing major

VXR suspension too? I seem to remember evo magazine rating the VXR Vectra back in the day.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Jimmy Recard said:

Oh, and it even has four recent (a few months old, I would say) matching Goodyear tyres on it

Sounds really decent value, especially if it was lower end of our budget.

[Bonefish Blues]

phil_cardiff said:

VXR suspension too? I seem to remember evo magazine rating the VXR Vectra back in the day.

They did, it won a grand test against more exalted company.

Edited by Bonefish Blues on Saturday 5th August 22:34