Best Oil Burning Barge Bargains! (£5-£20k)

[derestrictor]

Bleedin' 'arry!

Ok, as I stood trembling my nuts off last night, slave to the V-Power totem pole, it finally hit me straight between the eyes: Gordon 'Highway' Brown was having the grandest of giraffes at my, your - our - expense and as much as I love the smell of gasoline of a morn, sticking £50 of Polish social security/week into the abyss of a 15mpg tank was, is, pointless profligacy, no matter how Dokician the wallet, not to mention interminably inconvenient.

Frankly, my 20 mile a day commute and the parlous state of my licence currently, have conspired to ensure the almost complete curtailment of even the mildest pressage of anvil during the rush time hoof and with the traffic so obscenely dense, stressless waft is surely the most cunning of battle plans?

At this juncture, into action wode ex-Ingolstadtian, Herr Plotloss with a default solution: what else, but an A8 4.0 TDi?

Frankly, even a 3.0 TDi would suffice but there's little argument against any eulogy that would float either way.

Of course many have for some time now championed the last gen Merc S320 CDi and I must say with prices down to £10k, they could be unavoidable.

What other smokey redoubtables are fit to graze in the top field? I'm sick of funding communism.

Replies in the usual fashion...

[o.versteer]

Surely Phaetons 5.0 and 3.0 would be prime contenders here, or are they not quite yet under 20 bags, perhaps?

[L100NYY]

Ooooh goody, another Brage thread!!!

I would have to say that a bangle 535D (twin turbo jobby) would have to be right up there non?

[clubsport]

Plotters is nail on head with the A8,,refined, superior build quality, also a rare and pleasant sight rather than the many E class & 5 series oil burners on the road.

[turbo tim]

L100NYY said:

Ooooh goody, another Brage thread!!!

I would have to say that a bangle 535D (twin turbo jobby) would have to be right up there non?

Oui!!

I was taken out in one on some B roads by a chassis development engineer - F-in-quick!!

[SamHH]

L100NYY said:

I would have to say that a bangle 535D (twin turbo jobby) would have to be right up there non?

Are they available under £20,000?

[Maxf]

Der - I'd whip your oiks into selling a few more tellies and go for the V10 Phaeton! Panzer-tastic.

[Agoogy]

So whilst not in 535, S320, or A8 country... I have to stick a vote in for my current steed...

Vauxhall Signum 3.0v6 DTi....
De-badge it
upgrade the suspension

Jobs a good un'.... clever interior...bit of diesel chip and I've ended up with more power than a WRX and more torque than an RS4.....and being one of Luton's finest and biggest they depreciate faster than a rusty french thing

[MattOz]

SamHH said:

L100NYY said:

I would have to say that a bangle 535D (twin turbo jobby) would have to be right up there non?

Are they available under £20,000?

You can get a 535d SE from £19k upwards. M Sports tend to be a couple of bags dearer.

Matt

[L100NYY]

SamHH said:

L100NYY said:

I would have to say that a bangle 535D (twin turbo jobby) would have to be right up there non?

Are they available under £20,000?

Albeit with moon mileage though.

[GregE240]

L100NYY said:

SamHH said:

L100NYY said:

I would have to say that a bangle 535D (twin turbo jobby) would have to be right up there non?

Are they available under £20,000?

Albeit with moon mileage though.

Never!

..really?

[derestrictor]

The 535d is stupendous but still over £20k, methinks.

How could I forget the Phaeton? Yup, not long before sub £20k, I'm sure.

Then again, this process has one beady eye upon the sporran so just what might one expect from a 5.0 V10 TDi?

How about those Merc S class CDis? I know the Sprinter lump pulls with some authority, soo..

E39 530d, anyone?

[GregE240]

My take:

This

Or This...

OK, one thing: I don't like diesels. However, thanks to some village idiot crashing into 'er ladyships Bimmer last Crimbo, we had one of the above for the 2 weeks over Christmas.

My.

What a revelation. Quiet, refined (yes, it was a diesel, trust me), and the toy count was almost as high as the Lex. It sipped the black stuff quite politely, delivering well over 500 miles for a tank.

Highly recommended. And its high enough to sit in and shout at the poor.

[GregE240]

derestrictor said:

E39 530d, anyone?

730d and we have a deal.

In fact, this: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/255883.htm plus a cheap E34 M5 and I'd give up crime.

[jeremyc]

I despair! Ok, who's kidnapped the Der we know and love?

I have the solution for you:

- its German.

- its silver.

- its diesel.

- its less than 5 bags o'sand for a 2001/65K example.

[kambites]

They didn't do a diesel Smart did they?

[CraigW]

kambites said:

They didn't do a diesel Smart did they?

yup.

but btw, where is der? I agree with jeremyc, this isnt you at all?!?

[Fidgits]

At the low end of the scale, i'd say you'd have a hard time arguing against the Vauxhall Omega TDi - cheap to buy, cheap to run, cheap to fix, but very barge-tastic.

At the upper end, its all about the new 530d's (sneaking under the 20k mark), the A6 and A8 3 and 4 litre derv's.

You cant ignore the Merc, but i've heard the service costs of their oil burners are quite painful.

Phateon V10's are a must, but still about that 20k ceiling, but for how much longer?

[derestrictor]

The idea of the Signum Q car assassin doesn't half appeal and in a fit of totally unacceptable exuberance, a moderately bedded X5 3.0d would indeed have to feature in the cunninglingual concepts cupboard.

The other cars which seem to be utter loon haus specials are them thar current(ish) E270 but particularly E320 CDis. Brabus do/did a crazed version (nomenclature temporarily eldues me) but the stock cars are torquetastic buggers, nigh on impossible to vanquish comprehensively during almost all moments of traffic light inspired headbanging.

[derestrictor]

Sorry Craig, just running a temperature, normal service will follow asap.