Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 21]

[21st Century Man]

I think we've scheduled drainage matters for this Friday haven't we?

[Phil Dicky]

dscam said:

21st Century Man said:

ian316 said:

dscam said:

Loosely speaking about opportunities to meet up - are there still plans for the ‘north’ gathering on 19th March at The Motorist?

Even further OT I priced up DFDS for the sailing to Newcastle-Amsterdam in July as I am thinking of a European jaunt with the family. Appreciate it’s peak season but not sure I was expecting almost thread entry point for the four of us for even the cheapest option. Now on the back burner I think.

Well no one has said it's not on so I'm assuming it is, Have you priced up the crossing from Hull to amsterdam? probably expensive too as it's peak but worth a look

Hull - Rotterdam would be my choice, Amsterdam is a short drive from Rotterdam. But then Amsterdam isn't very far away to drive to anyway, it's a one hitter using the tunnel even if you're coming from up North.

Prices are very punchy - around £900 return on various dates I’ve tried in July. Eurotunnel is more like £400 return but very much more driving involved on both sides…

Muncher - great purchase with the S500. That’s all the car you’ll ever need.

Ties in with the prices I'm getting to get Mrs PD, me and her SLK to Ireland for a driving holiday. I was expecting £300, however £450 is what I'm getting.

[ian316]

dscam said:

Prices are very punchy - around £900 return on various dates I’ve tried in July. Eurotunnel is more like £400 return but very much more driving involved on both sides…

Muncher - great purchase with the S500. That’s all the car you’ll ever need.

When I was looking at doing Spain the ferry prices were mad I could have got flights and hired a reasonable sized car for half the price. That s500 looks a bargain but I thought the e500 posted did too tbh

[Mezzanine]

JeremyH5 said:

Mezzanine said:

The ideal time to start following this thread is when you have sold your only car, have cash in hand and are in need of a replacement, right?

Perfect timing!

Baked_bean said:

As some of you may know, I sold the thread LS460 recently and was on the hunt for a dog friendly car. My partner and I have decided to buy a joint car as we nearly always used her Mazda. This means fairly new for my Mrs to have warranty and hassle free ownership.

So over budget and devils fuel but I thought this might win some thread approval. It is lovely and smooth on the roads and has incredible seats (massage and all), gadgets and headlights. It has a different feel to the usual German suspect’s which is very appealing. Shame it isn’t quicker but it does encourage me to sit back and relax/enjoy my music.

It is a V90 Inscription Plus model:

Call me in 10 years Bean, this is right up my street

[21st Century Man]

Phil Dicky said:

dscam said:

21st Century Man said:

ian316 said:

dscam said:

Loosely speaking about opportunities to meet up - are there still plans for the ‘north’ gathering on 19th March at The Motorist?

Even further OT I priced up DFDS for the sailing to Newcastle-Amsterdam in July as I am thinking of a European jaunt with the family. Appreciate it’s peak season but not sure I was expecting almost thread entry point for the four of us for even the cheapest option. Now on the back burner I think.

Well no one has said it's not on so I'm assuming it is, Have you priced up the crossing from Hull to amsterdam? probably expensive too as it's peak but worth a look

Hull - Rotterdam would be my choice, Amsterdam is a short drive from Rotterdam. But then Amsterdam isn't very far away to drive to anyway, it's a one hitter using the tunnel even if you're coming from up North.

Prices are very punchy - around £900 return on various dates I’ve tried in July. Eurotunnel is more like £400 return but very much more driving involved on both sides…

Muncher - great purchase with the S500. That’s all the car you’ll ever need.

Ties in with the prices I'm getting to get Mrs PD, me and her SLK to Ireland for a driving holiday. I was expecting £300, however £450 is what I'm getting.

Peak season has always been costly, but I think post covid even more so, they've had little income for two years and now need to make hay. Obvs we'll see this across the board hence the cost of living crisis brewing, and now the impact of Ukraine on food/fuel.

I'm grateful and humbled that I can drive my barge and go to the pub, though at higher cost, than fearing for my life.

[McGee_22]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

Here's food for thought for thirsty barge owners (and potential buyers!).....

With fuel prices getting higher and higher (the current Russia situation won't help at all!) do we think big-engined car prices to drop a fair bit? When petrol hits £2/L I can't imagine many people are going to want a V8 old barge. Half of me thinks I should sell up now and get something more sensible, the other half says I don't do enough miles for the current prices to concern me a great deal and I should enjoy a lovely V8 whilst I can, because it'll likely be the last one I own. And how much longer will E5 fuel be around for? If that goes, then I'm in a spot of bother!

Here's my take on this. I drive a 4.6litre V8 estate that averages 22mpg long term and my 7000 miles a year costs £2,170 in fuel.

So if I go to a smaller engined petrol car of the same size that might get to say 28mpg that cost would be £1,704, a saving of £466

If I go to a diesel I might get 35mpg long term and get down to £1,409, saving £761.

But here's the kick - my 21 year old 4.6 V8 works perfectly, is very well equipped and does everything I need. An estate with self-levelling suspension for big loads, roof bars for ladders and a top box, detachable tow bar for the unicorn occasions I need it and luxurious inside with working Nav, heated seats, working AC, TV, bluetooth and streaming, parking sensors that work - everything a modern car has.

Swapping to a new car will cost money to change (it always does) and the short journeys I do are not suited to a diesel and may get me in to dpf problems and the additional cost that brings over petrol cars. Moving to a smaller engined petrol car generally means you lose some of the luxury items in a car as well as the ability to occasionally open up the taps, burn some go-go juice and put a smile on my face.

Without a huge amount of expenditure I will never be able to buy a luxury electric car in the next ten years - they are simply too expensive so where is my financial motivation to get out of barging about in my Alpina V8. Life is short, 50 was a few years ago and three score and ten seems optimistic for someone with my history so sod it, barge life in a big V8 is staying around for years to come.

[bolidemichael]

Phil Dicky said:

bolidemichael said:

Phil Dicky said:

A thread fav coming up at Mathewsons.



https://www.mathewsons.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-93---...

The saloon doesn't seem to find much favour; to my recollection, there aren't any thread vehicles and haven't been for a while. The closest is skullandbiscuits with his full fat E55.

Probably for the same reason I'd only want an estate

What is the reason though?

[bolidemichael]

21st Century Man said:

Phil Dicky said:

dscam said:

21st Century Man said:

ian316 said:

dscam said:

Loosely speaking about opportunities to meet up - are there still plans for the ‘north’ gathering on 19th March at The Motorist?

Even further OT I priced up DFDS for the sailing to Newcastle-Amsterdam in July as I am thinking of a European jaunt with the family. Appreciate it’s peak season but not sure I was expecting almost thread entry point for the four of us for even the cheapest option. Now on the back burner I think.

Well no one has said it's not on so I'm assuming it is, Have you priced up the crossing from Hull to amsterdam? probably expensive too as it's peak but worth a look

Hull - Rotterdam would be my choice, Amsterdam is a short drive from Rotterdam. But then Amsterdam isn't very far away to drive to anyway, it's a one hitter using the tunnel even if you're coming from up North.

Prices are very punchy - around £900 return on various dates I’ve tried in July. Eurotunnel is more like £400 return but very much more driving involved on both sides…

Muncher - great purchase with the S500. That’s all the car you’ll ever need.

Ties in with the prices I'm getting to get Mrs PD, me and her SLK to Ireland for a driving holiday. I was expecting £300, however £450 is what I'm getting.

Peak season has always been costly, but I think post covid even more so, they've had little income for two years and now need to make hay. Obvs we'll see this across the board hence the cost of living crisis brewing, and now the impact of Ukraine on food/fuel.

I'm grateful and humbled that I can drive my barge and go to the pub, though at higher cost, than fearing for my life.

We paid £606 return over half term for the Eurotunnel. It's punchy, but this was with the 'FlexiPass' service in both directions, which entailed an absence of queues and total peace of mind with regards to train departures.

Agree on the privilege of safe barge travels. Had I been queueing for the border in flight from my own country (albeit only to be turned back to fight, which I would do), most of the luggage space would've been consumed by fuel tanks!

[JeremyH5]

McGee_22 said:

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

Here's food for thought for thirsty barge owners (and potential buyers!).....

With fuel prices getting higher and higher (the current Russia situation won't help at all!) do we think big-engined car prices to drop a fair bit? When petrol hits £2/L I can't imagine many people are going to want a V8 old barge. Half of me thinks I should sell up now and get something more sensible, the other half says I don't do enough miles for the current prices to concern me a great deal and I should enjoy a lovely V8 whilst I can, because it'll likely be the last one I own. And how much longer will E5 fuel be around for? If that goes, then I'm in a spot of bother!

Here's my take on this. I drive a 4.6litre V8 estate that averages 22mpg long term and my 7000 miles a year costs £2,170 in fuel.

So if I go to a smaller engined petrol car of the same size that might get to say 28mpg that cost would be £1,704, a saving of £466

If I go to a diesel I might get 35mpg long term and get down to £1,409, saving £761.

But here's the kick - my 21 year old 4.6 V8 works perfectly, is very well equipped and does everything I need. An estate with self-levelling suspension for big loads, roof bars for ladders and a top box, detachable tow bar for the unicorn occasions I need it and luxurious inside with working Nav, heated seats, working AC, TV, bluetooth and streaming, parking sensors that work - everything a modern car has.

Swapping to a new car will cost money to change (it always does) and the short journeys I do are not suited to a diesel and may get me in to dpf problems and the additional cost that brings over petrol cars. Moving to a smaller engined petrol car generally means you lose some of the luxury items in a car as well as the ability to occasionally open up the taps, burn some go-go juice and put a smile on my face.

Without a huge amount of expenditure I will never be able to buy a luxury electric car in the next ten years - they are simply too expensive so where is my financial motivation to get out of barging about in my Alpina V8. Life is short, 50 was a few years ago and three score and ten seems optimistic for someone with my history so sod it, barge life in a big V8 is staying around for years to come.

We’ll put. I concur.

[bolidemichael]

W00DY said:

Muncher said:

I just bought this 2006 Mercedes S500 LWB for £3,500

- Full service history, 3 owners, last one owned it for 8 years with no expense spared, all the preventative maintenance carried out you would want throughout
- Black leather reclining seats, TV option, fully updated, nav, phone, DVD players and TV in the back, upgraded Harman Kardon sound system, AMG brakes, sunroof, electric sunblinds
- 12 months MOT, decent Michellin tyres all round, new batteries, new radiators, engine and gearbox sweet as anything
- Inspected beforehand, no issues to report at all, no errors logged in any of the systems

Really smooth to drive, like piloting your living room.

Excellent purchase. I posted this exact car and thought that a bid of £3.5 might get it. Radar cruise too.

Has to be the best barge value out there right now.

I thought that I'd seen it before!

Muncher, well done on the purchase, I suspected that your barge would be we received on here -- particularly as bucks the trend of covid-inflated barge pricing.

I presume that 'reclining' refers to the rear seats?

[Shaw Tarse]

Sunday Service https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[ian316]

Exactly McGee_22 everyone seems to think you're saving an absolute fortune on smaller engines or diesel but it's never really as much as you think

[IgnitionMS]

charltjr said:

IgnitionMS said:

Have we had this beauty yet?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201271...

Very detailed advert from a private seller, with a great (in my opinion) colour combo.

Can’t check the MOT history due to numberplate being hidden, but seems to have had a fair bit spent on it.

Benefits from the 4.8 V8, LPG conversion and a panoramic roof.

Seems well priced compared to others

It has no MoT, partial history and a number of faults which may or may not be £££ to fix. Looks expensive based on that TBH.

My bad, thought it had an MOT

[IgnitionMS]

Muncher said:

I just bought this 2006 Mercedes S500 LWB for £3,500

- Full service history, 3 owners, last one owned it for 8 years with no expense spared, all the preventative maintenance carried out you would want throughout
- Black leather reclining seats, TV option, fully updated, nav, phone, DVD players and TV in the back, upgraded Harman Kardon sound system, AMG brakes, sunroof, electric sunblinds
- 12 months MOT, decent Michellin tyres all round, new batteries, new radiators, engine and gearbox sweet as anything
- Inspected beforehand, no issues to report at all, no errors logged in any of the systems

Really smooth to drive, like piloting your living room.

Fantastic purchase, a true bargain!

[bolidemichael]

Shaw Tarse said:

Sunday Service https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Not related to your post, but I like your 'andle

[SpeckledJim]

IgnitionMS said:

Muncher said:

I just bought this 2006 Mercedes S500 LWB for £3,500

- Full service history, 3 owners, last one owned it for 8 years with no expense spared, all the preventative maintenance carried out you would want throughout
- Black leather reclining seats, TV option, fully updated, nav, phone, DVD players and TV in the back, upgraded Harman Kardon sound system, AMG brakes, sunroof, electric sunblinds
- 12 months MOT, decent Michellin tyres all round, new batteries, new radiators, engine and gearbox sweet as anything
- Inspected beforehand, no issues to report at all, no errors logged in any of the systems

Really smooth to drive, like piloting your living room.

Fantastic purchase, a true bargain!

Very well done indeed. This has put a large and particularly sharp pin in the bubble of my ambitions for what mine (inferior, broken) might be worth.

[anonymous-user]

McGee_22 said:

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

Here's food for thought for thirsty barge owners (and potential buyers!).....

With fuel prices getting higher and higher (the current Russia situation won't help at all!) do we think big-engined car prices to drop a fair bit? When petrol hits £2/L I can't imagine many people are going to want a V8 old barge. Half of me thinks I should sell up now and get something more sensible, the other half says I don't do enough miles for the current prices to concern me a great deal and I should enjoy a lovely V8 whilst I can, because it'll likely be the last one I own. And how much longer will E5 fuel be around for? If that goes, then I'm in a spot of bother!

Here's my take on this. I drive a 4.6litre V8 estate that averages 22mpg long term and my 7000 miles a year costs £2,170 in fuel.

So if I go to a smaller engined petrol car of the same size that might get to say 28mpg that cost would be £1,704, a saving of £466

If I go to a diesel I might get 35mpg long term and get down to £1,409, saving £761.

But here's the kick - my 21 year old 4.6 V8 works perfectly, is very well equipped and does everything I need. An estate with self-levelling suspension for big loads, roof bars for ladders and a top box, detachable tow bar for the unicorn occasions I need it and luxurious inside with working Nav, heated seats, working AC, TV, bluetooth and streaming, parking sensors that work - everything a modern car has.

Swapping to a new car will cost money to change (it always does) and the short journeys I do are not suited to a diesel and may get me in to dpf problems and the additional cost that brings over petrol cars. Moving to a smaller engined petrol car generally means you lose some of the luxury items in a car as well as the ability to occasionally open up the taps, burn some go-go juice and put a smile on my face.

Without a huge amount of expenditure I will never be able to buy a luxury electric car in the next ten years - they are simply too expensive so where is my financial motivation to get out of barging about in my Alpina V8. Life is short, 50 was a few years ago and three score and ten seems optimistic for someone with my history so sod it, barge life in a big V8 is staying around for years to come.

As a counterpoint after always having a barge I've spent nearly six months and about 5k miles driving a shed Peugeot diesel and I've had to repair nothing, spent no weekends fiddling with it, it's averaged 50mpg so cost all of £700 to do that mileage. It's felt like a weird, strange luxury not to be spending time and money on my car every month, not to care about what the latest warning message is, free of the Forth rail bridge style constant maintenance and upkeep.

When I want fun I've got a new MX5 that goes sideways every time I drive it.

After over 20 years of continual barge ownership I don't see another internal combustion barge in my future unless it's a Lexus GS shed. For smooth, silent power a big EV like a Model S makes even my Mercedes S600 feel like a traction engine and would be cheaper to lease than the Mercedes was to run, at current prices the only reason to mess around with these old barges - comedy value for money and a car so cheap you can throw it away when it breaks - is gone.

This happened to my shed Peugeot recently



We fixed it for half the price of the little heater valve that controlled the temperature of the rear AC in my S600 that stuck open and roasted us all on a bank holiday weekend, and it took the same amount of time to repair as it took to replace the enormous battery in my W221 that needed the entire boot lining and a load of supports moved out.

I have to say that I mostly feel liberated by not running an old barge; I have a shed for the boring stuff and a brand new fun car and neither is a parasite on my time and bank account. I'm looking for a larger shed because the 208 is a bit small, but I'm not even entertaining the idea of another barge until new car availability is sorted, and then I'm going to buy an EV.

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 2nd March 10:36

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

JeremyH5 said:

McGee_22 said:

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

Here's food for thought for thirsty barge owners (and potential buyers!).....

With fuel prices getting higher and higher (the current Russia situation won't help at all!) do we think big-engined car prices to drop a fair bit? When petrol hits £2/L I can't imagine many people are going to want a V8 old barge. Half of me thinks I should sell up now and get something more sensible, the other half says I don't do enough miles for the current prices to concern me a great deal and I should enjoy a lovely V8 whilst I can, because it'll likely be the last one I own. And how much longer will E5 fuel be around for? If that goes, then I'm in a spot of bother!

Here's my take on this. I drive a 4.6litre V8 estate that averages 22mpg long term and my 7000 miles a year costs £2,170 in fuel.

So if I go to a smaller engined petrol car of the same size that might get to say 28mpg that cost would be £1,704, a saving of £466

If I go to a diesel I might get 35mpg long term and get down to £1,409, saving £761.

But here's the kick - my 21 year old 4.6 V8 works perfectly, is very well equipped and does everything I need. An estate with self-levelling suspension for big loads, roof bars for ladders and a top box, detachable tow bar for the unicorn occasions I need it and luxurious inside with working Nav, heated seats, working AC, TV, bluetooth and streaming, parking sensors that work - everything a modern car has.

Swapping to a new car will cost money to change (it always does) and the short journeys I do are not suited to a diesel and may get me in to dpf problems and the additional cost that brings over petrol cars. Moving to a smaller engined petrol car generally means you lose some of the luxury items in a car as well as the ability to occasionally open up the taps, burn some go-go juice and put a smile on my face.

Without a huge amount of expenditure I will never be able to buy a luxury electric car in the next ten years - they are simply too expensive so where is my financial motivation to get out of barging about in my Alpina V8. Life is short, 50 was a few years ago and three score and ten seems optimistic for someone with my history so sod it, barge life in a big V8 is staying around for years to come.

We’ll put. I concur.

I agree - but those are with current prices, and I'm certain a diesel will get more than 35mpg if your V8 is getting 22mpg! Last time I drove a diesel it got almost exactly 2x the mpg as my LS460. So if you're spending £2170 in fuel now that'd save £1085 per year. If fuel prices rise by 30% that's then over £1400/year. Add in the extra tax etc and then you are at £1600/year or so. It starts to add up. But I guess in the grand scheme of things that's not a huge amount, but it is a fair amount. Add in the differences in servicing costs (more oil, coolant, spark plugs etc) and you are then talking over £2k/year.

I can't see me going electric any time soon, the outlay costs are absurd at the moment and I have no way to charge at my home (no off-street parking) so I'd need to charge elsewhere, where the cost is more per kW and I'd be sitting around waiting for ages.

[Jim the Sunderer]

It would need to be a lot more of a saving for me to drive around giving kids black lung like an 1805 mine owner.

[Emeye]

I also have a tricky decision to make. I have five vehicles outside, if you include the broken one - we only need two, three if you include a spare, but I struggle to let cars go. Working from home at least two days a week and I barely put any mileage on them.

The obvious one for financial reasons is the V8 Lexus, and my FIL wants to buy my old Accord off me, but I will just end up spending all my time on here, autotrader and ebay looking for something to replace them.