Best Smoker Barges - 1 - 5 Large [Vol 3]

[kchika]

The 540iT is lovely, but then I suspect the ending price is going to be driven massively upwards by its rarity. Only 10 left at the end of 2011, according to HowManyLeft.

http://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/bmw_540_i_spo...

Do you really need the extra cargo space?

[Garlick]

Strawman said:

The interior isn't to my taste

Whereas it is perfectly suited to mine

[hornetrider]

Gorvid said:

Audi S8 4.2 V8

Full main dealer SH and under £4000...


http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

Awesome value.

[Gorvid]

hornetrider said:

Awesome value.

Just worry about the crown prince of bork living in the gearbox.

[tgr]

plus with 0-60 in 6.8 and 28 mpg max, what tf is the point?

[jfbrin]

tgr said:

plus with 0-60 in 6.8 and 28 mpg max, what tf is the point?

My average was 17mpg and the best on a motorway run was 21mpg.
Consumables included two cats, front struts top and bottom, gearbox filter plus oil change plus usual servicing and tyres.
She was in great order when I bought it and I even had the full inspection done before purchase.
All in under 2 years of ownership.
If I go for another v8, I would want something louder as the S8 was a little too refined on the volume front.

[Fox-]

The barge could do with new floor mats.

Am I certifiably insane to pay BMW £100 for floor mats? There must be an alternative

[bmthnick1981]

Fox- said:

The barge could do with new floor mats.

Am I certifiably insane to pay BMW £100 for floor mats? There must be an alternative

Have you tried cleaning them up? I always remove my BMW mats, hoover them, soak them in all purpose cleaner then give them a good scrub with a nail brush, rinse or jet wash them off and let them dry and they come up really well.

If they need to be replaced it has to be OEM mats for me, anything else just doesnt fit or feel right! I've bought 2nd had OEM mats from Quarry Motors before for reasonable rates.

[Kmoosa]

Fox- said:

The barge could do with new floor mats.

Am I certifiably insane to pay BMW £100 for floor mats? There must be an alternative

I got lucky at my local breakers, got a very nice set for £10. Failing that:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E39-5-SERIES-MATS-GE...

[Sump]

Pressure wash them..

[E38Ross]

it's about time i got proper fitting ones for the E38 to be honest. thoughts on these?

http://www.carmats2u.co.uk/bmw-7-series-car-mats-e...

i'd go for the luxury ones....£32 or so posted. i think black would be ok in my car? totally beige interior but interior plastics, steering wheel etc are all black so surely wouldn't look too out of place? beige mats are just daft...?

thoughts?

thanks

[GavGav]

Picked up my new barge today...



Sold my 114k diesel 406, and bought this 90k BMW 535 and had change left over. Happy bunny.

Yes it's only a 535 rather than a 540, and it's an Auto rather than Spanish, but I'm very pleased with it. Previous (and only) owner threw money at it. Managed 15mpg through London traffic today, which was painful, but as it will only come out to play on weekends it's not a issue. Let's face it, I wouldn't have bought it if mpg was a major concern.

No shimmy when I did get up to speed, temperature gauge sat dead on centre, and serviced 800 miles ago.

[sparks_E39]

GavGav said:

Picked up my new barge today...



Sold my 114k diesel 406, and bought this 90k BMW 535 and had change left over. Happy bunny.

Yes it's only a 535 rather than a 540, and it's an Auto rather than Spanish, but I'm very pleased with it. Previous (and only) owner threw money at it. Managed 15mpg through London traffic today, which was painful, but as it will only come out to play on weekends it's not a issue. Let's face it, I wouldn't have bought it if mpg was a major concern.

No shimmy when I did get up to speed, temperature gauge sat dead on centre, and serviced 800 miles ago.

Looks great, nice one! Just check the cooling system is alright

[E38Ross]

olly22n said:

E38Ross said:

it's about time i got proper fitting ones for the E38 to be honest. thoughts on these?

http://www.carmats2u.co.uk/bmw-7-series-car-mats-e...

i'd go for the luxury ones....£32 or so posted. i think black would be ok in my car? totally beige interior but interior plastics, steering wheel etc are all black so surely wouldn't look too out of place? beige mats are just daft...?

thoughts?

thanks

Black, and get them from BMW. There is no alternative.

4 times the price though! Hmmm.

[brickwall]

V8mate said:

W00DY said:

jonnydm said:

Now less than 24hrs to go on the auction for the 540T Sport Manual.

What do people think it will go for?

And how much do you think I should set my max bid at?!

Just over 3.


Bid around £3250 and you're doing alright if you plan to fix it up.


Do it.

No way. That car is tatty. And tatty is worse than borky. It's generally unloved and untended. Way too many seemingly minor imperfections that just don't roll up into the 'whole thing' well. Smells fishier than a Birds Eye dustbin.

Real shame, as it's such a pretty thing from 25m.

Leave it Jonny.

Went for £3500.

[carreauchompeur]

Wow, I checked it 17mins before the end so it gained a grand in a last-minute flurry. Not a bargain IMHO.

[Fox-]

carreauchompeur said:

Wow, I checked it 17mins before the end so it gained a grand in a last-minute flurry. Not a bargain IMHO.

I usually disagree with the E39 value doom-mongers on here but I have to say that was expensive. I reckon it needs at least a grand spending on it to bring it up to scratch after which it's a £4.5k car at the best. Now £4.5k for a mint 540i Sport Touring with a manual box sounds good to me but I'm not sure it'd ever be a mint one..

[tercelgold]

W00DY said:

Little bored of the E38 bumming, but...

http://pistonheads.com/sales/3898066.htm

Has that been lowered or is it just me? , the fin looks terrible.

[S3_Graham]

GavGav said:

Picked up my new barge today...



Sold my 114k diesel 406, and bought this 90k BMW 535 and had change left over. Happy bunny.

Yes it's only a 535 rather than a 540, and it's an Auto rather than Spanish, but I'm very pleased with it. Previous (and only) owner threw money at it. Managed 15mpg through London traffic today, which was painful, but as it will only come out to play on weekends it's not a issue. Let's face it, I wouldn't have bought it if mpg was a major concern.

No shimmy when I did get up to speed, temperature gauge sat dead on centre, and serviced 800 miles ago.

Very nice! Where do people find these bargains? I need one!

[confused_buyer]

Fox- said:

I usually disagree with the E39 value doom-mongers on here but I have to say that was expensive. I reckon it needs at least a grand spending on it to bring it up to scratch after which it's a £4.5k car at the best. Now £4.5k for a mint 540i Sport Touring with a manual box sounds good to me but I'm not sure it'd ever be a mint one..

I think the seller over-did the marks mentioning. A 1cm scratch on a bonnet on a 100k car doesn't need mentining on ebay. The lower bumper touched in and the ding by the light fixed (£100 tops for the pair if you know where to go) and a good MOP and it'll probably look very clean.

I agree it doesn't look the most immaculate example but all about par for the course on 10 year old 100k cars.

It is a rare spec so if you happen to want a manual 540i Sport Estate you're not going to have a lot of choice which no doubt kept the price up a bit. It is all down to supply and demand - there's not a lot of demand for them but then there isn't a lot of supply either!