Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 4]

Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 4]

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Stedman

7,213 posts

191 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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SimonConnell said:
Mine went in today - it needed a new drivers' door lock unit, £200 plus fitting. Someone was asking about Volvo spares prices, there's the answer. Plus I got an advisory for light corrosion on the rear shock casings. Said rear shocks are Nivomat so ~£1000 to replace, I think I'll live with the advisory.
Speak to MRG in Chippenham, and maybe join a forum that is connected well with them.

The cost becomes a lot more palatable that way.

Allblackdup

3,312 posts

207 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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ODJ said:
Let's try and re start the saab 9-5 Aero buying craze. This is my old car sold to another threadist Allblackdup.
Cheers Oli! smile

Right now it's only doing a few miles a week which is a complete waste of a great car. My circumstances have changed twice this year. Firstly when I sold my diesel Passat and bought the Saab and again recently where I'm now only a few miles from work. It's a very good car but it's just not getting used now.

Edited by Allblackdup on Friday 12th October 22:28

BeirutTaxi

6,627 posts

213 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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E38Ross said:
you know what you really want. you want a barge in approx 12 months....one that's in E38 flavour, has been well looked after and gets reasonable economy for a mates rate winkhehe
Hmm as much as I want a W140/Bismark class battle ship an E38 does appeal. You're missing 6 bangers though. I guess both are great for pushing those awful LS400's off the road.


On a separate note, what do we think of this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-Honda-Accord-Coupe-...

Ignore the badge I reckon. A fellow engineer at work thoroughly recommends these. Super reliable, comfortable and very spacious. I don't have any personal experience of these cars, however.

Being Japanese I can't imagine that part prices are too bad either.

Rollcage

11,327 posts

191 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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BeirutTaxi said:
Hmm as much as I want a W140/Bismark class battle ship an E38 does appeal. You're missing 6 bangers though. I guess both are great for pushing those awful LS400's off the road.


On a separate note, what do we think of this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-Honda-Accord-Coupe-...

Ignore the badge I reckon. A fellow engineer at work thoroughly recommends these. Super reliable, comfortable and very spacious. I don't have any personal experience of these cars, however.

Being Japanese I can't imagine that part prices are too bad either.
I do hope I'm missing some irony here! hehe

BeirutTaxi

6,627 posts

213 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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Rollcage said:
I do hope I'm missing some irony here! hehe
Being mainstream Japanese. I can't imagine LS parts are comparatively cheap?

Rollcage

11,327 posts

191 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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I don't have direct experience of that particular Honda, but IME Jap parts are NOT usually cheap.

BeirutTaxi

6,627 posts

213 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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Some example part prices for the 1998 Honda Accord 2.0 posted above. All prices taken from Euro Car Parts.

Circoli Thermostat Part No.: 20960001J
£13.14

EIS Radiator Part No.: 203600440
£110.40

Circoli Water Pump Part No.: 201600071
£33.54


Pretty good prices IMO. No worse than my 1.2 Seat/VW.

SimonConnell

349 posts

195 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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Rollcage said:
Volvo specialist/dealer by any chance? I'm sure it's legitimate, but that's not an advisory I've seen very often. Might be wanting to get some money out of you! wink

Sand them down and repaint.
Interestingly, no - a local(ish) place that was recommended to me for MOTs about five years ago and I've been using them since (but not for servicing - I use independent specialists for each marque). They're trustworthy but probably err on the side of being too critical - I got an advisory on my number plates on another car because there were early signs of some de-lamination at the very edge. I suppose their default mindset is "how bad might this get in 11 months before we see it again?"

Stedman said:
Speak to MRG in Chippenham, and maybe join a forum that is connected well with them.

The cost becomes a lot more palatable that way.
Thanks, I'll look into that. It's a lovely drive down the A4 to Chippenham too...

volks al

4,107 posts

213 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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I just cannot get a classic merc out of my head, and having just aquired a garage doesn't help.

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C250347

Or this and the seller has the same surname so surely he should give a good price?!

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C316849


Fox-

13,228 posts

245 months

Friday 12th October 2012
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BeirutTaxi said:
Some example part prices for the 1998 Honda Accord 2.0 posted above. All prices taken from Euro Car Parts.

Circoli Thermostat Part No.: 20960001J
£13.14

EIS Radiator Part No.: 203600440
£110.40

Circoli Water Pump Part No.: 201600071
£33.54
Thats because they are not Jap parts they are cheapo pattern parts..

confused_buyer

6,610 posts

180 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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BeirutTaxi said:
Hmm as much as I want a W140/Bismark class battle ship an E38 does appeal. You're missing 6 bangers though. I guess both are great for pushing those awful LS400's off the road.
I assume you're being tongue in cheek. Having owned 2 W140's and 4 LS400's of various models the LS400 is more refined, faster, more comfortable, rides better, vastly better built, handles better.....it is a much better car than the W140 in all that matters and no wonder Mercedes had to discount the W140 by massive amounts to sell them.

That doesn't mean a W140 is without appeal - it is the only "regular" barge which transcends into the really large Bentley/RR barge of the era in terms of size and driving experience. The reality though is that even a S500 would struggle to keep up with a LS400 on the open road. A S600 maybe.

The W140 is a bit of a mixture but any barge lover should own one once but it is not, in any rational sense, anywhere near as good as it needed to be at the time.

Baryonyx

17,990 posts

158 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
A good point well made.

FWIW, I love both of the cars and I'd struggle to choose one if I was going for either. The Lexus is engineered to the hilt and has a typically Japanese character, which is a good thing. The Mercedes says 'high end diplomat' to me, also an attractive quality. Ultimately, I think I would probably end up going for the Mercedes of the two just because of it's historic qualities. I can imagine driving it, fleet of foot, through Paris on the way to a meeting.

I have, in the past, sat in my A8 and dreamed of making calls to the Bundestag circa 1999 on the in-car phone...

mark seeker

792 posts

206 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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This looks good? (Apologies if repost)

AGUAR XJ XJ8 4.0 4DR AUTO -1 OWNER-11 STAMP JAGUAR HISTORY-, 4 Doors, Automatic, Saloon, Petrol, 2000 W Reg, 151,000 miles, Metallic Iridium Silver. ABS, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Alloy wheels, Anti theft system, Child locks, Climate Control, Colour coding - Body, Colour coding - Interior, Computer, Cruise control, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Front armrest, Electrically adjustable seats, Leather upholstery, Lumbar support, Immobiliser, Metallic paintwork, Multi function steering wheel, Power assisted steering, Rear armrest, Tinted glass. Insurance Group:17E, 1 OWNER FROM NEW - 11 STAMP MAIN DEALER JAGUAR SERVICE HISTORY - MOT TILL MARCH 2013 WITH NO ADVISORIES - AVERAGE MOTORWAY MILEAGE (12K PER YEAR) TRAVELING BETWEEN CHESHIRE AND NORTH WALES EVERY DAY - OUTSTANDING CAR IN A FABULOUS COLOUR COMBO - PRESTIGEOUS AND STYLISH - DESIRABLE 4.0 V8 GIVES THIS A SILKY SMOOTH LIMOUSINE FEEL -BURR WALNUT DASH AND CAPPINGS THROUGHOUT - SENSIBLE RUNNING COSTS - DRIVES VERY WELL - 2 SETS OF KEYS - GOOD CONDITION THROUGHOUT - MUST BE SEEN - NOW GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY - ALL THE RIGHT CREDENTIALS - RING TO VIEW ANYTME!, £1,575


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000W-JAGUAR-XJ-SERIES-X...

XB70

2,482 posts

195 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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confused_buyer said:
The reality though is that even a S500 would struggle to keep up with a LS400 on the open road. A S600 maybe.
Have to disagree with that. My ls430 would be about equal to an s500 point to point on a b road where the ls suspension would allow it to be pushed a little harder. An ls400 would fall behind.

As for an s600, even my car would not stand a chance against one.

Provided the suspension is not shot, the s500 and s600's are very very rapid backroad cars.




thunderbelmont

2,982 posts

223 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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BeirutTaxi said:
Motorrad said:
Volvo for everyday.......weekend car will likely be a 996 Turbo biggrin
bouncebouncebounce

One of my favourite cars... and this review is one of my favs as well biggrin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC0IaFMpJRU

Edited by BeirutTaxi on Friday 12th October 15:50
You like a Volvo - how about a cheap T5... yeah, it's ex-plod, but it'll go on for ever..

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

BigBen

11,610 posts

229 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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confused_buyer said:
in any rational sense, anywhere near as good as it needed to be at the time.
Is that why Autocar made a case for it being the best car in the world at launch?

Ben

confused_buyer

6,610 posts

180 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
The problem is in my opinion you can aim all those at both the Lexus and W140. The W140 has massive size on its side but the reality is the interior isn't that special on the vast majority of models. Maybe not on a highly specified S600 but on most models the leather is inferior to the Lexus, a standard fit Sony CD player hardly upmarket and it lacks a surprising amount of noise insulation despite the double glazed windows. I understand what you're saying, just that I don't think a W140 meets the criteria.

confused_buyer

6,610 posts

180 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
quotequote all
XB70 said:
Have to disagree with that. My ls430 would be about equal to an s500 point to point on a b road where the ls suspension would allow it to be pushed a little harder. An ls400 would fall behind.

As for an s600, even my car would not stand a chance against one.

Provided the suspension is not shot, the s500 and s600's are very very rapid backroad cars.
Yeah, I'd agree you can hustle a W140 way faster than you can imagine you ever should be able to. I think the issue with the S500 is the throttle response is pretty poor in the Mercedes way so it never feels as fast as perhaps it is.

S600 is a different kettle of fish.

A W140 is a car every barge fan should own at least once - they have a unique appeal - but in absolute terms I've never been convined they are actually as good as they should have been for the cost and engineering.

confused_buyer

6,610 posts

180 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
quotequote all
BigBen said:
Is that why Autocar made a case for it being the best car in the world at launch?

Ben
It might have been at launch (a launch Mercedes had to delay because they were still fiddling with it) but by the mid-90's it was really, really struggling against the like of the E38 in the market place hence a lot of discounts etc.

Don't get me wrong - I love the W140 - all I am saying is that for a car which cost what it did to both develop and buy, which introduced so many innovations, quite a few models seem to be less than the sum of their parts.

BeirutTaxi

6,627 posts

213 months

Saturday 13th October 2012
quotequote all
thunderbelmont said:
You like a Volvo - how about a cheap T5... yeah, it's ex-plod, but it'll go on for ever..

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
Volvo's are OK but the bounce referred to the 996 Turbo lol. Derestrictor had a lot of praise for his IIRC.
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