Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 4]

[Rollcage]

Escy said:

I just found this via a google image search. I bought it. It's a peach. Has a cat back Razzagon exhaust which sounds sublime. Also has Bilstein shocks, poly bushed rear end and a new battery. Can't go wrong for a grand. Done a cambelt on it and it's good to go for a while. I love it. The dealer didn't know what he had I think.

The seller genuinely had no clue. I actually agreed to view the car and if it had moved under it's own steam would have had it, but when I saw him the car was having it's MOT work done, and he couldn't be bothered to contact me again - probably fed up from having his phone ring off the hook!

Glad it's OK - did you discover if it had a Q2 or not yet?

[jonnydm]

hornetrider said:

Call me a sadist, but I'm going to take a spin in this tomorrow.

http://autotrader.mobi/used-cars/advert/2012054470...

Looks decent, would like to try one myself.

Still haven't ruled out an unecesary SUV as my next car. Following Len ruling out XC90s, I started looking at X5s - coming to the conclusion that I'd either want a diesel such as http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201... or look for a 4.6 although most seem to be fairly ropey at barge money.

[hornetrider]

jonnydm said:

Looks decent, would like to try one myself.

Still haven't ruled out an unecesary SUV as my next car. Following Len ruling out XC90s, I started looking at X5s - coming to the conclusion that I'd either want a diesel such as http://www2.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201... or look for a 4.6 although most seem to be fairly ropey at barge money.

Highish mileage diesels scare me. I have this belief that what I would save at the pumps would get removed through fixage of bork.

[Escy]

Rollcage said:

The seller genuinely had no clue. I actually agreed to view the car and if it had moved under it's own steam would have had it, but when I saw him the car was having it's MOT work done, and he couldn't be bothered to contact me again - probably fed up from having his phone ring off the hook!

Glad it's OK - did you discover if it had a Q2 or not yet?

I believe the only way to tell is to remove a drive shaft. I haven't done this yet so haven't found out. Your right about about the seller, I was shocked a trader didn't really seam to know what he had value wise, sure he could have squeezed another £500 out of it and still sold it straight away. I think I got lucky, I rang him the morning the MOT had been finished, I was driving past Plymouth so had a look, turns out I was the 1st person who was able to see it after he'd put the MOT on. I gave him a deposit at midday and picked it up at 5pm. During that time, he had people offer more over the phone.

Did you get to see the car when you met the trader?

[Rollcage]

No, didnt get to see it.

My impression was that the seller was a pastry covered savoury lock opening device , though that wouldnt of course affect the car in the slightest!

[TDV6]

W00DY said:

Pardon my ignorance, but did the basic A8 come with steelies and are those wheel trims?

£40k car but plastic wheels?

[Quietlybonkers]

TDV6 said:

W00DY said:

Pardon my ignorance, but did the basic A8 come with steelies and are those wheel trims?

£40k car but plastic wheels?

Just zoomed the photo and they look like alloys with centre caps over the nuts.
Was in an Audi main dealership the other day, they had new a long wheelbase A8 4.0 TDI in the showroom.........£77k!!!

[gowmonster]

texasjohn said:

Beware bargain second-hand cars that are massive tax traps. High emission 'monsters' that cost 25% of their value just to tax...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-2216...


Good news for prices!

for those who don't like their piss boiled.

Manufacturer	Description	Retail Value	VED Band/£	VED as % of retail price	My thoughts
Chevrolet	TACUMA 2.0 MPV 5dr CDX auto	£2,010	L/£460	23%	nah don't see anyone buying these.
Kia	MAGENTIS 2.0 Sal 4d LE	£1,150	K/£270	23%	guff
Kia	MAGENTIS 2.0 Sal 4d LE auto (Sports H-Matic)	£1,210	K/£270	22%	Guff
Kia	MAGENTIS 2.0 (134bhp) Sal 4d SE auto (Sports H-Matic)	£1,310	K/£270	21%	Whos gonna buy one of these
Chrysler	PT CRUISER 2.4 (141bhp) Route 66 H/b 5d auto	£2,310	L/£460	20%	Guff
Renault	LAGUNA 3.0 (210bhp) V6 24v H/b 5d Initiale auto	£2,260	L/£460	20%	Electrics have probably gave up by now anyway
Chrysler	PT CRUISER 2.4 (141bhp) Touring H/b 5d auto F/lift	£2,390	L/£460	19%	poor,141bhp really?
Fiat	STILO 2.4 H/b 3d Arbarth	£2,500	L/£460	18%	interesting
Kia	SEDONA 2.5 MPV 5d V6 L	£2,570	M/£475	18%	crap
Mitsubishi	SHOGUN PININ 2.0 Stn/wag 5d Equippe	£2,750	L/£460	17%	who buys the 2.0 petrol?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-2216...
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

i think us who like the high powered cars won't be too fussed, but £460 a year for a crap car...

[gowmonster]

Garlick/website techies, I see there are co2 figures in the beta listings, any chance of this being a search item/filter?

[Baryonyx]

TDV6 said:

Pardon my ignorance, but did the basic A8 come with steelies and are those wheel trims?

£40k car but plastic wheels?

They are alloys. They're not a popular choice though, most appearing on earlier 2.8's. I suppose a set wouldn't be hard to source through a breaker but most people either want to upgrade to the sport wheels or S8 Avus wheels. Plenty of people have bought Sport or S8 wheels to fit onto their A8 but there doesn't seem to be much demand for these wheels. They also appeared in the Audi press photograph's of the AW LWB. I usually prefer an understated, gentlemanly touch but these wheels are not for me, really.




Regarding the 4.4i V8 X5 listed above, by all means check it out but tread carefully. A friend of mine went from a CLK 280 into a 3.0i X5 and found the difference in fuel costs so startling he ended up getting rid of the X5 pretty quickly. He does have a 48 mile a day commute mind, but we'd both reckoned that whereas his CLK would be fairly aerodynamic at dual carriageway speeds, the X5 was like a brick relying on the sheer grunt of the engine to force it through the air. So be prepared to live with the fact that you may never see over 20mpg, at the very, very best!

[BigBen]

confused_buyer said:

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.

I don't think that Sony CD players were ever standard on the W140, they all had standard fit Mercedes own brand stereos, usually a cassette deck with CD changer, even on my quite late S500.

The interior is miles better than the Lexus, chiefly as it does not obviously share any components from the Toyota Carina E

confused_buyer said:

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.

I have only been in 500s and 600s and have never found them wanting in any area. The W140 was a lot more expensive than the BMW or Lexus and IMO it shows in every area. IIRC on the Lexus and BMW you have to close the doors your self like some kind of pleb.

I do like the E38 a lot but as a taller gentleman they are out of the question for headroom reasons.

Ben

[hadenough!]

hornetrider said:

Call me a sadist, but I'm going to take a spin in this tomorrow.

http://autotrader.mobi/used-cars/advert/2012054470...

Please let us know what you think. I've had my 530i T for 3 years now and am looking to move on. I'm having a gander at an e61 550i on monday but also considering an x5 4.8is.

[XB70]

I've been thinking for a while of putting a detailed write up in Readers Rides of my thoughts and experience on Lexus v Mercedes so may cobble something together.

My current LS has the plutocrat feature of self-closing, however, neither it nor any W140 had my W220's party trick of a powered open and closing boot. Press a button on the edge and walk back into the car as the boot closes itself. Very very handy.

The gathered peasants would normally be on bended knee at this point, in awe and amazement.

If I could have had the 'rodeo' test function accessible at all times, the show could have concluded with a south central LA style rising and lowering of the car.....followed by the ABC probably succumbing to a level of bork reserved solely for the W220 S600.

[BeirutTaxi]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

Stupid fking thread.


There I am scratching all over the internet for a 996 Targa to solve various lifestyle / mid life / GT / respectable car issues I have, and this stupid fking thread has me thinking an A8 at 3 grand is a far more sensible decision.
(or a Bargey A6 Avant)

W indeed TF !


Carry on. Back to Lurking.



ETA. Now also 5 series Dog Wagons appear "Good"......

Edited by Paddy_N_Murphy on Saturday 13th October 23:39

Why not a rather lovely 993 Targa manual like this one?

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

[confused_buyer]

BigBen said:

I don't think that Sony CD players were ever standard on the W140, they all had standard fit Mercedes own brand stereos, usually a cassette deck with CD changer, even on my quite late S500.

Mercedes went through a peroid of fitting Sony units from about 1996 to 2000 on all their models. A Sony unit was in fact the standard fit on a S500 from 1997 on - the Mercedes 10 unit they actually had the bare faced cheek to charge extra for! I've seen lots with these units and indeed owned a S500 with one fitted from factory.

[rds64]

V8Wagon said:

Anyone got any knowledge of these old things?

Legacy GTB.......

280bhp twin turbo afaik!!

Would ya?

Nice car. Thirsty though as others have said. The other thing to maybe just check out would be insurance. These weren't an official UK model and so other than a small number that Pro Drive ran and were then resold through the dealer network, they are "grey import". Might not be much of an issue, but would be worth just a squint before diving in.

[Zwolf]

gowmonster said:

for those who don't like their piss boiled.

Manufacturer	Description	Retail Value	VED Band/£	VED as % of retail price	My thoughts
Chevrolet	TACUMA 2.0 MPV 5dr CDX auto	£2,010	L/£460	23%	nah don't see anyone buying these.
Kia	MAGENTIS 2.0 Sal 4d LE	£1,150	K/£270	23%	guff
Kia	MAGENTIS 2.0 Sal 4d LE auto (Sports H-Matic)	£1,210	K/£270	22%	Guff
Kia	MAGENTIS 2.0 (134bhp) Sal 4d SE auto (Sports H-Matic)	£1,310	K/£270	21%	Whos gonna buy one of these
Chrysler	PT CRUISER 2.4 (141bhp) Route 66 H/b 5d auto	£2,310	L/£460	20%	Guff
Renault	LAGUNA 3.0 (210bhp) V6 24v H/b 5d Initiale auto	£2,260	L/£460	20%	Electrics have probably gave up by now anyway
Chrysler	PT CRUISER 2.4 (141bhp) Touring H/b 5d auto F/lift	£2,390	L/£460	19%	poor,141bhp really?
Fiat	STILO 2.4 H/b 3d Arbarth	£2,500	L/£460	18%	interesting
Kia	SEDONA 2.5 MPV 5d V6 L	£2,570	M/£475	18%	crap
Mitsubishi	SHOGUN PININ 2.0 Stn/wag 5d Equippe	£2,750	L/£460	17%	who buys the 2.0 petrol?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-2216...
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

i think us who like the high powered cars won't be too fussed, but £460 a year for a crap car...

Are all those £460 VED rated cars really first registered after 23rd March 2006?

So often when you read such articles or people worrying about it, they think it applies to all post 1st March 2001 cars, when it doesn't.

E38 750i and E39 M5s are all £270 max for instance.

BeirutTaxi said:

Can the Quattro system be deleted from other A8's easily? I fancy one.

"Deleted" how? Removed from an already built vehicle? Switchable 2WD/4WD?

D2 A8s were FWD as 2.8s, 3.7s could be ordered either way, but 4.2/S8s were all permanent Quattro.

The Freelander is available to order new as either 2WD or switchable 4WD, but "deleting" something that's already built - like on a 15 year old barge - isn't really doable.

[BigBen]

confused_buyer said:

BigBen said:

I don't think that Sony CD players were ever standard on the W140, they all had standard fit Mercedes own brand stereos, usually a cassette deck with CD changer, even on my quite late S500.

Mercedes went through a peroid of fitting Sony units from about 1996 to 2000 on all their models. A Sony unit was in fact the standard fit on a S500 from 1997 on - the Mercedes 10 unit they actually had the bare faced cheek to charge extra for! I've seen lots with these units and indeed owned a S500 with one fitted from factory.

Wow that is a bit poo, especially charging extra for a cassette deck

[V8Wagon]

rds64 said:

Nice car. Thirsty though as others have said. The other thing to maybe just check out would be insurance. These weren't an official UK model and so other than a small number that Pro Drive ran and were then resold through the dealer network, they are "grey import". Might not be much of an issue, but would be worth just a squint before diving in.

Cheers. I'll get a quick quote up.

The seller has told me he bought it brand new 13 years ago and it isn't an import.

[mattman]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

too big for my pockets, am looking Targa's but for that money you are almost in to 997 territory.

Also the interior shot, showing drips on the passenger seat are not too reassuring

In a similar situation - big 40 next year so looking for a mid-life crisis car I can run every day and enjoy - budget around 12k, needs to carry kids occasionally. Started with 996's and 3200's but majority suggest these will be ruinous to run, then moved to Cerbera, 944/968 and even Impreza's and civic type r's - current favourite is a 645 cab, but keeping looking here and thinking a phaeton, e38 740 or even e65 might be a better bet and spend the rest on a big holiday but will they just end up boring after 6 months and back to where I started? Grrrrrr