Best smoker barges 1-5 large [vol11]

[iSore]

This is a barge.

Never mind your Passats, 190E/C Class Nonsense or 3 Series toss pretending to fit the bill because it has 6 cylinders, here's a big heavy fully loaded wafter, big pokey V8, auto, leather, 140-150 mph, ruinous parts prices and it's worth next to fk all.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS400-Legendary-Ci...

This is your benchmark.

[iSore]

Another sub 300 bhp V8:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[iSore]

Only just qualifies, and is suitably ghastly:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182757098424

[55palfers]

Zonergem said:

iSore said:

Good luck with that lads. It's an ugly 25 year old 16 mpg S Class that probably has 'issues'. It's £1200 on a good day.

Shirley it's the last of the old-school million-mile Mercs built by engineers not accountants, using the engine that would go into the Pagani Zonda, which cost more than an entire mining village in 1992 and now a youngtimer modern classic which can only go up in value?!

They don't make them like this any more (nor do they make the wiring looms, M120 radiator fans or throttle bodies)...

Edited by Zonergem on Thursday 14th September 07:30

That driver's seat has done more than 90k

[iSore]

bob-lad said:

How many hearing aids died to make that interior?

Great isn't it?

[nickod]

Hi
Thread advice required. I'm thinking of trading in all my cars for this.

[SpeckledJim]

nickod said:

Hi
Thread advice required. I'm thinking of trading in all my cars for this.

keep thinking.

[Jimmy Recard]

iSore said:

Only just qualifies, and is suitably ghastly:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182757098424

I'm not sure I've ever seen one of those, or heard of them. I probably have, I just don't remember

Probably reliable and whatever, but I don't fancy it, in all honesty

[Zonergem]

[nickod]

[skwdenyer]

iSore said:

There is an old, oft perpetuated myth that, once upon a time, Mercedes Benz used to make really good strong reliable cars. Some of them were - the W114/5 and after that, the W123. They weren't bad efforts at all. A bit rust prone but good cars. After that came horrors like the W126 - rust, timing chain, head gaskets, rust etc as well as being bloody awful to drive, the W140 was even worse whilst the darling of the Guardianista, the W124 is often confused with granite (hewn from). No, it wasn't. It was a collection of electrical maladies and rust and not even in the same country as the Volvo 740 never mind ballpark. Comparing a 1990 W124 with a 1990 Camry is another exercise in futility. Look beyond the image and therein lies a very, very average car that looked and felt stronger than it actually was.

So... over the years I've had quite a lot of these (see my Garage).

What would I buy again for toughness? The W124s or the 740s.

The facelift W124s are nicer, but not as well built - the early 6 cylinder W124s are lovely (even the 4Matic one I had, which was a bit odd). The Volvo leather (if present) is creaky and cracks, and the electrics are weak - so get a simpler 740 with nothing extra on it.

W124 electrics can falter, too, but they are just electrics (no buses here). Half shafts are weak (snapped a couple). Everything wears, of course. But by god they're solid, they go well, and they handle. And they were designed by people who had actually used cars - with the right options, they're really really easy to live with. My ideal would be a 24V 300 engine in a pre-facelift car. With decent rubber and replacement bushes, they are surprisingly swift across country, too.

That said, if you have anywhere to play, 740s are hoonigan machines - live axle, heavy right foot, cheap tyres, and roundabouts are your friends.

And if you want it to go on forever? The 740 Diesel (with a non-turbo VW unit) is rough as hell, but goes on forever.

[Zonergem]

Confession - I'm flummoxed by the Africa reference.

To keep things fair and balanced, here's the reciprocal Merc-barge photo. I hope Nickod finds it useful.

[bob-lad]

Ugh, twin headlights

[r129sl]

I now see what those big US-spec bumpers are for. Genius.

[LandyManSam]

iSore said:

This is a barge.

Never mind your Passats, 190E/C Class Nonsense or 3 Series toss pretending to fit the bill because it has 6 cylinders, here's a big heavy fully loaded wafter, big pokey V8, auto, leather, 140-150 mph, ruinous parts prices and it's worth next to fk all.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS400-Legendary-Ci...

This is your benchmark.

Absolutely! Although that one I think even at that money is slightly overpriced.

My glorious "Onion Bargey" Mk. IV has a far better specification, lower miles @ 118k, and a FLSH and was mine for less than £1500.



290bhp VVTi lump, full "touch screen" voice guided satellite navigation (with graphics resembling teletext), and finished in this wonderful colour, with matching badges!



Possibly the bargiest barge I've yet owned.

[iSore]

Good work!

I doubt you can buy a better big old car than an LS400. They still have the most remarkable ride and refinement even after 20+ years. At the time I drove one I had a K plate V8 730i that whilst a lovely thing, wasn't quite in the same league although a 740i would have been closer.

Whilst the W126 was (is) decidedly average, the W140 was much, much better. I had a rare LHD 350d diesel 10-15years ago but they really are enormous - just too big. And still not as refined as the Big Jap.

[Bonefish Blues]

iSore said:

Bargista said:

I'm curiously tempted by this:.

2003 Passat estate
Non sporty looking exterior design
Elserly owner-esque colour
V6 4 motion.
Not quick but enough for a chap to make progress when required.

Is is stupidly overpriced for a 77k 1 owner car with an alledged full vw history...

Seems a reasonable amount of car to me for £3k

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

£3500 for a 15 year old Passat Estate? Pass!

It's £1500 worth, £2000 at a push..

And lo it came to pass...

https://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/ph-features-s...

[AmosMoses]

Cayenne 4.5 S - Why are these so cheap, asking for a friend...

Can get a really good example for just over thread budget, are they ruinous to run? Excluding mpg of course.

[tobinen]

iSore said:

After that came horrors like the W126 - rust, timing chain, head gaskets, rust etc as well as being bloody awful to drive, the W140 was even worse...

iSore said:

Whilst the W126 was (is) decidedly average, the W140 was much, much better.

[r129sl]

iSore said:

I doubt you can buy a better big old car than an LS400. They still have the most remarkable ride and refinement even after 20+ years. At the time I drove one I had a K plate V8 730i that whilst a lovely thing, wasn't quite in the same league although a 740i would have been closer.

Whilst the W126 was (is) decidedly average, the W140 was much, much better. I had a rare LHD 350d diesel 10-15years ago but they really are enormous - just too big. And still not as refined as the Big Jap.

I think I would agree with everything you have written here apart fro the w126 being decidedly average and the 140 being better. A friend of mine ran an ancient LS400 which he had acquired for peanuts and it was remarkable. Bland, yes, but comfortable and reliable and astonishingly well made. I even liked the plastics although the wood and the switch gear were a bit naff (as is the styling). I certainly found the 140 too big for British roads.

There can be no doubt that the 126 is an exceedingly good large saloon car, well able to carry four or five full size passengers over long distances in comfort with minimal driver stress. The control environment in particular is resolved in a way that few cars before or since can come close to, including the 140. It is spacious in a way the Jaguar absolutely is not. Yet it is narrow and very easily manoeuvred in a way the 140 and most other large cars are not. It is very easy to operate in a way the Lexus is not. It has high speed stability above and beyond any car I have ever driven. It has remarkable levels of passive safety. Its build quality and repairability are far superior to anything I have come across. The Lexus and the Jaguar in particular lack repairability. I suspect that when the 126 is compared unfavourably, much like the 124, it is because the body of 126s are older and have done far more miles and have lead far harder lives than the comparator cars. Of necessity, the average 126 is ten years and 100,000miles older than the average LS400.

It would be a mistake to regard the 126 as a luxury car in the sense that that word is used in our times. Its luxury is the luxury of Sparta: simplicity.