Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 12]
Discussion
Patrick Bateman said:
Did you get your misfire sorted?
Yes! - thanks for asking... But I still don’t have the car. 
It’s a long story & I promise to regale all & sundry (ok - bore all y’all senseless) with it once the car is back with me.
I did drive it for a short while on Saturday to see if it was OK, which is why it’s still there, but I will say this:
I didn’t ever think I’d call the 760 slow, and in the absolute sense of the word, of course it isn’t, but I’ve now done around 2k miles in the M6, and the 7 feels distinctly feeble in comparison. Apples & Pears comparison I know, there’s the small matter of a half-tonne between them & the horsepower defecit.
Due to the way work is falling at present, I haven’t been flying out, but sitting (still working) at home (going quietly stir crazy & posting more), so I’ve not had my weekly rental car reset. Nothing makes you appreciate getting into the 7 series like handing back the keys to a Cactus, for example!
Updates soon - hopefully - the garage have a habit of ringing me at 5:50pm on Friday to say “it’s ready”... watch this space.
r129sl said:
tobinen said:
Am i right in thinking the 220 is Sacco's last design?
I quite like them apart from the odd-shaped head unit with satnav. The black one r129sl posted looks very good but it's too dear even at that low mileage IMO. Probably why it hasn't sold in over six months. Must be a wealthy trader who can sit on stock that long.
I think the w220 is the last design Sacco had a hand in, but it is not really his. According to Wikipedia, Briton Steve Mattin did it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_MattinI quite like them apart from the odd-shaped head unit with satnav. The black one r129sl posted looks very good but it's too dear even at that low mileage IMO. Probably why it hasn't sold in over six months. Must be a wealthy trader who can sit on stock that long.
I quite like the funny head unit with the various elements set into the wood. The facelift version is obviously miles cheaper to manufacture. However, the screen is pretty low res, iPod and iPhone integration is pretty impossible, the latest map updates are four years old, and you have to change map disc with every country you go to.
r129sl said:
Krikkit said:
RE: W211 I think tyres may be more significant than you think - I've had two sets on the front of mine (alignment issues) and the difference in noise between the 1st and 2nd (ditchfinder and Kumho) was noticeable.
I totally agree on the low-speed ride though, I find mine surprisingly poor (again, 245/45/17), but once up to 30 or so it's excellent.
It is on brand new Continentals. I totally agree on the low-speed ride though, I find mine surprisingly poor (again, 245/45/17), but once up to 30 or so it's excellent.
The ride is quite odd. On broken town streets, it is inferior to a steel sprung car, though it can handle speed bumps beautifully if you take them at a certain speed. On the open road, be it smooth trunk road or broken rural road, at speeds above 30 or so as you say, the ride is really first rate.
Overall I was more impressed with the w211 this morning. The weather was abominable, heavy rain, strong winds. The wipers are very good (although they could clear a little more of the screen at driver's side 'A' pillar). The tyres are definitely noisier than the w210's, but overall I think I can discern an improvement in refinement. It is not night and day like the difference between 124 and 210 but it is there.
The interior has also grown on me, though it lacks the traditional Mercedes character. I don't like the blue-grey bright instrument lighting (which clashes with the yellow button lighting) and the digital fuel and temperature gauges are awful. The seats are great: this car has heated, ventilated, multi-contour, electrically adjustable, kappa leather-upholstered seats, so they ought to be good.
And it is a bit thirstier than the E430.
To be honest I don't think there was anything like as much of a jump in structure/design between the 210 and 211 as there was between the 124 and 210.
I agree with your bugbears about the interior light colour mismatch (although I like the dash, even the digi gauges, once set to an appropriately gentle brightness).
SpeckledJim said:
BigBen said:
r129sl said:
These are a total bargain, if you ask me.
....and also if you ask me. The phrase 'a lot of car for the money' has never been truer. Despite having a 600 for sale I suspect the 500 is the sweet spot of the range for the bargist, or at least requires a lot less bravery to buy and run. That said the 500 would be missing the 'holy s
t' acceleration of the 600TT which I would miss. A lot.r129sl said:
The interior has also grown on me, though it lacks the traditional Mercedes character. I don't like the blue-grey bright instrument lighting (which clashes with the yellow button lighting) and the digital fuel and temperature gauges are awful. The seats are great: this car has heated, ventilated, multi-contour, electrically adjustable, kappa leather-upholstered seats, so they ought to be good.
This explains a lot. No wonder I don’t like all the glitz & glamour of modern interiors - associating with fashion brands? whatever next! 
Seriously though, interesting feedback on how the two compare. A mate of mine has just got rid of his E270 cdi for a (don’t know the code) 2nd generation CLS. In my limited time in it, I’d say there’s a greater underlying solidity in the old E, but time will tell, I suppose.
mattman said:
Interesting SL500 - standing for 10 years and sounds like a half baked attempt to get it running again - Borktastic or worth rescuing?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
He's dropped his price from 6250 inside a couple of weeks, even though snowy January is hardly ideal convertible buying weather. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
The roof controller gets a speed signal from the cluster AFAIK, so tracing the fault there *could* resolve two birds with one stone. But the roof is likely to have other issues too from underused/jump starting etc.
It isn't so far off being viable if you fancy a punt - trouble being it's proving very difficult to flog any R129. Hardly any sell.
My daily is a pre facelift W220 s500 lwb, I have had it for two years now. They are cheap for a reason, RUST! Mine has had the sills on both sides repaired and both back arches done, funnily enough the fronts are mint. If it was any other car it would have gone by now BUT, it is great to drive. I know it is a big car but it just seems to shrink around you, it really can pick its skirts up and fly and is surprisingly economical for a big car with a big v8.
Mechanically it has been very reliable, other than servicing and consumables, a faulty ABS sensor in two years and over 25k miles.
I didn't pay a lot for mine and I would and have struggled to come up with a viable alternative for when the time comes to wave it goodbye.
Great cars, if you can find a good later facelift one that is less prone to rust, try one.
Mechanically it has been very reliable, other than servicing and consumables, a faulty ABS sensor in two years and over 25k miles.
I didn't pay a lot for mine and I would and have struggled to come up with a viable alternative for when the time comes to wave it goodbye.
Great cars, if you can find a good later facelift one that is less prone to rust, try one.
blueb10 said:
My daily is a pre facelift W220 s500 lwb, I have had it for two years now. They are cheap for a reason, RUST! Mine has had the sills on both sides repaired and both back arches done, funnily enough the fronts are mint. If it was any other car it would have gone by now BUT, it is great to drive. I know it is a big car but it just seems to shrink around you, it really can pick its skirts up and fly and is surprisingly economical for a big car with a big v8.
Mechanically it has been very reliable, other than servicing and consumables, a faulty ABS sensor in two years and over 25k miles.
I didn't pay a lot for mine and I would and have struggled to come up with a viable alternative for when the time comes to wave it goodbye.
Great cars, if you can find a good later facelift one that is less prone to rust, try one.
Interesting feedback, thanks. I’m not sure I remember anyone saying previously that the W220 was bad for rust as a rule - have you perhaps just been unlucky? I definitely thought MB was over the oxidation saga by the time these were produced. Mechanically it has been very reliable, other than servicing and consumables, a faulty ABS sensor in two years and over 25k miles.
I didn't pay a lot for mine and I would and have struggled to come up with a viable alternative for when the time comes to wave it goodbye.
Great cars, if you can find a good later facelift one that is less prone to rust, try one.
dscam said:
blueb10 said:
My daily is a pre facelift W220 s500 lwb, I have had it for two years now. They are cheap for a reason, RUST! Mine has had the sills on both sides repaired and both back arches done, funnily enough the fronts are mint. If it was any other car it would have gone by now BUT, it is great to drive. I know it is a big car but it just seems to shrink around you, it really can pick its skirts up and fly and is surprisingly economical for a big car with a big v8.
Mechanically it has been very reliable, other than servicing and consumables, a faulty ABS sensor in two years and over 25k miles.
I didn't pay a lot for mine and I would and have struggled to come up with a viable alternative for when the time comes to wave it goodbye.
Great cars, if you can find a good later facelift one that is less prone to rust, try one.
Interesting feedback, thanks. I’m not sure I remember anyone saying previously that the W220 was bad for rust as a rule - have you perhaps just been unlucky? I definitely thought MB was over the oxidation saga by the time these were produced. Mechanically it has been very reliable, other than servicing and consumables, a faulty ABS sensor in two years and over 25k miles.
I didn't pay a lot for mine and I would and have struggled to come up with a viable alternative for when the time comes to wave it goodbye.
Great cars, if you can find a good later facelift one that is less prone to rust, try one.
Cracking 540 here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-BMW-540i-E39-Glaci...
Good colour as well, I had a mere 535i same colour
Good colour as well, I had a mere 535i same colour
classicyanktanks said:
Cracking 540 here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-BMW-540i-E39-Glaci...
Good colour as well, I had a mere 535i same colour
If thats as good as it looks it seems like a nice one for the money.Good colour as well, I had a mere 535i same colour
J4CKO said:
classicyanktanks said:
Cracking 540 here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-BMW-540i-E39-Glaci...
Good colour as well, I had a mere 535i same colour
If thats as good as it looks it seems like a nice one for the money.Good colour as well, I had a mere 535i same colour
At £1900, it’d be churlish of me to expect perfection, but I think it’d take the selling price again in refurb (no mention of cooling system work?) to make it “good”. As usual - all IMO.
classicyanktanks said:
Cracking 540 here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-BMW-540i-E39-Glaci...
Good colour as well, I had a mere 535i same colour
I do like a Glacier Green BMW. Good colour as well, I had a mere 535i same colour
My favourite combination would be that colour on an E38 7-Series, for the rarity value. Those wheels are also my fave E39 style (I'm a little biased, as I had a set on my E39 528i Touring).Changing the subject, if I may, I saw one of these on the motorway today (same colour, same wheels).
Traffic was medium-slow, and we were both travelling in the same direction, so I got a really good look at it, inside and out.
The new V90 is an absolutely stunning car in the metal - better even than it looks in pictures.
So, chaps, hands up who can't wait until these come down to thread money?
MorganP104 said:
Traffic was medium-slow, and we were both travelling in the same direction, so I got a really good look at it, inside and out.
The new V90 is an absolutely stunning car in the metal - better even than it looks in pictures.
So, chaps, hands up who can't wait until these come down to thread money?
Fantastic-looking, but diesel only.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
15000 miles, one owner XJ12. Has covered 800 miles per year since new, guess it will probably go over thread budget.
15000 miles, one owner XJ12. Has covered 800 miles per year since new, guess it will probably go over thread budget.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
MorganP104 said:
Traffic was medium-slow, and we were both travelling in the same direction, so I got a really good look at it, inside and out.
The new V90 is an absolutely stunning car in the metal - better even than it looks in pictures.
So, chaps, hands up who can't wait until these come down to thread money?
Fantastic-looking, but diesel only.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
MorganP104 said:
Traffic was medium-slow, and we were both travelling in the same direction, so I got a really good look at it, inside and out.
The new V90 is an absolutely stunning car in the metal - better even than it looks in pictures.
So, chaps, hands up who can't wait until these come down to thread money?
Fantastic-looking, but diesel only.
My overall opinion is that they’re really, really good. If my role changed and I had to go back to doing a 9-5 with UK commute, one of these would be at the top of my (very short)list. The semi-autonomous functionality (auto handbrake/stop-start & radar cruise) just works, and for a 5mph queue-shuffling doldrum, it’s a nice cabin to be in.
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