Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 12]

[CharlesdeGaulle]

SpeckledJim said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

SpeckledJim said:

JF87 said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

The post is Lux-based. Drive home - probably occasional as I'll fly most often - via Lux, Bel, Fra and variations thereof. Rest is commuting to work from my as-yet-undiscovered place to live. I'll need to research MOT-equivalents and LHD may indeed make more sense, but a thread barge has appeal.

I know this is going to fall on the very stoniest ground, but that commute is crying out for a big-engined barge on LPG! They almost give the stuff away in Belgium.

[rubs hands on thighs]

Aside from the obvious shame and accusations of hypocrisy, it renders the Channel tunnel unusable, non?

For entirely stupid and invalid reasons, yes.

After 33 years in the Army daft regulations just because no longer annoy me, but they do make the otherwise entirely sensible plan a non-starter. Phew!

[anonymous-user]

All the best with the move CdeG, I assume you speak the lingo?

My three years ends in 6 days and I can't wait Germany though.

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C912977

Looks very nice.

Car search continues, justified to my partners we "need" a car over 20 years old as the insurance is 66% lower, being under 30 with 0 NCB for this car.

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C977950

I assume this is slightly underpowered with a nasty 4 pot?

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Lord.Vader said:

Car search continues, justified to my partners we "need" a car over 20 years old as the insurance is 66% lower, being under 30 with 0 NCB for this car.

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C977950

I assume this is slightly underpowered with a nasty 4 pot?

Thanks chap. Good luck to you too.

Fantastic interior in 'your' car.



This probably isn't the engine of first choice, but it was good in its day and will keep up and be fine for normal use today.

[Lowtimer]

It's not a nasty four-cylinder engne: it's a really rather smooth and civilised one. And it will proceed around the parish at a modest pace, and cruise down the motorway at non licence busting speeds perfectly well. It has about the same sort of performance as my mark 3 Prius, and I never feel particularly stressed about that lacking performance in the context of everyday wafting about or trundling down the motorway at 70-80 for a few hundred miles.

But you couldn't describe it as quick, even when it was new, and it's nobody's choice of overtaking machine. If you'd rather have a six-cylinder (as I would in a W124) then condition-for-condition then you can expect to pay a fair bit more, of course.

It's enough engine to make a 190e very acceptable transport, probably better suited to that car than the E class in my view.

[W00DY]

I loved my 230E and there's no way I'd have got a car close to the condition/price balance in a 6 pot. The engine is smooth and torquey and you only notice it's a 4 pot when you really rev it and there's no point in that since there's no top end power anyway. Fairly economical for an old barge too. Doubt the 200 is much different, so i wouldn't rule it out.

[derin100]

As alluded above, whenever I had the Merc 4-pot in cars (W201 and W124) I always found it quite a good engine. It seemed particularly impressive in 2.3L guise. By contrast, although my experience was limited ( a W201 2.6 and a C124 300) , I found the older straight six a bit of a disappointment.

Compared to BMW straight sixes It seemed unwilling to 'get out of bed' with any degree of real urgency when given a kick with my right foot, drank too much and had a tendency dribble oil on to the drive despite having taken some fairly costly measures to rectify this.

By way of example, a really regretted selling my C124 230; I was glad to see the back of my C124 300.

[W00DY]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-E430-E-Class-1...

Very grey, but looks incredibly clean and a bargain too.

[Dr Interceptor]

W00DY said:

I loved my 230E and there's no way I'd have got a car close to the condition/price balance in a 6 pot. The engine is smooth and torquey and you only notice it's a 4 pot when you really rev it and there's no point in that since there's no top end power anyway. Fairly economical for an old barge too. Doubt the 200 is much different, so i wouldn't rule it out.

I agree with that...

We had an E230 Estate (210 model), which is a big old bus for a four cylinder to lug around, but it never felt under powered. Would quite happily sit on the motorway in three figures.

[derin100]

17K miles on the clock...apparently!

The advert says: "The interior has wear to both bolsters as you would expect ..."

No I wouldn't. Not with 17K miles on the clock unless the previous owner was a fatso who dressed in sand-paper suits!




https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-MGZS-WITH-1-OWN...

[anonymous-user]

Imagine being the poor sod trying to sell those awful things in 2004. I think by then people only bought Rovers out of habit.

[anonymous-user]

Good to know that the 4 pot shouldn’t be ruled out, all the nice ones seem to be down South though, so until I am back I cannot really sort any travel.

As I say criteria is no rust, sunroof, not silver, petrol under £5k, under £3k preferred!

Nothing on eBay really, on non barge related news I have had an offer accepted on a supercharged MK1 MX5 that should be great fun.

[W00DY]

derin100 said:

17K miles on the clock...apparently!

The advert says: "The interior has wear to both bolsters as you would expect ..."

No I wouldn't. Not with 17K miles on the clock unless the previous owner was a fatso who dressed in sand-paper suits!




https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-MGZS-WITH-1-OWN...

Jesus christ. It wouldn't surprise me if it tuned outRover made the bolsters out of old newspaper and some paint.

[edo]

W00DY said:

derin100 said:

17K miles on the clock...apparently!

The advert says: "The interior has wear to both bolsters as you would expect ..."

No I wouldn't. Not with 17K miles on the clock unless the previous owner was a fatso who dressed in sand-paper suits!




https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-MGZS-WITH-1-OWN...

Jesus christ. It wouldn't surprise me if it tuned outRover made the bolsters out of old newspaper and some paint.

17k my fking arse.

Edited by edo on Thursday 26th April 16:57

[Dr Interceptor]

edo said:

W00DY said:

derin100 said:

17K miles on the clock...apparently!

The advert says: "The interior has wear to both bolsters as you would expect ..."

No I wouldn't. Not with 17K miles on the clock unless the previous owner was a fatso who dressed in sand-paper suits!




https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-MGZS-WITH-1-OWN...

17k my fking arse.



Jesus christ. It wouldn't surprise me if it tuned outRover made the bolsters out of old newspaper and some paint.

According to its MOT history, it has done 3 miles between 04/08/2016, and 10/04/2018. Either it was MOT'd, and the owner passed away in shock of its pass and never drove it again, or it has just had a very healthy haircut prior to a fresh MOT.

2016 MOT also advised on dodgy exhaust, tyres, and a rotten floor - so wonder if they've been tended to in those three miles.

[bob-lad]

edo said:

W00DY said:

derin100 said:

17K miles on the clock...apparently!

The advert says: "The interior has wear to both bolsters as you would expect ..."

No I wouldn't. Not with 17K miles on the clock unless the previous owner was a fatso who dressed in sand-paper suits!




https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-MGZS-WITH-1-OWN...

17k my fking arse.

Judging by the MoT history if it's not genuine, it's been clocked annually since new.

I had two typos in there that changed the meaning of that sentence completely

[ChocolateFrog]

bob-lad said:

edo said:

W00DY said:

derin100 said:

17K miles on the clock...apparently!

The advert says: "The interior has wear to both bolsters as you would expect ..."

No I wouldn't. Not with 17K miles on the clock unless the previous owner was a fatso who dressed in sand-paper suits!




https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-MGZS-WITH-1-OWN...

17k my fking arse.

Judging by the MoT history if it's not genuine, it's been clocked annually since new.

I had two typos in there that changed the meaning of that sentence completely

What a terrible car.

As mentioned. No I wouldn't expect any wear let alone wear bad enough to warrant a repair on a 17k mile car. My 300k mile Volvo had wear nowhere near as bad as that.

[olly755]

ChocolateFrog said:

bob-lad said:

edo said:

W00DY said:

derin100 said:

17K miles on the clock...apparently!

The advert says: "The interior has wear to both bolsters as you would expect ..."

No I wouldn't. Not with 17K miles on the clock unless the previous owner was a fatso who dressed in sand-paper suits!




https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-MGZS-WITH-1-OWN...

17k my fking arse.

Judging by the MoT history if it's not genuine, it's been clocked annually since new.

I had two typos in there that changed the meaning of that sentence completely

What a terrible car.

As mentioned. No I wouldn't expect any wear let alone wear bad enough to warrant a repair on a 17k mile car. My 300k mile Volvo had wear nowhere near as bad as that.

I'd suggest that you'd probably measure the life of that car in cycles, rather than miles. 17,000 trips to the shops half a mile away, with a clamber over it each time, tends to eat bolsters. Always a good reason to disregard low mileage as a good thing when buying.

[Krikkit]

Is it, perhaps, an odometer that only goes up to 99,999? That said it's in far too nice a condition for 117k.

[harrykul]

So my man maths s124 purchase last year has come to bite me in the a$$. Found holes in each inner wing, driver and passenger footwell and back end. A real shame as engine, box and interior and mint, only 97k too with FSH.

Undecided on repairing it, or swapping a few bits out with my blue car and moving it on as a spares and repairs car. Gonna take a hit one way or the other though.

Be careful out there bargers....

[tobinen]

Oh dear, not good chap.