Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 13]

[PKLD]

tobinen said:

Dare I inquire what 'cheap' is in this case? Looks good

£2,100 which having sold my A3 the day before for £1950 means in my head I have an e39 for £150

[keeling54]

This was posted previously but now just a smidge over thread budget.

https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/2007-cls500-5-...

[junglie]

I’ve been watching that CLS 500 over the months and seen it drop from circa £10,000.

I have a lot of want for that but can’t justify it. Perhaps buy it, enjoy for a few months, and move on!

[tobinen]

PKLD said:

£2,100 which having sold my A3 the day before for £1950 means in my head I have an e39 for £150

Thanks.

[BlueMR2]

junglie said:

I have a lot of want for that but can’t justify it. Perhaps buy it, enjoy for a few months, and move on!

Considering it’s been for sale for almost 2 years, i’m not sure how successful that endeavour would be.

[C Lee Farquar]

5er said:

I'm a long-time semi-lurker, but a barge admirer nonetheless and I've also just bought (leased) a brand new car, albeit it's a kind-of-barge in the form of a Volvo V60. It's petrol, automatic, and it has outstanding seats, brilliant stereo with DAB (6Music is great)...

I spent ages looking for a 1-5k barge. Endlessly looking at adverts, several viewings... but I kept finding myself in the Best Lease thread The idea of trouble free motoring appealed greatly. And it was cheap enough that it won me over.

Got to say I'm loving it so far.

For balance, I found completely the opposite. Our Defender engine expired. We leased a Ford Wildtrak recently and it reminded me that I don't like new cars. Silly LED screens everywhere, impersonal. I find myself preferring my '96 Discovery Commercial for every occasion Strangely I didn't like that when I bought it new, now we are declining together in peace.

[stewjohnst]

It seems operation ‘get thee in a barge’ is back on track.

The wife having use of a small Vauxhall Mokka has made her realise she doesn’t need reversing cameras and other fripperies.

I’ve therefore got work to cancel the Leaf order (delivery date was way out to october anyway) and have taken an Audi A1 for her to shop and school run in as of next week.

This means the ‘big’ car in the house is actually the trusty Alfa 147, I’ll let the dust settle and then figure out a way of arriving home in something barge based

A1 is a 1.6 diesel auto, never owned an Audi and doubt it will be much fun but it ticks another marque off my ownership list.

[LetsTryAgain]

stewjohnst said:

Never owned an Audi and doubt it will be much fun but it ticks another marque off my ownership list.

From personal experience, I wouldn't rush too quickly to put Audi on that list, never mind tick it off.

[stewjohnst]

LetsTryAgain said:

From personal experience, I wouldn't rush too quickly to put Audi on that list, never mind tick it off.

It’s for the missus and was in the reallocation pool and outs about £180 extra in my pocket a month by swapping the Outlander, I’ve never been a fan of them and there was a Mini Cooper I was happier with but someone else pilfered it.

I’ll only have the Audi till about June next year and then I can ditch it, will also be weird/smelly going back to diesel too.

Only Audis I’ve ever really fancied owning are an A8/S8 and a 1st gen 2.7T Audi Allroad (I know allroads are dogs but they appeal to my left field sensibilities and green leather, why not?).

[jas xjr]

PKLD said:

You’ve got me paranoid now lol! It does sit lower than others I’ve seen but not sure if that’s the wheels or not. It’ll be having a visit to a specialist next week to give the list of hidden problems no doubt

Do these have air suspension on the back?

I would have one of these like a shot.
Lots of knowledgeable owners on e39 group on facebook and various forums

Edited by jas xjr on Tuesday 26th June 21:56

[0a]

I think an e39 would probably be an ideal car for someone like me. Regular 300 mile trips on a mixture of roads (can’t wait to get the w124 back, I really like a nice long A road trip in it).

But I get scared by the rust and cooling system stuff on e39. I probably shouldn’t any more than things on any other car.

I have switched back to the 190 and just love it. I think I’ll get the w124 on the road and sell the Lexus. Very good etc but so’s sitting in a chair in my lounge.

[Krikkit]

Some very up-beat thread barge changery on the cards, might be an exciting volume!

My house sale has just fallen through, so my plans for a V8 have been put on the back-burner again... :\

[pitchfork]

PKLD said:

You’ve got me paranoid now lol! It does sit lower than others I’ve seen but not sure if that’s the wheels or not. It’ll be having a visit to a specialist next week to give the list of hidden problems no doubt

I didn't mean to worry you unduly. It looks better from the side, and it'll have sports suspension, which is the lower of the two 'heights' available.

jas xjr said:

Do these have air suspension on the back?

They do have air pumps (for the rear only) and they're quite sensitive to changes in load, so you should hear it operating on a regular basis. To test it, get someone to sit in the boot and then start the car. If you find you're having issues, let me know and I'll offer suggestions (I've recently had to track down an issue with mine). They're in the spare wheel well, and it's as well you check there anyway as they can fill with water.

[Zonergem]

0a said:

I have switched back to the 190 and just love it. I think I’ll get the w124 on the road and sell the Lexus. Very good etc but so’s sitting in a chair in my lounge.

Mid-20s and dry in Jockland, and you're not driving your R129 with the top down?!

[tobinen]

jas xjr said:

Do these have air suspension on the back?

I would have one of these like a shot.
Lots of knowledgeable owners on e39 group on facebook and various forums

Edited by jas xjr on Tuesday 26th June 21:56

Sterillium of this parish has one for sale. He provided details to me but it's over my self-imposed budget cap. Sounds a good one though.

No idea about air suspension but I have seen one with a saggy bottom on eBay.

[LetsTryAgain]

tobinen said:

I have seen one with a saggy bottom on eBay.

I, too, have seen a few saggy bottoms in my time.

[W00DY]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-300D-124/11310...

Not the greatest ad, but high spec for a diesel, sounds like it's had lots of work and looks like it might be Barolo red.

[Lowtimer]

jas xjr said:

Do these have air suspension on the back?

I would have one of these like a shot.
Lots of knowledgeable owners on e39 group on facebook and various forums

Edited by jas xjr on Tuesday 26th June 21:56

Yes, all E39 and E61 Tourings have air rear suspension. Replacement of the air springs is, for the wise owner, a five year calendar job. It is neither complicated nor expensive.

[nobrakes]

W00DY said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes-300D-124/11310...

Not the greatest ad, but high spec for a diesel, sounds like it's had lots of work and looks like it might be Barolo red.

Probably good for another 285k miles.

Worse places to be in for £1500 asking.

[tobinen]

A rare thread favourite - C6 V6 petrol avec LPG. May well end up over thread maximum I suspect.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/113105332552?ul_noapp=t...