Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 13]

[tog]

I've no experience myself, but the feelings on Jags (X300/308) that I've picked up on this thread is V8 better than six (more power, more economical), and the bigger engine of either is better (more power, not significantly less economical)!

Edited by tog on Friday 22 March 20:15

[nobrakes]

derin100 said:

SpeckledJim said:

Mr Micawber said:

derin100 said:

Mr Micawber said:

and because there’s a lot of love for them



https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1092150


That Merc looks super - and not millions of miles from me. I notice that the MOT has registered the mileage in kilometers - I take it there is a good chance it is a Japanese import? Assuming that it is - does that make it far less appealing/valuable?

Looks good. The only thing I would question (and it may just be an affect of the photos) is that the paintwork down that whole offside looks quite variable and even 'flat' in places. Look at the driver's door....?

I have now spoken to the vendor. He seemed like a Mercedes enthusiast and doesn't think that the car has had any paintwork and wasn't aware of any inconsistencies in the finish. The car was imported from Japan in 2015 and has already had 2 previous UK owners, although not many miles have been covered. This means there is little in the way of service history - so the car would have to be bought on condition alone. I may go and see it tomorrow. What are the collective thoughts on value given the import and lack of history?

Personally I'd see it as a good thing, overall, as long as things like the stereo and speedo, etc, is all correct for the UK.

25 y.o. pieces of paper are exciting for the completer-finishers amongst us, but if like me you're waaaay too cool for school, you just want it to work, and preferably be shiny. I'm not fussed how broken it was in October 1998 or how comprehensively it was fixed in November 1998, as long as it's not broken now.

Looks a great prospect to me.

I agree. It's how it is now that really matters and is it all sorted at this point in time.

There's this other model-specific forum that I go (that shall remain nameless) where there are characters who seem to think the most important thing is to accrue a collection of historical service stamps in a book, all nicely in order, irrespective of mileage or whether a car has turned a single wheel between them.

After a few glasses of wine one evening, I suggested to them that a better hobby for them might be straightforward stamp-collecting and to just skip the car part out completely!

Edited by derin100 on Friday 22 March 17:20

That door is as flat as a flat thing. But, it’s an old car.

The owner’s “Oh, I can’t say I’d noticed sarge” line is disappointing, but the car looks very straight.

I would.

What would it be worth if the door was done and the rest given one of these 500quid detailing jobs?

Depend on the structural condition though.

[derin100]

OT:

Meanwhile, as you and I scramble around in the bed-sediment at the bottom of the £1-5K pond, searching for the most meagre of morsels and occasionally daring to gasp for breath above the £5K threshold of putrefying, rotten organic matter to sniff at things beyond our means, my best friend picked up his brand new Ferrari 488 today. All over a quarter of a million £ worth:





To put that into some sort of context...At top (our) budget currency that equates to 50 Top Barges. I'll repeat....Fifty!

[CharlesdeGaulle]

derin100 said:

Would it qualify for classic insurance? (may be a stumbling point)

Asking ... really ... at your age ... ? You're guaranteed classic/jurassic insurance.

[Blown2CV]

derin100 said:

OT:

Meanwhile, as you and I scramble around in the bed-sediment at the bottom of the £1-5K pond, searching for the most meagre of morsels and occasionally daring to gasp for breath above the £5K threshold of putrefying, rotten organic matter to sniff at things beyond our means, my best friend picked up his brand new Ferrari 488 today. All over a quarter of a million £ worth:





To put that into some sort of context...At top (our) budget currency that equates to 50 Top Barges. I'll repeat....Fifty!

those dark blue clothes are going to mark those seats.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Blown2CV said:

derin100 said:

OT:

Meanwhile, as you and I scramble around in the bed-sediment at the bottom of the £1-5K pond, searching for the most meagre of morsels and occasionally daring to gasp for breath above the £5K threshold of putrefying, rotten organic matter to sniff at things beyond our means, my best friend picked up his brand new Ferrari 488 today. All over a quarter of a million £ worth:





To put that into some sort of context...At top (our) budget currency that equates to 50 Top Barges. I'll repeat....Fifty!

those dark blue clothes are going to mark those seats.

More to the point, he won't be able to see through the gauze and is likely to crash and die.

[Johnny Raydome]

derin100 said:

BUT (!)...and I know nothing about what engine or performance to expect...My God! This thing is beautiful and I'm tempted by it!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-Jaguar-XJ8-Series-...

Mmmm - been there, derin (I think I might have been the previous poster of this beauty).

The colours are just wonderful but general consensus was that the price was a bit toppy and the Celtic alloys kinda didn't look right - easily rectified, though.
Let's see you get this one out of your head!

Tasker & Lacy seem to be fairly pukka and it's now £500 less than when I started drooling.
G'wan, g'wan.

[cherryowen]

Krikkit said:

There's very little to worry about on a 308 that you wouldn't ordinarily check.

Rust is the biggest issue imho, so a clean MOT and a good nosey underneath is essential, otherwise it's the usual - make sure the gearbox is good and smooth, good suspension etc.

I think that one from Tasker & Lacy looks fabulous.

While we're talking about Jags, this XJ40 4.0 Sovereign has just popped up htis evening on AT. If it wasn't too far away I'd have it: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...



Horrible wheels, but a decent-sounding owner and an afternoons tinkering away from lovely imho.

Wheels aside, that is bloody delicious

[anonymous-user]

Johnny Raydome said:

Mmmm - been there, derin (I think I might have been the previous poster of this beauty).

The colours are just wonderful but general consensus was that the price was a bit toppy and the Celtic alloys kinda didn't look right - easily rectified, though.
Let's see you get this one out of your head!

Tasker & Lacy seem to be fairly pukka and it's now £500 less than when I started drooling.
G'wan, g'wan.

The chap at Tasker & Lacy said that car sales have been very slow so far in 2019, so there might be movement in the price. It looked as good in person as it does in pics, although I didn't check it for rust. IMHO the price is very toppy for a not particularly low mileage 3.2, and while you might not mind about outright performance the 4 litre does make progress a lot more effortless. If that was a private sale that hadn't had a recent polish it would be a £2k car.

While not one half as attractive to look at, the X350 is a much more modern and capable car with far fewer weak areas. It doesn't even look as bad now as it did in 2003, as the roads are littered with bloaters. Worth considering?

[Jim the Sunderer]

Ignoring Tasker & Lacey's dodgy "drives surpurb" puffery, they can certainly make a widow's car look good.

I don't see what the point of the 3.2l XJ8 was other than to make the 4.0 cost more.

Regarding classic insurance on them; seems the model has been blacklisted by the insurers I've tried for the last few years but I did have it in 2015. It offset the hideous fuel consumption nicely.

[The Don of Croy]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

derin100 said:

SpeckledJim said:

I loved the '23i in the E39 because it was slow enough that you had time to enjoy the comings and goings of the various harmonies in the rev range. It's a great match to the car, IMO, if you're not a racer.

Likewise the '28i, to be honest. Not much in it, in appeal, for me.

Yep...agree with that.

I suspect I'm in danger of consecutive self-indulgent postings, but I had a 523i in the e61 that followed the 39. The car was sold to gruber, intermittently of this parish. I really liked the engine but found the wider BMW/60/61 experience to be somewhat less than inspiring.

To continue the indulgence (this thread is nothing if not a little indulgent)... the only E39 experience I have is with the 523i, owned by my boss (33k new in 1997) and his pride and joy, also chosen over the 528i. So? Well, he was once a Ford works driver, knew a bit about handling and stuff, and liked to wring it's neck now and again. But mainly he pootled around like a thorough going Gerald.

Am up for Haynes museum on Friday or Saturday.

[derin100]

Thanks for all the Jag tutorials chaps!

Particularly as our Merc man is still seemingly slow at coming forward with details (just checked).

[derin100]

Sorry if has all been discussed before but that Jag at Tasker and Lacy...

It its MOT most of the previous Fails and Advisories are BS or would have been easily rectified but one stands out and it wa snearly 10 years ago (!):

Offside front subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.a.3)

[Johnny Raydome]

Nearly Volume 14, by the way chaps.

Is there going to be a last-minute purchase in the next couple of pages to see the bells in, as it were?

[Jimmy Recard]

If anyone was watching this space, the MX-5 and ML are both going well and seem to get on with each other. I think they complement each other nicely.

The MX-5 did fill with water when it rained at the weekend, but that seems to be sorted how. Blocked hood drains.

[nickod]

derin100 said:

One of my questions to the vendor was regarding an oil leak advisory in the MOT history that I looked up yesterday. That was noted a few years back but then not in later MOTs. So, either it's the usual weep that you get via those engine's head-gasket which then might have been rectified with the later, modified gasket or subsequent MOT testers have chosen to ignore it?

That's my old car - I miss it. I did the head gasket and the ECU. I'm tempted to bid myself.

[Krikkit]

derin100 said:

Sorry if has all been discussed before but that Jag at Tasker and Lacy...

It its MOT most of the previous Fails and Advisories are BS or would have been easily rectified but one stands out and it wa snearly 10 years ago (!):

Offside front subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.a.3)

If it appeared once then disappeared then I wouldn't worry. Sometimes overzealous testers mark rusty bolt holes (unused) in subframes like that.

Somewhere like T&L I'm sure they'd stick it up on a ramp for inspection with a little notice.

[Johnny Raydome]

Krikkit said:

derin100 said:

Sorry if has all been discussed before but that Jag at Tasker and Lacy...

It its MOT most of the previous Fails and Advisories are BS or would have been easily rectified but one stands out and it wa snearly 10 years ago (!):

Offside front subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.a.3)

If it appeared once then disappeared then I wouldn't worry. Sometimes overzealous testers mark rusty bolt holes (unused) in subframes like that.

Somewhere like T&L I'm sure they'd stick it up on a ramp for inspection with a little notice.

I meant to answer earlier with something similar and got sidetracked.

The dealer sounds decent and amenable, from what's been reported on the thread.
Can't see why they wouldn't let you have a good look underneath before committing.

[ilikejam]

Blown2CV said:

derin100 said:

OT:

Meanwhile, as you and I scramble around in the bed-sediment at the bottom of the £1-5K pond, searching for the most meagre of morsels and occasionally daring to gasp for breath above the £5K threshold of putrefying, rotten organic matter to sniff at things beyond our means, my best friend picked up his brand new Ferrari 488 today. All over a quarter of a million £ worth:





To put that into some sort of context...At top (our) budget currency that equates to 50 Top Barges. I'll repeat....Fifty!

those dark blue clothes are going to mark those seats.

And check that panel gap between bonnet and bumper

[SpeckledJim]

derin100 said:

OT:

Meanwhile, as you and I scramble around in the bed-sediment at the bottom of the £1-5K pond, searching for the most meagre of morsels and occasionally daring to gasp for breath above the £5K threshold of putrefying, rotten organic matter to sniff at things beyond our means, my best friend picked up his brand new Ferrari 488 today. All over a quarter of a million £ worth:





To put that into some sort of context...At top (our) budget currency that equates to 50 Top Barges. I'll repeat....Fifty!

Good to see a dementor able to leave work at work and just enjoy himself. Those lads are usually just all graft and home-making. I was a dementor one summer in university. If I’d known they pulled in that sort of money I’d have drunk a bit less and knuckled down.