Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 18]

[ian316]

Krikkit said:

bolidemichael said:

I must've missed this revelation over someone's personal experience with Motorhub during my days in the wilderness. Can you tldr the story for me?

Ian bought a good SLK from Motorhub, it hasn't exploded so far.

Checked the mot history had a good look all over it and had a decent test drive, pressed every button, everything worked up until last week when a headlight bulb went she's had it since October and loves it, It was a good price cheapest r172 on AT I just treated it like a private sale and tbh it's faultless bar the odd stonechip on the front ps it is only the 200k engine

[mondayo]

I know we had this last week. But full pics are up now and it does look it excellent condition and very well specified.

But wouldn't you always be thinking/worry about the rust?
It does look good though and they're absolutely massive inside. Seemingly bigger than the S211.

Plus it's currently at £3,300 with 5 days to go. So as tempting as it is (or might be), you know you're getting shilled.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265067526543

[Timberwolf]

louiebaby said:

Timberwolf said:

Although beware the unwary original owner who ticked almost everything but failed to realise the kind of seat pockets and storage cubbies standard on almost every car made since the 1970s is a £270 or so option called "extended storage" when you're in the hall of Bavaria!

Do they carpet the door pockets on the "extended storage" pack?

Carpeted door pockets are the true sign of refinement in a barge.

Not on a 3-series, although doubtless if you started browsing deep into the Individual catalogue it's probably available for some eye watering sum. Extended storage is nets on the seat backs, the little driver's side mini glovebox beloved of German manufacturers, a few extra 12V sockets and hooks around the place, and some extra cargo securing bits to go in the boot.

I will say that after years of cars where the door storage seems to consist of a holder for a single After Eight mint, the F31 has the most enormous door bins, uncarpeted though they may be. You could put a small child or one of those enormous novelty Toblerones they sell in Swiss airports in there.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

5 In a Row said:

I was looking for a 4 cylinder 3 series with electric seats but sadly that's not one of the options you can search on so you'd have to look at every single car!
I used man maths to get into a 6 cylinder 4 series (albeit one that sips from the Devil's Pump) because at least that way you can guarantee you don't have to go to the extreme effort of pulling a lever to adjust your chair!

I'm in this place at the other end of the scale.

I've just ordered a 4 cylinder 3 Series but it is specced for me so is at the higher end of the Barge-lite-gizmo-scale. I haven't gone for HUD or blingy wheels, or uprated audio (who needs it with Continental radio stations and German techno-pop?) or the 'Driving Assistant Pack Professional' (Active Cruise Control, auto speed limit assist, cross-roads or wrong-way warning etc, on the basis that I can drive and don't want the sodding car doing it for me) and have instead focused on comfort.

Barring massive engine, it's the spec and colours that I would want when it's a bottom-feeding 15 year old at Shed money.

ETA - including the Storage package. Sad loser that I am.

Edited by CharlesdeGaulle on Tuesday 2nd March 10:33

[The spinner of plates]

0a said:

d_a_n1979 said:

cat220 said:

Nice looking XJ with sensible mileage for £3495...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009244...

That's lovely!

Never owned a Jag but that'd seriously tempt me. Not bothered re it not being a V8; spec and condition win it for me and that interior looks gorgeous. It's worn 100k very well indeed

What are they like for bork factor?

Similar but a generation on from mine, even the same colour. I bet it has similar performance but much better MPG. I just don’t love the looks of this generation, or the sound of a v6. Probably a good buy though. I would seek out the 4.2 v8 though.

I ran an x350 for 30k miles. Sov spec, black over cream.

Lovely thing. It started throwing gearbox / suspension fault errors.. got some worrying quotes from reputable indys. But a new battery for £130 solved all of it’s worries and never gave me any other bother.

Agree about the V6. It’s light enough to haul a bit, but busier in the engine bay than I like in a barge.

And finally agree on the point about estate versatility, I went back to one. It was a nice ‘going to dinner’ car, but not a very good family car. It’s got a big road footprint but not much space. Even the rear seats were less spacious than expected. It’s all bonnet and boot.

[alec.e]

Nothing wrong with a V6 X350, owned two of them, both were incredibly smooth for a V6. They are not fast, but make decent progress possible. By all means get a 4.2 V8 if in budget, but otherwise the V6 is a worthy engine.

[bolidemichael]

The spinner of plates said:

0a said:

d_a_n1979 said:

cat220 said:

Nice looking XJ with sensible mileage for £3495...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009244...

That's lovely!

Never owned a Jag but that'd seriously tempt me. Not bothered re it not being a V8; spec and condition win it for me and that interior looks gorgeous. It's worn 100k very well indeed

What are they like for bork factor?

Similar but a generation on from mine, even the same colour. I bet it has similar performance but much better MPG. I just don’t love the looks of this generation, or the sound of a v6. Probably a good buy though. I would seek out the 4.2 v8 though.

I ran an x350 for 30k miles. Sov spec, black over cream.

Lovely thing. It started throwing gearbox / suspension fault errors.. got some worrying quotes from reputable indys. But a new battery for £130 solved all of it’s worries and never gave me any other bother.

Agree about the V6. It’s light enough to haul a bit, but busier in the engine bay than I like in a barge.

And finally agree on the point about estate versatility, I went back to one. It was a nice ‘going to dinner’ car, but not a very good family car. It’s got a big road footprint but not much space. Even the rear seats were less spacious than expected. It’s all bonnet and boot.

That's why I got rid of the E63 645Ci, albeit, it isn't a four door.

[LetsTryAgain]

Krikkit said:

Ian bought a good SLK from Motorhub, it hasn't exploded so far.

Possibly the best TL;DR I’ve read all year.

[bolidemichael]

ian316 said:

Krikkit said:

bolidemichael said:

I must've missed this revelation over someone's personal experience with Motorhub during my days in the wilderness. Can you tldr the story for me?

Ian bought a good SLK from Motorhub, it hasn't exploded so far.

Checked the mot history had a good look all over it and had a decent test drive, pressed every button, everything worked up until last week when a headlight bulb went she's had it since October and loves it, It was a good price cheapest r172 on AT I just treated it like a private sale and tbh it's faultless bar the odd stonechip on the front ps it is only the 200k engine

Quite the revelation and whilst pleased for Ian, disappointed that the groupthink has been challenged.

[Macron]

Captain Sir Tom came from Keighley, it ain't all bad.

[LetsTryAgain]

bolidemichael said:

Quite the revelation and whilst pleased for Ian, disappointed that the groupthink has been challenged.

The groupthink hasn’t really been challenged properly, I don’t think.
It’s just that if you try and criticise, thread calls you racist.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

LetsTryAgain said:

bolidemichael said:

Quite the revelation and whilst pleased for Ian, disappointed that the groupthink has been challenged.

The groupthink hasn’t really been challenged properly, I don’t think.
It’s just that if you try and criticise, thread calls you racist.

Seems to me that the groupthink was 'avoid motorhub/criminals/money laundering/drugs etc'. Ian challenged it and got his wife the car she wanted at a price he was comfortable with. Not really sure that it's anyone else's business - he's happy.

[d_a_n1979]

LetsTryAgain said:

bolidemichael said:

Quite the revelation and whilst pleased for Ian, disappointed that the groupthink has been challenged.

The groupthink hasn’t really been challenged properly, I don’t think.
It’s just that if you try and criticise, thread calls you racist.

What like you did with me a few weeks back

[mondayo]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

I'm in this place at the other end of the scale.

I've just ordered a 4 cylinder 3 Series but it is specced for me so is at the higher end of the Barge-lite-gizmo-scale. I haven't gone for HUD or blingy wheels, or uprated audio (who needs it with Continental radio stations and German techno-pop?) or the 'Driving Assistant Pack Professional' (Active Cruise Control, auto speed limit assist, cross-roads or wrong-way warning etc, on the basis that I can drive and don't want the sodding car doing it for me) and have instead focused on comfort.

Barring massive engine, it's the spec and colours that I would want when it's a bottom-feeding 15 year old at Shed money.

ETA - including the Storage package. Sad loser that I am.

Edited by CharlesdeGaulle on Tuesday 2nd March 10:33

I may have missed it, but what did you order in the end?

[LetsTryAgain]

d_a_n1979 said:

What like you did with me a few weeks back

I know sarcasm is difficult in prose, but I was being facetious.

[d_a_n1979]

LetsTryAgain said:

d_a_n1979 said:

What like you did with me a few weeks back

I know sarcasm is difficult in prose, but I was being facetious.

I know; hence the

I know that some folk on here simply cannot cope with folk slating sellers such as Motorhub; as they should all be 'given a fair chance'...

That makes no sense to me, so I'll slate them at every opportunity...

[MorganP104]

LetsTryAgain said:

Krikkit said:

Ian bought a good SLK from Motorhub, it hasn't exploded so far.

Possibly the best TL;DR I’ve read all year.

Decent executive summaries are essential on a thread like this, especially as we all drive cars that mark us out as incredibly busy captains of industry, circa 1995.

Unfortunately, in stark contrast, such brevity generally eludes us threadists, many of whom who are fond of prose at the flowery end of the linguistic spectrum.

TL;DR - Short sentences are good, but we're not great at that.

[Krikkit]

mondayo said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

I'm in this place at the other end of the scale.

I've just ordered a 4 cylinder 3 Series but it is specced for me so is at the higher end of the Barge-lite-gizmo-scale. I haven't gone for HUD or blingy wheels, or uprated audio (who needs it with Continental radio stations and German techno-pop?) or the 'Driving Assistant Pack Professional' (Active Cruise Control, auto speed limit assist, cross-roads or wrong-way warning etc, on the basis that I can drive and don't want the sodding car doing it for me) and have instead focused on comfort.

Barring massive engine, it's the spec and colours that I would want when it's a bottom-feeding 15 year old at Shed money.

ETA - including the Storage package. Sad loser that I am.

I may have missed it, but what did you order in the end?

I'm not sure if CdeG deserves congratulations or commiserations - technically abandoning the thread way, but in the most thread-appropriate way that can be done really...

What did they offer you as a trade-in for your LS?

[Phil Dicky]

d_a_n1979 said:

LetsTryAgain said:

d_a_n1979 said:

What like you did with me a few weeks back

I know sarcasm is difficult in prose, but I was being facetious.

I know; hence the

I know that some folk on here simply cannot cope with folk slating sellers such as Motorhub; as they should all be 'given a fair chance'...

That makes no sense to me, so I'll slate them at every opportunity...

It's been done to death..shall we.move on.

[d_a_n1979]

Phil Dicky said:

d_a_n1979 said:

LetsTryAgain said:

d_a_n1979 said:

What like you did with me a few weeks back

I know sarcasm is difficult in prose, but I was being facetious.

I know; hence the

I know that some folk on here simply cannot cope with folk slating sellers such as Motorhub; as they should all be 'given a fair chance'...

That makes no sense to me, so I'll slate them at every opportunity...

It's been done to death..shall we.move on.

And my point exactly...