Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 18]

[SpeckledJim]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

j4ck100 said:

stickleback123 said:

Lovely car, but this:

"notable bill in 2012 totalling £14,246.45"

I'm sorry but there is nothing on that car that should have cost £14k, other than buying three or four new ones in 2012. My experience of flicking through the bills for my S600 very strongly suggests that Merc dealers *and* Merc "specialists" absolutely bend you over. In the case of one specialist my car has spent time with I'm now convinced they are actually crooks.

Edited by stickleback123 on Sunday 7th February 19:24

Couldn’t agree more

£14k in 2012? Jeez, what on earth was done? Total. Rebuild?!

Typo? £1424?

£424?

£14,24?

[sdh2903]

LetsTryAgain said:

Previous generation, admittedly, but my only experience of BMW auto's have been E39 and E46.
Having owned manual and auto sixes in both variants (with the same engine), the manuals were a million times better/nicer to drive.

Owned an E38 that was auto (V8, natch) and that suited auto.
Owned an E66 (that may not be correct model designation; 2006) 750i, auto was great in that, too.

So my first line was a lie, haha. I have more BMW auto gearbox experience than I initially realised.
But I still preferred manual versions of my BMW sixes.

Is the auto fitted to an e46 330ci the same box as the one fitted to the e63 630i?

I had an auto e46 and found it a wee bit dim witted. Am now looking at 630i's and as 99% are autos I'd accepted it was going to need to be auto (although Ive had the previously posted manual in my watch list for a while). Am Hoping the zf 6 speed isn't the same unit.

[CAPP0]

BlackStang5point0 said:

Just checking in

Likewise!

[728 days later]

sdh2903 said:

LetsTryAgain said:

Previous generation, admittedly, but my only experience of BMW auto's have been E39 and E46.
Having owned manual and auto sixes in both variants (with the same engine), the manuals were a million times better/nicer to drive.

Owned an E38 that was auto (V8, natch) and that suited auto.
Owned an E66 (that may not be correct model designation; 2006) 750i, auto was great in that, too.

So my first line was a lie, haha. I have more BMW auto gearbox experience than I initially realised.
But I still preferred manual versions of my BMW sixes.

Is the auto fitted to an e46 330ci the same box as the one fitted to the e63 630i?

I had an auto e46 and found it a wee bit dim witted. Am now looking at 630i's and as 99% are autos I'd accepted it was going to need to be auto (although Ive had the previously posted manual in my watch list for a while). Am Hoping the zf 6 speed isn't the same unit.

I’m very sure the E46 only had 5 speed autos

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

728 days later said:

sdh2903 said:

LetsTryAgain said:

Previous generation, admittedly, but my only experience of BMW auto's have been E39 and E46.
Having owned manual and auto sixes in both variants (with the same engine), the manuals were a million times better/nicer to drive.

Owned an E38 that was auto (V8, natch) and that suited auto.
Owned an E66 (that may not be correct model designation; 2006) 750i, auto was great in that, too.

So my first line was a lie, haha. I have more BMW auto gearbox experience than I initially realised.
But I still preferred manual versions of my BMW sixes.

Is the auto fitted to an e46 330ci the same box as the one fitted to the e63 630i?

I had an auto e46 and found it a wee bit dim witted. Am now looking at 630i's and as 99% are autos I'd accepted it was going to need to be auto (although Ive had the previously posted manual in my watch list for a while). Am Hoping the zf 6 speed isn't the same unit.

I’m very sure the E46 only had 5 speed autos

Correct. M3 had SMG as 6 speed but all others were 5 speed.

[si_xsi]

W00DY said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-Peugeot-605-2-0-Pe...

My grandfather had one of these but a 3.0 SLI? Comfort and decent turn of speed back in the day. He was lead account manager for Peugeot and Citroen advertising in the late 70s and 80s and was responsible for giving the go ahead on the Grace Jones Citroen BX advert which caused a bit of a stir at the time.

[InYaMooey]

d_a_n1979 said:

An E46 330i I can see why a manual would suit it, more so something like the Clubsport or 2 door coupe; but for me, the E39s suit the autobox very well and I'd never look at one with a manual. They're not a B road hoonigan IMO; they're a luxo-saloon or touring, for long distance journeys to be covered in comfort.

Apart from the M5 E39s just don't suit a manual box IMO. But then again that is my personal preference and I'm an old fart before my time at 41

Sorry, I beg to differ (being an even older fart !!)

540i 6 can be driven (almost as an auto) or pushed slightly as and when required

And I couldn’t buy a Touring M5

[LetsTryAgain]

InYaMooey said:

Sorry, I beg to differ (being an even older fart !!)

540i 6 can be driven (almost as an auto) or pushed slightly as and when required

And I couldn’t buy a Touring M5

Having driven a 2.2 E39, that definitely was better with a manual gearbox.
My manual 330i E46 was night and day better than my auto.

[KrisP]

r129sl said:

I spotted this yesterday, and if it wasn't for the blue interior I think I would have been beating a path to them - all blue, and blue some more is causing me to think -
Reijn's brazil interior really suits the W124, as does palomino, or red, but blue.....hmm, I'm not struck

[g3org3y]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

728 days later said:

sdh2903 said:

LetsTryAgain said:

Previous generation, admittedly, but my only experience of BMW auto's have been E39 and E46.
Having owned manual and auto sixes in both variants (with the same engine), the manuals were a million times better/nicer to drive.

Owned an E38 that was auto (V8, natch) and that suited auto.
Owned an E66 (that may not be correct model designation; 2006) 750i, auto was great in that, too.

So my first line was a lie, haha. I have more BMW auto gearbox experience than I initially realised.
But I still preferred manual versions of my BMW sixes.

Is the auto fitted to an e46 330ci the same box as the one fitted to the e63 630i?

I had an auto e46 and found it a wee bit dim witted. Am now looking at 630i's and as 99% are autos I'd accepted it was going to need to be auto (although Ive had the previously posted manual in my watch list for a while). Am Hoping the zf 6 speed isn't the same unit.

I’m very sure the E46 only had 5 speed autos

Correct. M3 had SMG as 6 speed but all others were 5 speed.

The 630 has the six speed ZF 6HP26 box iirc. Same as in the E6X 5er, E6X 7er, E9X 3er and E70 X5 afaik.

LetsTryAgain said:

InYaMooey said:

Sorry, I beg to differ (being an even older fart !!)

540i 6 can be driven (almost as an auto) or pushed slightly as and when required

And I couldn’t buy a Touring M5

Having driven a 2.2 E39, that definitely was better with a manual gearbox.
My manual 330i E46 was night and day better than my auto.

E46 330 = best with manual box imo.

I actually find the ZF 6 speed auto suits the E90 330i quite well though.

[Hammerhead]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

We had that last week. We don't need it again!

Humble apologies, Sir!

[sdh2903]

Cheers chaps

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Volume 18 has got off to an extraordinarily detailed, and fascinating critique about BMW gearboxes. What larks. Just goes to show the wonderful randomness of our little loser-barge community.

[DrEMa]

Might not be to everyone's taste (modification wise), but this is the sort of thing I be looking for when my lease is up next year:

https://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/217295/2000-l...

[W201_190e]

Erm so, I've done a thing since my last post. Somewhat unbecoming of me, a little impulsive. This afternoon was interesting, I got wind of a leggy mileage but otherwise solid non rusty E46 330ci Manual (5 speed) 20 minutes away.

Erm, you can guess the rest. Collecting Saturday.





So in true thread fashion I've purchased something that's not on my list, not really a barge and over my budget (although two thirds of thread or thereabouts, probably more expensive than I could have gotten one especially with the miles, but it's condition warrants the outlay)

The details:

330ci Sport Manual
Electric seats (non heated)
Xenons
Everything works
Manual (5 speed)
Recent new vanos seals, brake lines, tyres are good and matching, service history was presented to me on a forklift, so we'll looked after. From Harrogate for ten years so I guess being miles away from salty air explains why it's not rusty.

So yeah, I've had one before. Exactly the same really. Loved it. But mine was cheap and nasty and I hadn't given much thought to them again. Did I mention this is a non rusty example? How long that will last I don't know. Seller was a lovely genuine chap, same age as me and just had too many cars. MOT history is good, wear and tear stuff really. 163k, not really worried about that. Ultimately probably cheaper to run than an E38 or another old Mercedes over 150 miles a week.

So yeah, erm... please can I stay in the thread

[josh00mac]

That 7 seems to have gone

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

W201_190e said:

Erm so, I've done a thing since my last post. Somewhat unbecoming of me, a little impulsive. This afternoon was interesting, I got wind of a leggy mileage but otherwise solid non rusty E46 330ci Manual (5 speed) 20 minutes away.

Erm, you can guess the rest. Collecting Saturday.





So in true thread fashion I've purchased something that's not on my list, not really a barge and over my budget (although two thirds of thread or thereabouts, probably more expensive than I could have gotten one especially with the miles, but it's condition warrants the outlay)

The details:

330ci Sport Manual
Electric seats (non heated)
Xenons
Everything works
Manual (5 speed)
Recent new vanos seals, brake lines, tyres are good and matching, service history was presented to me on a forklift, so we'll looked after. From Harrogate for ten years so I guess being miles away from salty air explains why it's not rusty.

So yeah, I've had one before. Exactly the same really. Loved it. But mine was cheap and nasty and I hadn't given much thought to them again. Did I mention this is a non rusty example? How long that will last I don't know. Seller was a lovely genuine chap, same age as me and just had too many cars. MOT history is good, wear and tear stuff really. 163k, not really worried about that. Ultimately probably cheaper to run than an E38 or another old Mercedes over 150 miles a week.

So yeah, erm... please can I stay in the thread

Such handsome cars. I really think the E46/E39 and E39 were the pinnacle of BMW design. Especially late models.

[W201_190e]

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

W201_190e said:

Erm so, I've done a thing since my last post. Somewhat unbecoming of me, a little impulsive. This afternoon was interesting, I got wind of a leggy mileage but otherwise solid non rusty E46 330ci Manual (5 speed) 20 minutes away.

Erm, you can guess the rest. Collecting Saturday.





So in true thread fashion I've purchased something that's not on my list, not really a barge and over my budget (although two thirds of thread or thereabouts, probably more expensive than I could have gotten one especially with the miles, but it's condition warrants the outlay)

The details:

330ci Sport Manual
Electric seats (non heated)
Xenons
Everything works
Manual (5 speed)
Recent new vanos seals, brake lines, tyres are good and matching, service history was presented to me on a forklift, so we'll looked after. From Harrogate for ten years so I guess being miles away from salty air explains why it's not rusty.

So yeah, I've had one before. Exactly the same really. Loved it. But mine was cheap and nasty and I hadn't given much thought to them again. Did I mention this is a non rusty example? How long that will last I don't know. Seller was a lovely genuine chap, same age as me and just had too many cars. MOT history is good, wear and tear stuff really. 163k, not really worried about that. Ultimately probably cheaper to run than an E38 or another old Mercedes over 150 miles a week.

So yeah, erm... please can I stay in the thread

Such handsome cars. I really think the E46/E39 and E39 were the pinnacle of BMW design. Especially late models.

Yes, I prefer the pre facelift E46 headlights, something a bit off with the 2003 onwards model.

[TyrannosauRoss Lex]

W201_190e said:

TyrannosauRoss Lex said:

W201_190e said:

Erm so, I've done a thing since my last post. Somewhat unbecoming of me, a little impulsive. This afternoon was interesting, I got wind of a leggy mileage but otherwise solid non rusty E46 330ci Manual (5 speed) 20 minutes away.

Erm, you can guess the rest. Collecting Saturday.





So in true thread fashion I've purchased something that's not on my list, not really a barge and over my budget (although two thirds of thread or thereabouts, probably more expensive than I could have gotten one especially with the miles, but it's condition warrants the outlay)

The details:

330ci Sport Manual
Electric seats (non heated)
Xenons
Everything works
Manual (5 speed)
Recent new vanos seals, brake lines, tyres are good and matching, service history was presented to me on a forklift, so we'll looked after. From Harrogate for ten years so I guess being miles away from salty air explains why it's not rusty.

So yeah, I've had one before. Exactly the same really. Loved it. But mine was cheap and nasty and I hadn't given much thought to them again. Did I mention this is a non rusty example? How long that will last I don't know. Seller was a lovely genuine chap, same age as me and just had too many cars. MOT history is good, wear and tear stuff really. 163k, not really worried about that. Ultimately probably cheaper to run than an E38 or another old Mercedes over 150 miles a week.

So yeah, erm... please can I stay in the thread

Such handsome cars. I really think the E46/E39 and E39 were the pinnacle of BMW design. Especially late models.

Yes, I prefer the pre facelift E46 headlights, something a bit off with the 2003 onwards model.

I'm not fussed, although I think the very early low spec cars with orange indicators look a little odd. I love aste E46 sport personally, although the M3 and CSL (obviously both pre-facelift lights) are the pick of the range. They just look so well balanced. Funny to think that by today's standards they're not that quick now!

[cat220]

W201_190e said:

Erm so, I've done a thing since my last post. Somewhat unbecoming of me, a little impulsive. This afternoon was interesting, I got wind of a leggy mileage but otherwise solid non rusty E46 330ci Manual (5 speed) 20 minutes away.

Erm, you can guess the rest. Collecting Saturday.





So in true thread fashion I've purchased something that's not on my list, not really a barge and over my budget (although two thirds of thread or thereabouts, probably more expensive than I could have gotten one especially with the miles, but it's condition warrants the outlay)

The details:

330ci Sport Manual
Electric seats (non heated)
Xenons
Everything works
Manual (5 speed)
Recent new vanos seals, brake lines, tyres are good and matching, service history was presented to me on a forklift, so we'll looked after. From Harrogate for ten years so I guess being miles away from salty air explains why it's not rusty.

So yeah, I've had one before. Exactly the same really. Loved it. But mine was cheap and nasty and I hadn't given much thought to them again. Did I mention this is a non rusty example? How long that will last I don't know. Seller was a lovely genuine chap, same age as me and just had too many cars. MOT history is good, wear and tear stuff really. 163k, not really worried about that. Ultimately probably cheaper to run than an E38 or another old Mercedes over 150 miles a week.

So yeah, erm... please can I stay in the thread

Congrats, looks good! Always liked these, I remember getting my ep3 type r new in 2003 and my boss at the time had a new one of these. Little civic just edged it performance wise but not much in it. The 330i always felt very well put together and a much more premium product.