Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 22]

[JeremyH5]

biggbn said:

biggbn said:

tobinen said:

Buy it and post the forecourt shot. You know it's the right move.

Discussing it now...

Picking it up later this week.

I reckon you’ve done well there. I have a BMW E38 728i on similar miles and with similar maintenance spend/attitude (I’ve owned it for 14 years) and I’d buy it again now for more than you’re paying. Bon chance!

[AlfaManc]

biggbn said:

Picking it up later this week.

Nice one. Sounds like you are buying the owner as much as the car. It's an old high mileage car, but the guy seems decent so that offsets the risk IMO.

[Bear-n]

AlfaManc said:

biggbn said:

Picking it up later this week.

Nice one. Sounds like you are buying the owner as much as the car. It's an old high mileage car, but the guy seems decent so that offsets the risk IMO.

Yup, I bought my F11 based on similar feeling. Has still bitten me a couple of times but no regrets - fingers crossed, it certainly looks the business!

[BlueMR2]

biggbn said:

deadtom said:

biggbn said:

Ok, so car is an absolute honey. [...] EML light sometimes comes on [...] Car drives perfect, no limp mode, lots of power. [...] car has wanted for nothing, immaculate inside bar tiny scuff on drivers bolster, drives like 20k not 220k....

I had a 2006 A6 allroad with that engine and while I don't think I had swirl flap problems with it, I did have to strip down the intake system to a reasonable degree to get at the throttle body in order to replace the plastic gears that operate the butterfly valve (common problem on these I believe).

I am far from an expert at DIY motor mechanics, and I don't remember it being a particularly awful job. I also had to strip and degunk the air intake as the EGR system was all gummed up with diesel muck. Again this wasn't particularly hard to do, but it was a pretty grim job.

being the allroad it had what I believe i the same suspension system as the A8 of the time, and mine would also sag a bit if left unused for a week or so. I had the car over a year and it never caused any real problems and never got any worse, but of course YMMV. The suspension is quite a complex setup though, and I think I had to pay something like £400 to have just the left hand lower forward control arm (or something equally convoluted) replaced.

Despite all this, it was a great car and I would happily have another one

The big question though is whether the timing chain has been done? It's on the back of the engine, so it's an engine out job to replace. Mine never had it done and I sold it on at 185k miles with only a slight rattle on cold start, but I believe anything much beyond 150k miles is borrowed time if the chain hasn't been replaced.

Thanks for this. Heard car from stone cold and it was as quiet as a diesel can be. At this end of the market if the timing chain gets noisy, it gets moved on or goes in the bin. Gearbox was supersmooth, it was a lot quicker than I expected, no knocks or rattles, has had a fair bit of suspension work inc arms and various bushes over last few years. New discs and pads all round, all tyres less than 6 months old, full size mint diamond cut spare with unused tyre, full audi toolkit, car seems to have wanted for nothing. Swirl flap 'issue' certainly did not affect running...I have only been a passenger as I did not want to drive without insurance but will have a spin before money changes hands. Suspension was quiet and car sitting level when I got there, unstarted since previous day as requested. Seems to tick most boxes. No idea what these are like on fuel but might be a nice weekend/one day a week work car. Cost will be £1750...a lot for a car with 220k miles but not for one in this condition I'd suggest...?

When someone has owned a car for a couple of decades and knows more about the car than “uh I think its a diesel” it sounds like its been well looked after and had a serious amount of work done too that you no longer need to do.

I think this is a video of removing the swirl flaps themselves, i think it should be a similar engine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUuBzFXSB3Y&

This sounds like it could be a really nice car. Hard to find something at this price range thats actually been looked after.

[BlueMR2]

KadettE said:

Cheap SL500 where the roof doesn't work. Even just using it as coupe that could be quite nice if there's nothing else wrong with it. https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C2107811

Didn’t look so great in the first set of photos they used on the earlier advert further down.


Sounds like it may have abc suspension as previous MOT s mention fluid leaks at the rear and in one of the photos it looks like the suspension has dropped right down.

Multi colour paintwork too.




https://www.ukcardata.co.uk/c/s222tre-2003-mercede...

Edited by BlueMR2 on Wednesday 15th July 12:16

[Venisonpie]

BlueMR2 said:

Didn t look so great in the first set of photos they used.


Sounds like it may have abc suspension as previous MOT s mention fluid leaks at the rear and in one of the photos it looks like the suspension has dropped right down.

https://www.ukcardata.co.uk/c/s222tre-2003-mercede...

It will gave ABC. The roof will likely be due to water in the boot, this will either have caused issues with the vacuum system for the central locking and soft close preventing the boot from opening backwards during the open cycle or worse interferred with the roof gubbins.

[KadettE]

BlueMR2 said:

Didn t look so great in the first set of photos they used.


Sounds like it may have abc suspension as previous MOT s mention fluid leaks at the rear and in one of the photos it looks like the suspension has dropped right down.

https://www.ukcardata.co.uk/c/s222tre-2003-mercede...

Ah yes I was thinking this was some driveway trader or someone gambling on an easy fix. Can't fix it so smartened it up a bit and now looking to get the money back

[W00DY]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/800329702653?

V8, manual, convertible. £2.5k.

[Rusty Old-Banger]

A red convertible with a working roof and a ticket has got to be worth £2.5k all day long, no? I mean, it will need suspension, the AC won't work, the EML will be on, "a bit of paint" will turn out to be a full respray, and the DCR tint on the leather will stain your jeans, but just look at it. And you can probably sell the interior to a VAG-scene wker and get a cheapo black one if you really want to make a few quid back.

[McGee_22]

W00DY said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/800329702653?

V8, manual, convertible. £2.5k.

All these engines should come with this picture...



and this link which quotes £4k for a timing change service. Note a 'service' and not to try and fix anything that let go...

https://vagtechnic.uk/products/audi-s4-4-2-v8-bbk-...

[Overall D]

McGee_22 said:

All these engines should come with this picture...



and this link which quotes £4k for a timing change service. Note a 'service' and not to try and fix anything that let go...

https://vagtechnic.uk/products/audi-s4-4-2-v8-bbk-...

Weren't those chains at the back, meaning it's an engine out job?

[McGee_22]

Overall D said:

McGee_22 said:

All these engines should come with this picture...



and this link which quotes £4k for a timing change service. Note a 'service' and not to try and fix anything that let go...

https://vagtechnic.uk/products/audi-s4-4-2-v8-bbk-...

Weren't those chains at the back, meaning it's an engine out job?

Exhaust, driveshafts and propshafts, front of the car, gearbox then engine, Yep.

[W00DY]

At that money I think it's a risk you can take. Someone will want it as a parts car when it all goes tits up.

Surprised it's an engine out job tbh given the back of the engine is forward of the struts.

[McGee_22]

W00DY said:

At that money I think it's a risk you can take. Someone will want it as a parts car when it all goes tits up.

Surprised it's an engine out job tbh given the back of the engine is forward of the struts.

The timimg chain is on the back of the engine, hence it has to be disconnected from the gearbox once your drop the whole lot down.

Edit to add: We owned an S4 Cab, BK04SFF, which suddenly one day would not rev beyond 1700rpm and would not drive over 30-ish mph. It was in mint condition and had been absolutely trouble free from 40k miles to 140k miles, and still sounded ok - we took it to an Indy who after plugging in and listening declared they thought it was the chain, but could not be sure but either way it would be a few thousands in labour just to take it apart and look at the chain.

It had 6 weeks of MoT left so I advertised it as spares or repair. A pair of brothers came down from Nottingham and I took them for a short drive. A deal was done and I sold it for just over a few thousand - as soon as the money changed hands they tried to wind me up they have it fixed in a week and up for sale for 4 times the price - I just wished them good day and let them transport the car away.

The car was never MoT'd ever again, nor sold by them.

Edited by McGee_22 on Wednesday 15th July 12:05

[KadettE]

That red S4 appears to have been sold twice recently, in April and last November. Surely nothing to worry about

[QBee]

That interior reminds me it's time I took the dog for a walk.....

[BlueMR2]

KadettE said:

That red S4 appears to have been sold twice recently, in April and last November. Surely nothing to worry about

This shows 7 adverts,2 auctions recently and for sale at a Birmingham seller before iirc.

https://www.ukcardata.co.uk/c/rf04llw-2004-audi-s4...

Edited by BlueMR2 on Wednesday 15th July 18:41

[tobinen]

The VAG engine designers of the early noughties must have been on some very strong drugs. They may still be now.

[carinaman]

McGee_22, what did your B6 S4 Cab drive like?

[McGee_22]

carinaman said:

McGee_22, what did your B6 S4 Cab drive like?

It was a 2004 with the tip-tropic autobox and drove really well; a nice V8 rumble, bags of torque although the gearbox was slow to respond to gear changes even compared to my 2001 E39 Switch-Tronic Alpina. The economy was ok because it was an auto as the manual is very short geared and makes 30mpg apparently impossible. Being an Audi it did everything well and competently but I have to say it did lack any drama or real zip. The cloth hood was actually excellent for both weather and noise and never failed us, and any scuttle shake was only ever evident on very rough surfaces perhaps taken with a little too much speed. All in it did what it said on the tin incredibly well albeit a bit too quietly - until, like a couple of Audi’s we had, it very suddenly didn’t.