Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 22]

[donkmeister]

ingenieur said:

This is what I've thought about so far:

1. MINI Cooper S R53 with a reduced supercharger pulley so it makes a funny noise and Recaro heated seats. I found the one I wanted but it sold this weekend so can't have it now. There aren't any others in that spec as far as know. I would consider others but not taking base spec or standard examples that haven't had loads of branded accessories fitted - it's a cult car thing... the ones which have been enthusiast owned and loved are generally better cars than the ones which have been a third car in the same family for 15 years with barely any servicing. - in my opinion!

2. A second CL500 to go with my other one - can't find any nice ones for £5000. They're either awful basket cases for £1500 or ones which have been polished and listed at £11,995 - I need a backup car so I'm still able to leave the house if my other bad choices have let me down.

3. A tuned Saab from the late 90s. I really wanted a 'new' 900 and there is one available but I'm a little sceptical on the claim of 275hp as I'd want to see some mention of upgraded turbo and I don't like the wheels. On the other hand, if it really is 275hp it is a nice q-car. People have probably forgotten about Saabs by this stage so it would surprise people and that would be entertaining: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504271...

4. XJR - love the way these look. They all have mega miles on them. I've driven a few jags of that era and was thoroughly impressed.

5. Citroen BX

6. 80s BMW

From that list, to complement your CL500 I'd say the Citroen BX would be my first choice, SAAB second choice, Mini third choice. I realise that means I've put the wafty magic carpet first alongside the existing wafty magic carpet, but I've never had a proper Citroen and it's an itch I need to scratch.

[nobrakes]

LS 460. 2015. 109k miles

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504020...

£5k

That’s a lot of car.

[Philv8s]

Thats a scam ad.

[nobrakes]

Philv8s said:

Thats a scam ad.

Ah. Thanks!

[ingenieur]

Mr Tidy said:

KadettE said:

30mpg is tricky for most of the old barges that get posted in here, depending on where you drive. How much were you getting from your 330i for comparison?

My 2005 330i has averaged between 33 and 34mpg over the 6 years I've had it, but then I don't commute any more. But that still seems pretty reasonable to me.

Mine has a diesel diff (geared for 250mph at the redline, 1500rpm on the motorway) and LPG conversion. In theory a very economical car but the testing I did in the end was more limited than I had expected as my contract ended and I didn't get anything similar so it has been a second car for the last few years. I don't know what the real MPG is for lack of thorough testing.

[ingenieur]

E90_M3Ross said:

ingenieur said:

Time to replace the 2005 BMW 330i. I'm considering anything up to max thread. Only real condition is 4 seats (a large coupe would still be fine).

Has there been anything nice on here in the last few weeks? Alpina's or other special editions or weird low mileage things or ancient Mercs.

Edit: couple more conditions. I ain't paying no £800 a year tax and I'm probably going to have to do quite a lot of miles so 30mpg would be about the minimum.

The Rover 825i is tempting!

Edited by ingenieur on Saturday 26th April 20:29

2005....is that an E46 or an E9x?

E90

[ingenieur]

nobrakes said:

LS 460. 2015. 109k miles

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504020...

£5k

That’s a lot of car.

That came up on one of my searches. Not really a fan of the dashboard styling on that model. I don't generally like anything where shapes are elongated upwards like the headlamps on those small cars where the tips of the headlamps nearly touch the a-pillars. I think I've got more of a horizontal sort of taste in headlamps and dashboards.

[macron]

BX sounds like a great idea until I see the consideration of some sort of resilience being required.

I’d look Clio 182 or 200, no supercharger whine like a Mini but defo likely to hit the enthusiast owner angle.

Or, they are possibly even below the Barry boys now, Civic Type R.

Or, a Merc 190, as outside chance of not letting you down thanks to general simplicity.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504251...

Or, fk it, roll those dice

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503019...

[E90_M3Ross]

nobrakes said:

LS 460. 2015. 109k miles

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504020...

£5k

That’s a lot of car.

Ad says 2007, not 2015?

[Wulf Sternhammer]

Now here is a rare beast:



https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1861018

Many years ago, I used to work for White Arrow Fleet services delivering cars all over the country. At the time, these were quite popular amongst the mid to high level company car users and police forces. I got to to drive pretty much every version of the Omega, right from the lowly 2.0 Select, right up to the MV6 and 3.2 Elite. the six cylinder cars, including the compression ignition version, were all quite capable. All were very comfortable indeed.

[W00DY]

E90_M3Ross said:

nobrakes said:

LS 460. 2015. 109k miles

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504020...

£5k

That’s a lot of car.

Ad says 2007, not 2015?

It did say 2015 I think which must have been the year it was registered as an import. i see it's listed as a 2007 on a 15 plate now.

[21st Century Man]

Wulf Sternhammer said:

compression ignition version

macron filter work around?

[E90_M3Ross]

W00DY said:

E90_M3Ross said:

nobrakes said:

LS 460. 2015. 109k miles

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504020...

£5k

That’s a lot of car.

Ad says 2007, not 2015?

It did say 2015 I think which must have been the year it was registered as an import. i see it's listed as a 2007 on a 15 plate now.

So how come it's a scam advert?

[ingenieur]

If anyone has any links to nice CL500s with a 55 reg and less than 100k on the clock I'd consider one of those. They're such great cars, fantastic MPG for a 5.0 v8 and probably the best car I've had out of maybe a hundred I've owned over the years.

[nobrakes]

Wulf Sternhammer said:

Now here is a rare beast:



https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1861018

Many years ago, I used to work for White Arrow Fleet services delivering cars all over the country. At the time, these were quite popular amongst the mid to high level company car users and police forces. I got to to drive pretty much every version of the Omega, right from the lowly 2.0 Select, right up to the MV6 and 3.2 Elite. the six cylinder cars, including the compression ignition version, were all quite capable. All were very comfortable indeed.

Very very nice.

[ingenieur]

macron said:

BX sounds like a great idea until I see the consideration of some sort of resilience being required.

I’d look Clio 182 or 200, no supercharger whine like a Mini but defo likely to hit the enthusiast owner angle.

Or, they are possibly even below the Barry boys now, Civic Type R.

Or, a Merc 190, as outside chance of not letting you down thanks to general simplicity.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504251...

Or, fk it, roll those dice

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202503019...

with the BX (or whatever I end up getting) my view is having two cars (for me + my wife is inheriting my S212 that I bought a couple months ago) that they won't all be broken at the same time. So if I get something a bit risky to go with my other risky choices I should be okay still.

The Merc 190 is nice but it looks like it cost the dealer £995 and he's put £4k on it. If I got that car I'd want something left over in the budget for wheel refurb, a stereo and some decent tyres.

The Giulietta I don't think I could ever gel with. Looks far too new for my liking. Older Alfa's like the 164 would be more my sort of thing.

[Crook]

I know that it’s sold and ergo not for sale and even though it has almost as much leg as hot gossip, it went for only a whisper over max thread…

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/auction/17498377

That is a lot of car for the money.

[LayZ]

MV6 is really good for 4k. Nice find.

[Pablo16v]

Wulf Sternhammer said:

Now here is a rare beast:



https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1861018

Many years ago, I used to work for White Arrow Fleet services delivering cars all over the country. At the time, these were quite popular amongst the mid to high level company car users and police forces. I got to to drive pretty much every version of the Omega, right from the lowly 2.0 Select, right up to the MV6 and 3.2 Elite. the six cylinder cars, including the compression ignition version, were all quite capable. All were very comfortable indeed.

They were also very tail happy on crappy Pirelli P6000s

[ingenieur]

nobrakes said:

Wulf Sternhammer said:

Now here is a rare beast:



https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1861018

Many years ago, I used to work for White Arrow Fleet services delivering cars all over the country. At the time, these were quite popular amongst the mid to high level company car users and police forces. I got to to drive pretty much every version of the Omega, right from the lowly 2.0 Select, right up to the MV6 and 3.2 Elite. the six cylinder cars, including the compression ignition version, were all quite capable. All were very comfortable indeed.

Very very nice.

It's a pretty good looking car but I've found a problem. It's both slow and poor fuel consumption. About 25mpg and 0-60 in 9 seconds. You need one or the other i.e. if the MPG is poor then it needs to go like a scalded cat. Ideally you can get both. BMW N53s are both economical and quick.