Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 22]

[Inspire]

Mikedknight said:

I bought a car from BCA it had logbooks and service history for 4 other cars in it. I told Bca. Bca sent all the disgruntled customers to my unit to collect their paperwork. A couple of weeks later i purchased another car from the same branch. My recovery guy was a day over and there was a £12 fee to pay. They wouldn’t let him pay it by cash or card insisted on a bank transfer once they had sent me an invoice. Invoice took two hours to arrive. How the other threadist got his money back is a miracle. I still buy from there though they have all the cars.

WTF!

[biggbn]

ingenieur said:

Venisonpie said:

ingenieur said:

It's not exactly true though is it. That era of Jaguar Morse was driving was a completely different kind of car to the machines being mass produced and computer designed in the 90s and 2000s. His Jaguar was substantially hand made from real materials like steel, wood and leather and that era had most certainly ended by the time Morse was broadcasting.

Perhaps a better comparison might be an early XJ6?

Well the question would be if you were defining the character of a thoughtful older police detective who lives alone in Oxford and likes classical music what car would he drive?

A Citroën DS, or perhaps a Bristol. Always thought Morse's Jag was 'miscast', a Daimler 250 would have been more apt. The jag always had a bit of a wideboy vibe...

[ingenieur]

biggbn said:

ingenieur said:

Venisonpie said:

ingenieur said:

It's not exactly true though is it. That era of Jaguar Morse was driving was a completely different kind of car to the machines being mass produced and computer designed in the 90s and 2000s. His Jaguar was substantially hand made from real materials like steel, wood and leather and that era had most certainly ended by the time Morse was broadcasting.

Perhaps a better comparison might be an early XJ6?

Well the question would be if you were defining the character of a thoughtful older police detective who lives alone in Oxford and likes classical music what car would he drive?

A Citroën DS, or perhaps a Bristol. Always thought Morse's Jag was 'miscast', a Daimler 250 would have been more apt. The jag always had a bit of a wideboy vibe...

There was a sort-of socialist / lefty part to Morse's character which I think meant he wouldn't be seen in anything too brash.

[andy43]

Hippea said:

W00DY said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205239574150

Ending today. A 50k mile V6 currently @ £800.


Surely worth it for those steering wheel stereo controls that are less ergonomic than the stereo itself.

Prime candidate for Festival of the Unexceptional

Sold for £800. Just need to tax it. Oh hang on…

[biggbn]

ingenieur said:

biggbn said:

ingenieur said:

Venisonpie said:

ingenieur said:

It's not exactly true though is it. That era of Jaguar Morse was driving was a completely different kind of car to the machines being mass produced and computer designed in the 90s and 2000s. His Jaguar was substantially hand made from real materials like steel, wood and leather and that era had most certainly ended by the time Morse was broadcasting.

Perhaps a better comparison might be an early XJ6?

Well the question would be if you were defining the character of a thoughtful older police detective who lives alone in Oxford and likes classical music what car would he drive?

A Citroën DS, or perhaps a Bristol. Always thought Morse's Jag was 'miscast', a Daimler 250 would have been more apt. The jag always had a bit of a wideboy vibe...

There was a sort-of socialist / lefty part to Morse's character which I think meant he wouldn't be seen in anything too brash.

Another reason the Jag was miscast and an old Citroën or Bristol would have suited him down to the ground!!

[RUI488]

ingenieur said:

There was a sort-of socialist / lefty part to Morse's character which I think meant he wouldn't be seen in anything too brash.

Wouldn’t a more conservative inclined character have a more conservative inclined vehicle, surely?

[Sterillium]

W123 would be my Morse suggestion.

[Mr Tidy]

Sterillium said:

W123 would be my Morse suggestion.

That would work, or maybe a Volvo or Saab?

If it had to be British badged maybe a Vauxhall Senator.

[anotherswifty]

Mr Tidy said:

Sterillium said:

W123 would be my Morse suggestion.

That would work, or maybe a Volvo or Saab?

If it had to be British badged maybe a Vauxhall Senator.

IMO the MkII works very well (maybe because that’s what we know) or alternatively perhaps the original S-type.
Insp Linley I think had a Bristol, and recently a series called Dalgleish had an E-type.
I get the vibe about Jags being a bit roguish but that image in my eyes diminishes with a more mature driver.
I think the Volvo/Saab idea works but the timing would be off - too new, unless an Amazon, the 3-door sporty one would work.
In the later series [Endeavour] with a young Morse doesn’t he get given an old MkII from the pool to see him through and that presumably is a prologue to his affinity later on.
ETA for the more restrained character how about a Rover P5 or P6 ?

Edited by anotherswifty on Saturday 1st February 23:59

Edited by anotherswifty on Sunday 2nd February 00:04

[W00DY]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196980423161

Must've been some kind of mistake in the ordering process as someone appears to have bought one in an actual colour.

[0a]

KadettE said:

Nobody wants these V8 Jags! Now if only XKs of the same vintage could drop below 5k as well...

Exactly. I keep thinking of selling my XFR but it's worthless and hilarious with a dyno at 556bhp. Really good to hustle as well, surprisingly so for a car of that size.

I don't think the Jag 'rebrand' has done this end of the market much good!

[RUI488]

I think those 00’s V8 Jags were already very low priced before Jaguar did their stupid thing.
Not an Audi man and no DD done whatsoever, but it’d be interesting to know how many manual S5 V8’s they sold compared to DSG/S-Tronic/whatever ste gearbox they threw in the ‘auto’ that I don’t know the name of.

[will730i]

Stegel said:

will730i said:

I hope it's ok to ask about a barge-related conundrum...

My wife took our s212 350 for its MOT at a local national chain garage that we've used many times for basic stuff like this.

Apparently, as they were taking the car into the workshop, the EML light came on, thus failing the MOT. Interesting, I thought - I'd just driven the car about 30 miles with no issue. What's more, the night before, I'd used my iCarsoft to check for any fault codes (unrelated reason), and found nothing.

My wife used her best teacher voice to diplomatically question the coincidence, and the EML luckily seemed to disappear after that, passing the MOT, but only after the FAIL had been recorded of course.

As soon as the car was home again, I checked for stored fault codes, and again found nothing.

I'm not a mechanic, and I realise iCarsoft is no replacement for Star. But I'm struggling not to feel just a bit suspicious. Do EMLs really go on and off without a trace? I'd love to give the garage the benefit of the doubt, as it's normally friendly, reasonable and convenient. Maybe I'm being too quick to jump to conclusions?

Not an amazing day for barges in our household - we also had to get a replacement key for our GL - £550! Running 10-15 year old mercs feels like you are only ever one roll of the dice away from financial ruin...

I am inclined to agree with the other posters in considering the EML would probably stay illuminated, or at least leave a stored code. The only lifeline I would throw the garage is I find iCarSoft not to be infallible; my daughter has a petrol 205 C class and that had an EML appear. ICarSoft could not see an issue, but my copy-Star identified a faulty NOX sensor, replaced under warranty (it’s an MB approved used car). It currently has another EML lit, which had no code present and went out without trace when I simply plugged iCarSoft in two weeks ago, with Star then unable to see anything either. The EML promptly came back when she headed home, so I’ll be going straight to Star when she visits next weekend.

A replacement key for our 09 E320 was £260 from MB 12 months ago so there’s either been rampant key inflation or there’s something special about the GL key (we have a 10 year old GL, so I’ll take extra care of the keys!).

Thank you, and to everyone else who replied on this point. I’m not going to raise it with the garage, but will probably only entrust them with very specific stuff in future - tyres, oil change etc. Frustrating, as I’ve certainly spent enough with them over the years.

As for the key situation, yes, apparently 2015/2016 is when they changed something meaning that for those models onwards, only Mercedes dealers can replace them. We shopped around and all were roughly the same price. Not something we really wanted to spend £500 quid on but if you lose your last key, you’re in even more pain!

[will730i]

Stegel said:

will730i said:

I hope it's ok to ask about a barge-related conundrum...

My wife took our s212 350 for its MOT at a local national chain garage that we've used many times for basic stuff like this.

Apparently, as they were taking the car into the workshop, the EML light came on, thus failing the MOT. Interesting, I thought - I'd just driven the car about 30 miles with no issue. What's more, the night before, I'd used my iCarsoft to check for any fault codes (unrelated reason), and found nothing.

My wife used her best teacher voice to diplomatically question the coincidence, and the EML luckily seemed to disappear after that, passing the MOT, but only after the FAIL had been recorded of course.

As soon as the car was home again, I checked for stored fault codes, and again found nothing.

I'm not a mechanic, and I realise iCarsoft is no replacement for Star. But I'm struggling not to feel just a bit suspicious. Do EMLs really go on and off without a trace? I'd love to give the garage the benefit of the doubt, as it's normally friendly, reasonable and convenient. Maybe I'm being too quick to jump to conclusions?

Not an amazing day for barges in our household - we also had to get a replacement key for our GL - £550! Running 10-15 year old mercs feels like you are only ever one roll of the dice away from financial ruin...

I am inclined to agree with the other posters in considering the EML would probably stay illuminated, or at least leave a stored code. The only lifeline I would throw the garage is I find iCarSoft not to be infallible; my daughter has a petrol 205 C class and that had an EML appear. ICarSoft could not see an issue, but my copy-Star identified a faulty NOX sensor, replaced under warranty (it’s an MB approved used car). It currently has another EML lit, which had no code present and went out without trace when I simply plugged iCarSoft in two weeks ago, with Star then unable to see anything either. The EML promptly came back when she headed home, so I’ll be going straight to Star when she visits next weekend.

A replacement key for our 09 E320 was £260 from MB 12 months ago so there’s either been rampant key inflation or there’s something special about the GL key (we have a 10 year old GL, so I’ll take extra care of the keys!).

Thank you, and to everyone else who replied on this point. I’m not going to raise it with the garage, but will probably only entrust them with very specific stuff in future - tyres, oil change etc. Frustrating, as I’ve certainly spent enough with them over the years.

As for the key situation, yes, apparently 2015/2016 is when they changed something meaning that for those models onwards, only Mercedes dealers can replace them. We shopped around and all were roughly the same price. Not something we really wanted to spend £500 quid on but if you lose your last key, you’re in even more pain!

[StescoG66]

W00DY said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205239574150

Ending today. A 50k mile V6 currently @ £800.


Surely worth it for those steering wheel stereo controls that are less ergonomic than the stereo itself.

That’s a bit of a mash up. Front of a Modeo, cabin of a Carisma and arse end of a Celica.
Never seen one in my puff!

[ingenieur]

biggbn said:

ingenieur said:

biggbn said:

ingenieur said:

Venisonpie said:

ingenieur said:

It's not exactly true though is it. That era of Jaguar Morse was driving was a completely different kind of car to the machines being mass produced and computer designed in the 90s and 2000s. His Jaguar was substantially hand made from real materials like steel, wood and leather and that era had most certainly ended by the time Morse was broadcasting.

Perhaps a better comparison might be an early XJ6?

Well the question would be if you were defining the character of a thoughtful older police detective who lives alone in Oxford and likes classical music what car would he drive?

A Citroën DS, or perhaps a Bristol. Always thought Morse's Jag was 'miscast', a Daimler 250 would have been more apt. The jag always had a bit of a wideboy vibe...

There was a sort-of socialist / lefty part to Morse's character which I think meant he wouldn't be seen in anything too brash.

Another reason the Jag was miscast and an old Citroën or Bristol would have suited him down to the ground!!

I've remembered in more modern dramas such as Luther they get the same aesthetic by putting them in a Saab 900 or a Volvo 240. He may well have been put in something like that if it had happened 10 or 15 years later. I think David Jason in Touch of Frost had a Volvo 240 at some point. Also that female detective I can't remember the name of who wore a long green wax jacket everywhere was also a Volvo 240 driver.

[ingenieur]

Sterillium said:

W123 would be my Morse suggestion.

German? Are you kidding... Morse probably fought in the war

Google AI said:

AI Overview

Yes, Inspector Morse served in the army during National Service, including in West Germany. He was a cipher clerk in the Royal Corps of Signals.

Likely if it really was 'west Germany' then would not have been 2nd World War... but Google AI comes up with all kinds of wrong answers so who knows where the truth lies.

[Venisonpie]

ingenieur said:

I've remembered in more modern dramas such as Luther they get the same aesthetic by putting them in a Saab 900 or a Volvo 240. He may well have been put in something like that if it had happened 10 or 15 years later. I think David Jason in Touch of Frost had a Volvo 240 at some point. Also that female detective I can't remember the name of who wore a long green wax jacket everywhere was also a Volvo 240 driver.

I think Frost also smoked about in Mrs Mclusky's Roller for a while which was amusing.

[donkmeister]

W00DY said:

donkmeister said:

I think the right buyer is someone who has access to STAR and also breaks cars for a living if it turns out to be a rotten egg. This could be the bargain of the century if it's just coil packs.

However... If someone buys it thinking "I've got £5k to buy and run a car, I'll get that" then there's going to be a very delusional, increasingly poor new owner! I've known people do similar with humdrum mundane hatchbacks then act like they've been done an injustice that the broken car they bought didn't magically fix itself.

Definitely. Although I'm sure for those with an appetite for risk, I imagine it'd sell for most of the asking as a parts car for someone else to break (probably on the continent) if it turned out not tho be the coils.


There was a thread on here recently about a chap who was annoyed that the broken Subaru he bought from a dealer with a known fault wasn't some 5-minute fix. Who could have possibly seen that coming...

I blame Mike "old aht yerrand" Brewster; his TV show made it seem like anyone could buy interesting stuff for a piss-taking offer, then Edd China would make it look easy. He'd spend five minutes working out that it just needed a new bulb in the glovebox for the gearbox to magically start working properly again, then they'd have a car worth £50k for an outlay of £4.50 plus the cost of a bulb. (Mechanics work for free, especially when diagnosing ropey old exotics).

[macron]

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/17878366?u...

In thread! Probably shagged, but in thread! I mean who doesn't want to pay £735 tax for something with 128k on... Especially with such a rich, detailed advert where the seller doesn't know the difference ta coupé and....