Monday 23rd September 2013

BMW 130i: PH Carpool

Discreetly modded baby BM offers track toy and daily driver duality for this week's PH owner

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Name: George Bentinck
Car: BMW 130i
Owned since: 2010
Previously owned: None - company car - Golf 1.9 TDI

Was going to get a diesel, glad he didn't

Why I bought it:
"When I returned my company car I wanted another five-door hatchback but with more power. I test drove a BMW 123d but although it was fast it felt bland and lacking in character. A bit of research later I found that for the same mileage a BMW 130i cost half as much as a 123d but had a 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine. I reasoned I would just spend the money saved on petrol!"

What I wish I'd known:
"I wish I had known the car existed earlier. I bought the 130i with minimal research as I had run out of time and needed to buy a vehicle. If I had known how entertaining this little car was before owning one, it would have saved me a number of visits to dubious 123ds in the local classifieds."

Cost saving over diesel spent on fuel; man maths!

Things I love:
"The naturally aspirated engine has a delightful character which is happy to cruise on the motorway in top gear yet race to the limiter on B-roads and Alpine passes. The engine really makes the car. The sonorous straight-six sound never, ever gets old. Other than the engine I love how flexible the car is. In one year I have done 20,000 miles, five track days, used it to move house, driven to the Alps and lapped the 'ring."

Things I hate:
"The rear leg room is not adult friendly but as long as you're driving then this is not a problem! The standard M Sport suspension is just way too hard and spoils the car. Most British B-roads are just not smooth enough and the suspension can't keep up, making the car flighty with the traction control often cutting in. The standard brakes are just not up to heavy use and must be replaced to fully exploit the fun that can be had on track."

Sleeper looks conceal an effective track weapon

Costs:
"The 130i is surprisingly cheap to run if you drive it normally and don't take it on track, it can even average 30-33mpg in daily driving. The only thing that has broken in 40,000 miles is a windscreen wiper relay.

"However I decided early on I was going to keep the car for some time and I was going to spend what was needed to make it 'my five-door naturally aspirated 1 M'. With the help of BMW specialists Birds Auto and Simpson Motorsport the car has been totally transformed with numerous upgrades. It has custom track and road geometry, adjustable top mounts, custom springs, Bilstein dampers built specifically for the 130i, stiffer front and rear anti roll bars, Quaife LSD, calipers from an M3, brakes discs from a 335i and lightweight OZ wheels saving 20kg off the stock wheels. With the cost of the modifications and the consumables used by track days, I am coming up to having spent the original purchase price of the car on running it over two years."

Scenic route back from Milan among adventures

Where I've been:
"The car has to be a daily driver, B-road blaster and track tool all at the same time. I drove from the UK to a business meeting in Milan in one day, spent the following week driving Alpine passes such as the Grand St Bernard and returned to the UK via the 'ring. I have taken it to Snetterton, Donington, Brands Hatch and Bedford to name just a few circuits. Two particular moments stick in my mind. The first is the Col de la Forclaz from Martigny in Switzerland to Chamonix in France. The road is twisty yet wide with hairpins connected by flowing lines and stunning views. With the window down, foot to the floor, induction and exhaust sound ricocheting off the stone embankment back into the cabin it is a particularly vivid memory. The second was in the setting sun of a track day at Silverstone. With most attendees having gone home I spent the last 30 minutes with no other cars to be seen, it was if I had Silverstone to myself and my 130i."

What next?
"As I and the car both improve our track day competence even the improved brake setup is not coping with the demands. I will shortly be upgrading to Alcon monobloc callipers and discs to allow the brakes to keep up with the rest of the car. I have a hand-welded strut brace from BMW chassis specialists Mason Engineering to fit and I would like to replace most of the suspension components such as the wishbones with the aluminium versions from the E90 M3. The longer term goal is to reduce the overall weight of the car and I now have a garage stocked with bolts of carbon fibre waiting to become wings, bonnet, skirts, boot floor and other components."

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Want to share your car with PHers on Carpool? Email us at [e-mail]!

 

[Rephlex]

Good to hear. I've owned my 130i for six years, it went straight to Birds when purchased for extensive mods. I've had 90k of trouble free motoring and the painful modification bill has long since been forgotten. At a loss to know what I would replace this car with when the time comes; good thing it still drives like new.

[Japveesix]

Not sure I'll ever be a big fan of the looks of the 1 series but I can definitely see the appeal in terms of practicality and performance.

Nice example too and looks like it's very well used. Be interesting to see how much weight can be dropped by replacing bits with CF.

[VeeFource]

Urrr I've been watching both these cars for some time and no matter how much I wanted the man maths to work in favour of the 130i, the reality is there's negligable difference in purchase price between this and a similar age/mileage 123d unfortunately. Though it's easier to get hold of a lower mileage 130i for obvious reasons.

Just been through them (again) and taken a couple of examples of m-sports with a similar-ish age and mileage:

130i
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

123d
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

Edited by VeeFource on Monday 23 September 10:34

[Henry Fiddleton]

Awesome car, and approach.

Well done.

Kam

[Mermaid]

Challenging looks, but probably the best value BMW in this guise.

[Mike Roberts]

Superb weapons. I had a 135i with all the M3 gubbins and Bilsteins, and with its OE Brembos and some RS29s it was perfectly ok for trackwork, however I'd have had Alcons in a heartbeat.

Coupe subframe braces and some uprated bushes will help the rear feel less elastic.

[Mr2Mike]

VeeFource said:

Urrr I've been watching both these cars for some time and no matter how much I wanted the man maths to work in favour of the 130i, the reality is there's negligable difference in purchase price between this and a similar age/mileage 123d unfortunately.

So you don't have to pay extra to get a sweet 6 cylinder petrol instead of a crappy oil burner? Seems like good value to me.

[VeeFource]

Mr2Mike said:

VeeFource said:

Urrr I've been watching both these cars for some time and no matter how much I wanted the man maths to work in favour of the 130i, the reality is there's negligable difference in purchase price between this and a similar age/mileage 123d unfortunately.

So you don't have to pay extra to get a sweet 6 cylinder petrol instead of a crappy oil burner? Seems like good value to me.

The fuel's going to work out somewhat extra! Normally the man maths are a lot more appealing as the diseasal equivalent is usually more expensive to buy in the first place. It really says something for the 130i though given the 123d is the best sports diesel in it's class.

[dapearson]

VeeFource said:

130i
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

£12k for a 2007 model with 54k miles?! Expensive. I've seen 56 plates with 60k-70k down as low as £6k-£7k

[T16OLE]

dapearson said:

£12k for a 2007 model with 54k miles?! Expensive. I've seen 56 plates with 60k-70k down as low as £6k-£7k

Agreed, way to expensive for that particular car

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

Edited by T16OLE on Monday 23 September 17:04

[nickfrog]

I agree. Absurd comparison. There is a £1,500 to £2,000 difference between equivalent 123d and 130i, in terms of transaction prices. The infamous N47 diesel engine problems is the elephant in the room and may explain the 123d recent drop in value, it really needs a BMW warranty. Unless one drives a lot of miles, I can't understand why one would take the diesel.

[gofasterrosssco]

I respect the Carpooler's choice and decision to modifiy it to improve track performance, and of course car choice is a very personal thing. But at some stage one wonders if there is a point where you have to take step back and consider that rather than further spend on modifications, it would be better to sell up, take the mods money, and buying something else with better performance but OEM..

The default E46 M3 springs to mind. Not a hatch of course, but would do pretty much everything else the 130i does.. Jus sayin..

[PPPPPP]

Japveesix said:

Not sure I'll ever be a big fan of the looks of the 1 series .

From certain angles it can look OK

[VeeFource]

nickfrog said:

I agree. Absurd comparison. There is a £1,500 to £2,000 difference between equivalent 123d and 130i, in terms of transaction prices. The infamous N47 diesel engine problems is the elephant in the room and may explain the 123d recent drop in value, it really needs a BMW warranty. Unless one drives a lot of miles, I can't understand why one would take the diesel.

As I say, been watching them for a while and what they appear to have sold for. There honestly really isn't much in it from what I've seen and I wish that weren't the case

[Terminator X]

Great cars, have one myself. Noise is fantastic more so with the BMWP carbon air box ... the look on the face of nearby pedestrians never fails to amuse me as they're expecting it to rattle like a diesel

As to the mpg though, mine never gets over 26 from a full tank!

TX.

[Ranger 6]

Rephlex said:

Good to hear. I've owned my 130i for six years, it went straight to Birds when purchased for extensive mods. I've had 90k of trouble free motoring and the painful modification bill has long since been forgotten. At a loss to know what I would replace this car with when the time comes; good thing it still drives like new.

I think that's the longest you've ever had a car

I still miss mine

[Dagnut]

Why not a 330i sport? I looked at the 1 series but it's just too small to be any use a family car, so why not just get a proper sports car.
The 330i is heavier of course but not as much in relative terms when it offers so much more room...does the 130 handle that much better?

[Antj]

VeeFource said:

Urrr I've been watching both these cars for some time and no matter how much I wanted the man maths to work in favour of the 130i, the reality is there's negligable difference in purchase price between this and a similar age/mileage 123d unfortunately. Though it's easier to get hold of a lower mileage 130i for obvious reasons.

Just been through them (again) and taken a couple of examples of m-sports with a similar-ish age and mileage:

130i
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

123d
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

Edited by VeeFource on Monday 23 September 10:34

well you are forgeting one thing. 130i is recognised as one of most reliable cars, in fact Sport auto ( from memory) gave it the highest reliability score ever, 100,000km with not one single issue.

where as the 123d has the ticking time bomb engine the N47.

Real world you'll never get the figures quoted for the 123d. Actually rather uneconomical due to that short ratio gearbox.

I'm on my second 130i now, previously had a 120d. I sold my first 130i under duress due to work issues, but i could not get it out of my head, 18 months later i have another one and this won't be going anywaher. Mine too is an allrounder, my daily driver but also having to do the odd trackday at the ring or Spa (next one in 2 weeks)

I paid £7k for my 2 owner 55k 2005 example. Its got all the toys you'll ever need, is aloof enough to park in the station car park without issues, cheap to insure, same tax and mpg as my old Type R.

The way to look at the 130i is a baby M3. It's 85% of the performance with 50% of the running costs. A lot of M3 owners downsize to the 130i to save some cash. Oh and it really is all about the engine, the N52 in the 130i is the lightest straight 6 BMW have ever made and that will probably stay the same since they are now moving into 4 pot turbo's.

I'll have a quaife diff on mine after christmas and will be replacing the suspension for KW kit. Couple this with the BMW performance exhaust and induction kit and you have a very tasty car.

Only a 1000 130i's found there way into the UK in the 4 years it was on sale, a lot of people believe the rubbish Clarkson drivelled on about on top gear. Yes back then maybe 31k was a lot. but now you can pick up a leggy 130i for as little as £5k.

Oh and if you want the ulitmate Q car have look at a 130i se. Looks like a regular 116i, same bumpers, same seats same pidly little wheels. But still has that engine underneath.

Edited by Antj on Monday 23 September 12:08

Edited by Antj on Monday 23 September 12:40

[Gez79]

I've had a 2005 130i for the last 4 years, best car I have owned. the engine is immense, pulls from tick over, loads of torque and sounds excellent, I get nearly 30mpg most of the time and I've had 50k of relatively reliable miles.

the price comparison posted above though is a bit poor, the 130i is an approved used bmw which has a great warranty but they are usually 2k more than anywhere else. the 123d is at an independent dealers and it's a coupe which are more expensive.

my brother has a 123d, its quite good for a diesel, but nota patch on a 130i, and he rarely gets much more than 40mpg.

Great choice for Carpool! don't know what I'll replace mine with!

[dapearson]

Antj said:

Oh and if you want the ulitmate Q car have look at a 130i se. Looks like a regular 116i, same bumpers, same seats same pidly little wheels. But still has that engine underneath.

Oddly enough i prefer the SE over the M-Sport. I haven't driven either, but i have been in BMWs with M-Sport suspension and it's too hard for me. The SEs are a bit less sought after too, and debadged as you say would make a good Q-car!