RE: BMW 130i: PH Carpool
Discussion
VeeFource said:
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 caseThe 130i you linked is £2,000 overpriced at least, compared to cars that have sold.
Dagnut said:
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?
I test drove a 130i and 330i back to back and the difference is night and day. The 3er is an incredibly capable car and I loved it, but the 1er is just... It lacks some feel (though I think that's more our road and the harsh mpsort setup) and it will bite if you prod it with a stick, but christ alive, it's so much sharper. It feels like someone has hard wired your brain to the steering column and throttle. And the way it scampers down the road is just fantastic.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?
But by far the biggest appeal for me is the amount of people that think I'm some yuppie in a bottom of the range baby diesel BMW. There's nothing more satisfying than leaving some garish hot hatch at the lights with nothing more than a singing six in the distance as a clue as to where you went.
Honestly don't think there's a better 1 series, the diesels are fantastically capable but don't suit the liveliness of the chassis and the 135i has the frightening prospect of turbo failure.
Viva la 130i
PPPPPP said:
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 
Regarding the manonomics - I went for an E46 330CI instead of the 330D CI because it was thousands less. I've had it three years, done just over 10k (see the logic there?) and still not spent what a 330d would have cost for the initial outlay. And I've had 3 years of listening to the petrol engine sing rather than the diesel engine drone.
danielj58 said:
But by far the biggest appeal for me is the amount of people that think I'm some yuppie in a bottom of the range baby diesel BMW. There's nothing more satisfying than leaving some garish hot hatch at the lights with nothing more than a singing six in the distance as a clue as to where you went.
Honestly don't think there's a better 1 series, the diesels are fantastically capable but don't suit the liveliness of the chassis and the 135i has the frightening prospect of turbo failure.
Viva la 130i
This x1000. 130i FTW.Honestly don't think there's a better 1 series, the diesels are fantastically capable but don't suit the liveliness of the chassis and the 135i has the frightening prospect of turbo failure.
Viva la 130i
I have the birds suspension package on my car, just the springs and dampers. It does make a massive difference to the ride quality, and the grip at the rear end. The geometry needs work though, as it can understeer if you're not on the ball with the throttle. I'm thinking some more front camber would be good. I keep being told about the 'camber pin mod' but I haven't been brave enough to try it.
I also think a serious weakness on the car is the rear subframe bushes which allow too much movement at the rear end. I'm vaguely contemplating swapping mine for solid M3 items, and perhaps replacing the front lower control arms for M3 items. This would make it into a truly excellent handler for not *that* much money, but it's still more money than I've got at the moment. Still, I've never driven a car which is so lively on the throttle, nor has such a combination of comfort and aggression. It's awesome and mine is a keeper I think.
Antj said:
I sold my first 130i under duress due to work issues, but i could not get it out of my head
Exactly the same happened to me, and been stuck in a 2.0d A3 company car since. Can't wait to send it back in Jan and get another 130i, fantastic car.I sold my 2007 (facelift model) in 2009 with 20k on the clock and a years BMW warranty remaining for £14k - makes the white one above look waay overpriced to me..
Another thumbs up for the 130i from me.
Had mine since Feb - paid 7200 for 55 plate with 56k on the clock.
It's an MSport and yes the ride is on the hard side but it quite grippy most of the time now I've got rid of the budget tyres and gone for Continentals.
I am considering some suspension work at Bird's if it does become a keeper. At the moment, without a big step up in the budget which isn't likely to happen for a while, I think it will probably be staying for at least another year.
Took it to Bedford Autodrome recently and it was fun on track. Taking it Switzerland and Germany next month where I hope to get a GPS verified top speed
Can't quite see myself doing as much work as the OP - if I was doing more trackdays it's probably worth it but fore me they're strictly occasional and the standard brakes are okay for the road.
Had mine since Feb - paid 7200 for 55 plate with 56k on the clock.
It's an MSport and yes the ride is on the hard side but it quite grippy most of the time now I've got rid of the budget tyres and gone for Continentals.
I am considering some suspension work at Bird's if it does become a keeper. At the moment, without a big step up in the budget which isn't likely to happen for a while, I think it will probably be staying for at least another year.
Took it to Bedford Autodrome recently and it was fun on track. Taking it Switzerland and Germany next month where I hope to get a GPS verified top speed
Can't quite see myself doing as much work as the OP - if I was doing more trackdays it's probably worth it but fore me they're strictly occasional and the standard brakes are okay for the road.
Ahhhhh, fond memories of mine here too. I collected one of the original specimens used for the prelaunch marketing with just 1300 miles on the clock. It had every extra going on it and, at the time, no one really knew it existed. I bought it in a whim as was never really sure if I liked the looks of it and whether it was a munter, but that didnt really matter as once I was inside it I couldnt see that side of it and it felt awesome to rag.
It was immense. Massively regret sending it away and would have another tomorrow.
Brilliant brilliant little torpedo.
It was immense. Massively regret sending it away and would have another tomorrow.
Brilliant brilliant little torpedo.
I have driven some of those Alpine Roads myself in my Alfa - the Route de St Bernard is a particular favourite.
Know exactly what you mean about the windows down and the engine note bouncing off the stone cliffside into the cabin. Magic!
Nice man maths on your mods by the way. I like to fettle but could never spend that much as a % of the cars value on mods. I salute your bravery however and sounds like you are getting your monies worth.
Know exactly what you mean about the windows down and the engine note bouncing off the stone cliffside into the cabin. Magic!
Nice man maths on your mods by the way. I like to fettle but could never spend that much as a % of the cars value on mods. I salute your bravery however and sounds like you are getting your monies worth.
Mine, from a few more favourable angles.
I actually think the 3 door is a good looking motor. I 'downgraded' to a Z4 3.0si to help finance my wedding and missed the 130i more than I imagined. The Z was much harder ride and I couldn't shake tramlining issues. The 130 was one of those cars that was good at most things. We did a 1000 mile road trip (including 155 indicated on the autobahn) and got out fresh as a daisy. Conversely, it was a fun on a B road blast and I imagine with a few suspension tweaks that others have mentioned it would have been a riot. I will be on the lookout for another soon.
I actually think the 3 door is a good looking motor. I 'downgraded' to a Z4 3.0si to help finance my wedding and missed the 130i more than I imagined. The Z was much harder ride and I couldn't shake tramlining issues. The 130 was one of those cars that was good at most things. We did a 1000 mile road trip (including 155 indicated on the autobahn) and got out fresh as a daisy. Conversely, it was a fun on a B road blast and I imagine with a few suspension tweaks that others have mentioned it would have been a riot. I will be on the lookout for another soon.
nickfrog said:
VeeFource said:
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.
You're not watching properly. http://www.babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=52... . It was up at £8,995 at one point...The 130i you linked is £2,000 overpriced at least, compared to cars that have sold.
Just ditched a 135i thanks to the turbo's on their way out as per the common fault (that BMW are covering due to litigation but in the US only unfortunately!!). The money you are talking is almost 135i cash, would be madness to pay that for a 130i as lose a packet come resale...
I will def go back to a 130i again though despite having 'proper' M cars in between, the best fun RWD compact lump since they stopped building the Sunbeam Lotus and Chuvette HSRs!
The only thing that bothers me is publicising what many of us knew was such a great sleeper - cue regretting the sale of another car at the wrong time!!
pfoster said:
Sorry VeeForce but I couldn't agree more with other comments. I had 2 130i's last year and sold both for around £7k here on PH, MSport & SE versions (take the MSport every time if could persuade the back end to stay down over speed bumps). At the time there were no 123d's under 12k even on flea-bay.
Just ditched a 135i thanks to the turbo's on their way out as per the common fault (that BMW are covering due to litigation but in the US only unfortunately!!). The money you are talking is almost 135i cash, would be madness to pay that for a 130i as lose a packet come resale...
I will def go back to a 130i again though despite having 'proper' M cars in between, the best fun RWD compact lump since they stopped building the Sunbeam Lotus and Chuvette HSRs!
The only thing that bothers me is publicising what many of us knew was such a great sleeper - cue regretting the sale of another car at the wrong time!!
I just tried to pick two cars that were the closest in spec/milegage/age for sale on PH at the moment, they might not have been the ultimate examples. But unless the particular petrols I've looked at in the last couple of years have been generally overpriced and haggled over more then I still don't feel there's as much difference as you'd expect. I will keep an eye on it though and will only be too happy to be proven wrong as I'd want a 130i all day long, just would enjoy it more without the guilt in the back of my mind.Just ditched a 135i thanks to the turbo's on their way out as per the common fault (that BMW are covering due to litigation but in the US only unfortunately!!). The money you are talking is almost 135i cash, would be madness to pay that for a 130i as lose a packet come resale...
I will def go back to a 130i again though despite having 'proper' M cars in between, the best fun RWD compact lump since they stopped building the Sunbeam Lotus and Chuvette HSRs!
The only thing that bothers me is publicising what many of us knew was such a great sleeper - cue regretting the sale of another car at the wrong time!!
Edited by VeeFource on Monday 23 September 14:30
Deutscheblonde said:
DoubleSix said:
All these 130i's look unfinished to my eye, you guys need to fit the aero rear spoiler to overcome the 'looks', also added:
Performance intake, exhaust, Alpine upgrade, non-rfts...
If only you could have removed those two extra doors...Performance intake, exhaust, Alpine upgrade, non-rfts...
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