BMW 130i - thoughts?

BMW 130i - thoughts?

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Discussion

Rosco1692

Original Poster:

15 posts

108 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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I'm thinking of spoiling myself and getting a 130i. Anyone ever had one and can give me their opinions on it? I'm 22, and currently drive a 1.2 clio but after driving the parents 2L 3 series I really want a Beemer. Any info on real world MPG and living with the car on a daily basis...oh and price.
Cheers!

mark.c

1,090 posts

179 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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Great car, and certainly a massive upgrade in grunt to perhaps what you're used to. I suspect many might think it's too much of a car for a 22YO and now I'm the wrong side of 40 I might intend to agree! In short a great car that will do everyday stuff as well as provide fun but will be significantly more expensive to run than your current steed. If you do get one then take it easy, apologies for sounding like a Dad!

sinbad666

184 posts

207 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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I dont think age is a factor, the main difference will be the jump in power, although the straight six is quite smooth and easy to drive, along with the neutral/understeer balance. Just be sensible and learn the car. As mentioned they do everything exteremly well and theres not much that can go wrong compared to other 1 series. Mine had done about 90k when I sold it and it still felt like new. Running costs will be much higher than your used to, i was getting an average of low 20's mpg wise but i mainly do alot of town driving, so just factor the costs in.

Rosco1692

Original Poster:

15 posts

108 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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I've seen a 2006 5dr with 55k on the clock for £7000. Is this a decent price for it? And what should I look out for when buying. Also, I've heard the iDrive system is a waste of time, have you found this to be useless as well?

Emeye

9,773 posts

222 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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How about an E92 325i Coupe? Not as fast but a really nice car to drive and much better looking - I do like the M-Sport 1 series though. I am biased though, owning a 325i. Mine is an SE but with the MSport seats which are fantastic - you could pick up an SE and add the seats yourself.

Rosco1692

Original Poster:

15 posts

108 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
quotequote all
Are those not a lot more expensive? Really don't want to go more than £7k. However if one was in front of me it would be very difficult to turn down...
The 130 just looks like a pure weapon, but still looks subtle at the same time. Didn't think running costs would be that much different as I only get 30-35mpg on the clio. I know tyres etc are expensive but what other costs would I need to take into consideration when buying a car like this?

RocknRollOutlaw

57 posts

108 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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I would second the E92, much better looking cars than the 1 series although I'm biased. I also have a 325i and it's a lovely car. You can get one for 7k but not with those miles. Mine cost 8k with 52k on the clock to give you an idea.

12TS

1,806 posts

209 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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I ran for 5 years and 30,000 miles. I bought it 6 months old.

In that time nothing much went wrong other than the DSC module; replacement cost was £1200 or so, but I got mine done under warranty.

With an ageing right foot, I was seeing 32-33mpg, but this would easily drop to around 25 around town. It's going to be worse than your Clio.

I loved the car, the engine was fantastic, the interior was a nice place to be and it was cheap to run. The ride was poor, but this may not bother you at your age wink

The gamble you're looking at is failures, realistically you'd have to say at that age to expect a £1k bill a year for something to go wrong.

Emeye

9,773 posts

222 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
quotequote all
The DSC module can be refurbed by a third-party company for less than £300 - you have to send it away though. It affects plenty of the BMW models.

You can get a decent E92 325i for under 7k. If it comes without Msport seats just get a secondhand set off ebay - I paid £250 for my full electric set IIRC. People pay a stupid premium for the Msport IMO - ok it looks a little sportier, but an E92 Coupe is still one of the best looking cars of its age.

I would advise replacing the runflat on any noughties BMW with normal rubber - makes a massive difference to the ride.

Oh, and around town expect low 20mpg - on a long run much better.

Swervin_Mervin

4,429 posts

237 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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Unless the geometry on the front of the E92 is different to the E90/91 I'd be sticking with a 130i tbh. The E9x IME tends too much to understeer compared with the 1-series. It makes it less fidgety on m-ways granted, but IME it's not as dynamic as the 1 series. (we have an E81 120d and an E91 330i)

Emeye

9,773 posts

222 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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I can't say I've ever had a problem on the road with understeer in my E92. What sort of speed do you have to get up to, to unstick the front of a modern BMW? It can't be anything close to safe on the road.

roofer

5,136 posts

210 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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You can't compare an E90 series to a 130. The 130 is like a go kart compared to the 3 series. 325 is also a slug in comparison.

1st thing I would be looking at if I were 22 is an insurance quote.

smashy

3,030 posts

157 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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To the OP ,I dont know how it compares suspension wise with my XR3i I had in my mid twenties which I loved but ive heard the suspension is very hard,how hard I dont know but it does seem to be an issue from what ive read on forums.Maybe you wont care and fair play if thats the case!!

roofer

5,136 posts

210 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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Suspension is fine once you take the runcraps off.

swanny71

2,849 posts

208 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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As above, the 130i is like a mad little go kart compared to the 3 series. Had mine over 4 years and almost 60k miles and still love it. Averaged almost 33mpg in that time, extremely reliable and very cheap to run. I do a lot of long m'way runs which it excels at, but it's also great fun to drive away on A and B roads.

Can't recommend them highly enough - just get rid of the run flats if fitted.

Prices seem to have firmed up in the last 12 months - I reckon they will achieve a degree of cult status in coming years, small car, peach of an engine that just feels one size too big smile

Edited by swanny71 on Tuesday 31st March 19:20

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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Agree with what others have said - a 1 Series is so much more compact than an E9* 3 series, and the 1 hatch is more likely to "go under the radar" that a 3 series coupe.
Had a 123d for over 6 years but changed it for a Z4 Coupe last year which has the same N52 3 litre engine as the 130i.
If only I had driven a 130i before I bought the 123d because I wouldn't have done!
To be honest I now have a 325ti Compact as a daily driver but am thinking of looking for a 130i to replace both of them as between them I don't really do enough miles to justify 2 cars in Band K for road tax plus 2 insurance premiums!
But I don't regret getting the Z4 - from the first time I saw a Coupe I always wanted to own one some day.
If insurance is OK just go for it - that way you don't spend years wondering "what if....."!

(steven)

446 posts

213 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
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Great cars, lovely balance and frankly it feels as fast as my M3 from the drivers seat in a much more ‘stealthy’ package. I use one as my daily runner and [touch wood] it’s been great. No significant common issues as far as I’m aware and the N52 engine is brilliant.

Do not go into ownership thinking that it will have similar running costs to a 1.2 clio though, it just won’t, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Insurance will be in a different league, tax will be ~£260 a year, tyres will be much more, fuel consumption averages 28 MPG, front brake discs even if you buy them yourself from Eurocarparts will be about £70 per disc and servicing a BMW (properly) is not the same.

The run flats are a double edged sword; I hit something on the A1 6 months ago at speed and wrote off 3 tyres at once. Good news was they were run flat so I didn’t spin off the road at high speed with multiple tyre failure, the bad news was it cost me £700 in new tyres.

In my experience to date, I couldn’t see you needing £1K a year for failures but consumables will be much higher and if something does break the bills could get 'large'. Not sure what your finances are like, but I know I couldn’t have afforded to run the car at 22 (I ran a diesel corsa).

Swervin_Mervin

4,429 posts

237 months

Tuesday 31st March 2015
quotequote all
Emeye said:
I can't say I've ever had a problem on the road with understeer in my E92. What sort of speed do you have to get up to, to unstick the front of a modern BMW? It can't be anything close to safe on the road.
Bear in mind my wife accuses me of driving mine like my old 197 :lol: It actually pushes through the understeer if you stick at it and tightens the line though. But compared the 1-series it has a very slow rack.

I actually end up putting too much lock on whenever I drive the wife's! driving

Rosco1692

Original Poster:

15 posts

108 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
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12TS said:
I ran for 5 years and 30,000 miles. I bought it 6 months old.

In that time nothing much went wrong other than the DSC module; replacement cost was £1200 or so, but I got mine done under warranty.

With an ageing right foot, I was seeing 32-33mpg, but this would easily drop to around 25 around town. It's going to be worse than your Clio.

I loved the car, the engine was fantastic, the interior was a nice place to be and it was cheap to run. The ride was poor, but this may not bother you at your age wink

The gamble you're looking at is failures, realistically you'd have to say at that age to expect a £1k bill a year for something to go wrong.
It's a 2006 with only 50-60k so I didn't think there would be many problems...

12TS

1,806 posts

209 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
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Your call. How would you handle a bill like that though? I'm not saying it will happen, but it's quite possible.

The bills on these will be bigger than a Clio.