Replacing a 130i m-sport
Discussion
After selling my impreza sti for a more useable daily driver and fun car. I opted for the bullet proof e87 n52 130i. Last of the proper na engines BMW graced a car with...and well it appears its dead. A recent misfire appears to be due to a cracked block.
I have the choice ofcourse to repair it but the likelihood its not financially viable.
That sadly leaves me with a big bill and a requirement to change the car on a budget as financially I'm not currently in a position to buy new or nearly new.
So with a garage to fill and around £5000-£6000 to fill it. I'm in the market for a car that need to fit a fairly broad criteria.
Needs to be able to fit two young (8 & 6) children and if needed luggage enough for a long weekend. Therefore needs to be safe. Robust and fairly reliable.
Needs to be a good drivers car - good chassis and handling is important to me.
Needs to be fun but well appointed in the twisties. Many a time it will be driving along b-roads of south west wales.
It needs to be relatively quick and nimble which I guess goes hand in hand with hood handling.
No suggestions too leftfield. I like to go against the mould I guess.
So what would you guys n girls be looking at?
I have the choice ofcourse to repair it but the likelihood its not financially viable.
That sadly leaves me with a big bill and a requirement to change the car on a budget as financially I'm not currently in a position to buy new or nearly new.
So with a garage to fill and around £5000-£6000 to fill it. I'm in the market for a car that need to fit a fairly broad criteria.
Needs to be able to fit two young (8 & 6) children and if needed luggage enough for a long weekend. Therefore needs to be safe. Robust and fairly reliable.
Needs to be a good drivers car - good chassis and handling is important to me.
Needs to be fun but well appointed in the twisties. Many a time it will be driving along b-roads of south west wales.
It needs to be relatively quick and nimble which I guess goes hand in hand with hood handling.
No suggestions too leftfield. I like to go against the mould I guess.
So what would you guys n girls be looking at?
Andy665 said:
S-Type R - one of the best all round cars I have ever owned, surprisingly nimble, wonderful sound (if backboxes are removed), can be economical, mine was 100% reliable, good specialist backup and not depreciating any more
jag s-type? that is left field. would never have considered it a nimble car? what was it like to live with? keen to know more. 👍it is a broad criteria yes. but i want enough back seat for two kids and a couple of suitcases. but the priority is the driver focussed and fun part of the driving experience.
certainly happy with something left field but I guess with my budget. I'm in mid range hot hatch territory. for anything fun and driver(ish) focussed.
I'm a fan of fast saloons and hot hatches are fine. I guess though im a little bit old for most hot hatches I think these days. especially with 2 kids sometimes in tow.
certainly happy with something left field but I guess with my budget. I'm in mid range hot hatch territory. for anything fun and driver(ish) focussed.
I'm a fan of fast saloons and hot hatches are fine. I guess though im a little bit old for most hot hatches I think these days. especially with 2 kids sometimes in tow.
mike9009 said:
330i E92 (2007 on) would fit your criteria and would have the last great NA engine BMW graced a car with (the N53) 
I have a 2007 model (with the N53 engine) and in 15 months it has been really good. Maybe a little too competent for my liking, but coming from an N52 130i, it should be familiar, a little larger but a useful amount of more power and greater economy than the N52.
I have two kids too, and they fit in the coupe without a hitch and the boot is huge! (compared to my other 'family' cars)
Mike
lol forgive my n52 comment then. I meant to say One of the last proper straight six cars...not THE last.I have a 2007 model (with the N53 engine) and in 15 months it has been really good. Maybe a little too competent for my liking, but coming from an N52 130i, it should be familiar, a little larger but a useful amount of more power and greater economy than the N52.
I have two kids too, and they fit in the coupe without a hitch and the boot is huge! (compared to my other 'family' cars)
Mike
I have to say I do feel the 130i lacks the composure at speed. It gets out of shape over rough stuff quite easily and the front can feel a bit negative on turn in at speed. M3 arms help that.
I like the passat cc 3.6 and I like the c32.
As for the bmw. I can't help but feel drawn to them. Straight 6 and rwd. Its a great combination.
having had four previous subaru's (impreza) I'm leading towards the jap market. certainly seem to harm your wallet a lot less than equivalent European cars.
alas I always end up parting with them as my wife absolutely hates them. she doesn't like the sound or the fact the badge indicates "yob" or youth. can't argue but for a daily fun car or crosa country blast there are few better.
id be tempted by an impreza hatch or saloon again. The 2.5 doesn't put me off. The horror stories can be true but they are such a torque engine. they pull and pull.
I've not had a spec b legacy but I think id miss the turbo if I went for one.
I'm interested in a civic type r (fn2) or Integra dc5 too.
Mazda 6 mps just doesn't look right IMHO but I've heard they drive as well as a Q car type impreza.
alas I always end up parting with them as my wife absolutely hates them. she doesn't like the sound or the fact the badge indicates "yob" or youth. can't argue but for a daily fun car or crosa country blast there are few better.
id be tempted by an impreza hatch or saloon again. The 2.5 doesn't put me off. The horror stories can be true but they are such a torque engine. they pull and pull.
I've not had a spec b legacy but I think id miss the turbo if I went for one.
I'm interested in a civic type r (fn2) or Integra dc5 too.
Mazda 6 mps just doesn't look right IMHO but I've heard they drive as well as a Q car type impreza.
so a fellow forum member reminded me to update the thread as there had been som eupdates following the bank holiday.
Following a conversatin with my mechanic he advised that there were a few areas left to investigate that hadn't already.So over the bank holiday i decided to give those a go myself.
Which. Currently (fingers crossed) seemed to have sorted my woes with the misfire.
I swapped out injector no.6 and cleaned the remaining five. I also emoved and cleaned the vanos solenoids and after all refitting a day of slightly lumpy running. Thins now appear to be much smoother and there is no apparent misfire at all across any of the rev range. My money is on the injector being at fault.
That said. I am now left wondering whether to keep the 130i or to continue along the path of seling and replacing. You know, sometimes, whn you've just fallen out of love (or never fell in love for that matter) a car. So now question is do i sell it and or do i keep it.
I fi do sell im still going to struggle finding a "better" replacement for th emoney i guess, but i can't help feeling unattached to this car now its p*ssed me off lol
Following a conversatin with my mechanic he advised that there were a few areas left to investigate that hadn't already.So over the bank holiday i decided to give those a go myself.
Which. Currently (fingers crossed) seemed to have sorted my woes with the misfire.
I swapped out injector no.6 and cleaned the remaining five. I also emoved and cleaned the vanos solenoids and after all refitting a day of slightly lumpy running. Thins now appear to be much smoother and there is no apparent misfire at all across any of the rev range. My money is on the injector being at fault.
That said. I am now left wondering whether to keep the 130i or to continue along the path of seling and replacing. You know, sometimes, whn you've just fallen out of love (or never fell in love for that matter) a car. So now question is do i sell it and or do i keep it.
I fi do sell im still going to struggle finding a "better" replacement for th emoney i guess, but i can't help feeling unattached to this car now its p*ssed me off lol
Thanks. at this stage anything is worth trying.
So.
As an update.
The car is now misfiring intermittantly. For the previous 48hours, it ran fine. No misfire at all.
Today, there was a misfire. Again on idle.
I haven't yet changed out vanos solenoids - that will be a weekend job.
I can't help think i must be on the right track though if the work i have done has turned it from a misfire that is there every day at idle. To one that is only there some days?? Maybe i'm just mad.
I just want to get it solved and for it not to be something serious. It's never felt serious to me. 8 months of driving. It doesn't burn oil, use water, overheat, rev poorly, no rough running symptoms at all - just a blip on idle. My mechanic was sure it was injectors or cylinder crack - but if its not injectors i can't see it being a cylinder crack - it would be running way rougher and given some of the drives i've taken this car on in the last 8 months i'm pretty sure it would have gone pop by now if it was going too!
Anway, thought i'd update anyone watching the thread.
So.
As an update.
The car is now misfiring intermittantly. For the previous 48hours, it ran fine. No misfire at all.
Today, there was a misfire. Again on idle.
I haven't yet changed out vanos solenoids - that will be a weekend job.
I can't help think i must be on the right track though if the work i have done has turned it from a misfire that is there every day at idle. To one that is only there some days?? Maybe i'm just mad.
I just want to get it solved and for it not to be something serious. It's never felt serious to me. 8 months of driving. It doesn't burn oil, use water, overheat, rev poorly, no rough running symptoms at all - just a blip on idle. My mechanic was sure it was injectors or cylinder crack - but if its not injectors i can't see it being a cylinder crack - it would be running way rougher and given some of the drives i've taken this car on in the last 8 months i'm pretty sure it would have gone pop by now if it was going too!
Anway, thought i'd update anyone watching the thread.
Not sure if anyone is still following this thread.
But as an update.
I finally managed to order and swap out the solenoids for the vanos (cam position sensors).
The "NEW" sensors immediately threw a code P0012 . I let the car settle a bit and despite a CEL there was no misfire on idle.
I swapped the "NEW" sensor out for the old. Threw same code. Cleaned them. Reinstalled - no code. No CEL. No misfire.
Until this morning when it reappeared on my journey to work.
So. I think, the vanos solenoids are kaput and i need the original OEM BMW solenoids rather than the cheap Chinese copies that seem to always be broke before you fit them.
Anyway. Once or If i do that. I will still be getting rid of the car as i'm at the point of hating it now. Shame. As it should have been a really nice car.
That I'd consider quick so 0-60 in 6.0 or less. Good to drive, by which i mean a car that engages the driver, nice to point in and turn. Nice amount of torque for easy and regular overtaking. Good amounts of grip.
So any suggestion feel free to keep them coming.
Cheers
But as an update.
I finally managed to order and swap out the solenoids for the vanos (cam position sensors).
The "NEW" sensors immediately threw a code P0012 . I let the car settle a bit and despite a CEL there was no misfire on idle.
I swapped the "NEW" sensor out for the old. Threw same code. Cleaned them. Reinstalled - no code. No CEL. No misfire.
Until this morning when it reappeared on my journey to work.
So. I think, the vanos solenoids are kaput and i need the original OEM BMW solenoids rather than the cheap Chinese copies that seem to always be broke before you fit them.
Anyway. Once or If i do that. I will still be getting rid of the car as i'm at the point of hating it now. Shame. As it should have been a really nice car.
That I'd consider quick so 0-60 in 6.0 or less. Good to drive, by which i mean a car that engages the driver, nice to point in and turn. Nice amount of torque for easy and regular overtaking. Good amounts of grip.
So any suggestion feel free to keep them coming.
Cheers
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